Considering 2006 40MY vs. Silverton 39 vs. Carver 40

D

Dan& Darci

New Member
May 14, 2007
1
Hi, we're strongly considering the Sea Ray over the other two, even though it's more expensive. I just quickly browsed the sight and didn't see any info/pros/cons on the 40MY. Any input would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Dan
 
A lot of question here!

Dan & Darci ...

All three have great show room appearance, but the comparasions stop there.

Sea Ray is perhaps the best made production boat out there. For all its faults and all boats have issues of design vs. cost vs. target use of the target buyer, Sea Ray products are tops for the money.

Sea Ray Boats and Yachts are intended to "Go Places" and are seaworthy and suitable for open water coastal crusing. They have good dockside accomodations, but will not afford the massive interior volume of a Carver LWL to LWL, but then a Carver isn't meant for the same type of crusing grounds as a Sea Ray.

If your dream boat is to be a summer cottage only leaving its slip infrequently and is to be used on an inland lake or waterway the other two brands might be fine, but then I'd rather be in a Sea Ray on Lake Erie in a storm that the other two that is for sure.

I think the choice is based upon intended use, the crusing waters, your seamanship skills and then the budget.

But by all means look under the decks of each choice with wide open eyes.

IMHO, Sea Ray is the best choice of the three mentioned.
 
I have not seen alot of the 39MY in our area but everyone I have ever asked about it says they are a great boat so I can't find any negative reputation on this particular model. Would be interesting to hear if there is.

I think the layout on that model is gorgeous for the "water condo" and the bow stateroom is really nice after looking at lots of second staterooms that really are caves . . .

My favorite feature is it has minimal Isenglass - you have to move to a 48DA otherwise to have that feature-- if that is important to you. Also, if you like the idea of a pilothouse, this is as close as you can get to one with SeaRay.

My husband won't buy one because of the aft cabin. He doesn't want to climb stairs to get from the dock to the galley. We had a aft cabin Bayliner as our first boat and I think that is something you really need to buy into -- not being close to the water and dock. You have a great view though but . . .

As of right now, there are very few SR MYs in our area or even the West Coast for sale but we do have alot of Carvers, Meridians, Silvertons and Bayliners in this MY category.

GOOD LUCK!
 
Sorry to bring back an oldish thread, but i've been shopping for an upgrade for awhile and been to many boat shows to try and get a feel for SB's and MY. Toying with a slightly larger DA but we both feel it would just be a stepping stone.

Budget wise, it seems like the 400 SB (I don't know all of the DB SB EC things, gets confusing) and the 41 MY or is it the 39 MY? Anyway, late 90's- early 2000's are within my budget low 200k (all being diesel of coarse) Also on my list are Silverton, Meridian, and Carver although the carver isn't really high on my list. I like each for different reasons but what they all have in common is the bridge style with a lot of room which is what both of us immediately gravitated towards. condo on the water type of living for the weekends. We aren't dock Queens and plan to be on the hook 3 nights a week, boating in the NY area. That being said, it seems like this style is top heavy and prone to rocking. Also how they ride in less than ideal water is an unknown for us. The fuel burn and speed are good for us with the cat 3116's or 26's. Not sure what the comparable size cummings do though.

I guess I want to get some opinions on the size and style of boat. (wait and save my pennies for something a little larger? maybe do an intermediate step with a DA?)

Any and all advice will be appreciated.
 
We have been looking at those 3 as well and have to mostly agree with Chad. I would rate the Silverton about on par with the SeaRay due to the strong following it has with the several owners in our marina. Although, for some reason the older Silvertons (10 years) do not seem to age as well as the SeaRays – could just be a perception thing.

Carver may not be in the class of the other two, however, they have been working hard to change that image. You get a lot of size and creature comforts for the price, but most will say they are not built for more than rivers, small lakes and the “whimpy” part of the bay. I read a review by a very controversial surveyor that clearly didn’t think Carver was a real boat. He said something to the effect that they more closely resemble Winnebago’s, and the factory just forgot to put the wheels on. Sounds rather harsh but does make a point.
 
That surveyor has nothing to good to say about Carvers, but he was quoted as saying that Silverton was the worst of the high-production brands. He said this on the "grumpy forum" (where one would think he'd be right at home). He received such a backlash from the Silverton fans that he stopped signing on. He's controversial, but has loads of experience behind his opinions. That was a big loss IMOH.

Many of my neighbors have Silvertons. Oddly, their ownership experience has made them loyal, while observing those experiences have turned me off. One guy with a 41 Sedan had to replace all of his engine mounts because they wouldn't stay aligned for more than 100 miles at a time. It wasn't cheap either.

The whole group of these Silvertons have dull gelcoats, which is common throughout the brand. Feature stripes and decals don't seem to hold on well, but maybe they're just victims of fanatical polishing to keep ahead of the dulling gelcoat.

Silvertons helms have a low-dollar look and feel to them. Grab a throttle or gear lever to see what I mean - you'd think you were on a boat 20 years older than it really is.

Cheap plastic is everywhere. SeaRay has been guilty of that too, but not to that extent and later SeaRays have gotten away from it.

Silverton interiors are a different story. They've saved money by leaving bulkheads and walls bare where another builder would put cabinets, but what IS there looks and feels good. Their cabinetry/joinery work is impressive. Lots of warm-looking real wood and trim and "Carver-worthy" spaciousness. Say what you will about "Carvertons", those people know how to make room inside a boat!

Don't expect the Silverton to be a long-distance cruiser. That's not what it was built for. Stern heavy and sluggish. (the 352 for example, cannot get on plane without full tabs!)
 
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Thanks for the feedback, it's appreciated.

as for Carvers, they do seem to defy boating physics. There were several MY at my marina and when they hoped up on plane, they looked like fat men with really short legs getting out of a chair.
 
We have friends with an 04 390MY with 8.1 370HP Big Blocks. They turn the 8.1s at 3800-4000 RPMs routinely to cruise up and down the Potomac; higher RPMs against the wind and current. At those RPMs the boat is extremely thirsty.
On the 7 hour run to the Inner Harbor last year I averaged 20.5 GPH with the C Series in my 420.
Our 390MY friends don't even bother with long trips like that anymore-they don't want to pay the fuel cost.
I have seen a couple 390MYs on Yachtworld with Cummins Power. I would not touch one with gas power, unless it were to be used as a floating condo.
My 02

Skip
 
Carvers are very popular on Lake Michigan. They are built in Wisconsin and we see people who cross the lake in some pretty rough weather. Silverton is popular here too although you see more SRs. Carvers are under rated in my view. Many look as good as their SR counterparts and they seem to hold up well over time. I agree with the Silverton gel coat comment concerning shine. They seem to fade pretty fast. They are pretty well built however. The 39 Silverton owned by a friend of mine has stringers that made my 37 SR's look very underdesigned. It also has Crusader 454s which I like. I think they are all comparable and Silverton has greatly improved its quality in the last 10 years.
 
I spoke to a Carver dealer a while ago about their 40ish foot boats. The main problem with them is that no one orders them with diesels and there is no market used diesel Carvers until you get up to their mid-40 foot designs. He really worked hard to turn me off diesel power. Silverton is still a budget brand like Rinker; therefore, I would suspect that these aren't good candidates for diesel power until you get around 45 or so feet.

Short take: These are dock queens and floating condos. 40 foot 20,000 pound boats with gasoline power are fuel hogs. If 30-40 gallons/hr (minimum of 90 to 120 dollars/hr) sounds good to you, go for it. Personally, past 36 feet, I want diesel power since I prefer to use my boat as a boat, not a condo.

Best regards,
Frank C.
 
My parents own a 1999 (I think -- might be a 97) Carver Mariner 350 they bought new. They take good care of it, and it has aged very gracefully. They have not had significant problems with the boat and it is still very solid. They rarely venture out into the ocean, but have done a lot of cruising, including a 6-week trip up the Hudson to the Thousand Islands, over to Quebec, Lake Erie, and then back down the Erie Canal, and love the boat. They have gas engines, and the cost of fuel has affected their traveling, but they still use it regularly, just not on long trips.

It's a solid, well-built boat with lots of interior and cockpit room. You either love or hate it's looks, but based on their experience I'd say it was on a par with our Sea Ray for quality and durability.

Jeff
 
I had a 2003 Carver Sedan bridge for 2 1/2 seasons before I bought the 44DB. Despite what may have been true earlier in Carver's life, this boat was actually very well built for its intended purpose. It did, however, have a pretty bad ride in a chop, but this was more due to hull design rather than poor construction. The 36 had a relatively flat bottom which was good in that it would jump up on plane quickly and it was pretty fast. This flat bottom really pounded in a chop. Very annoying.

Also, the 36 had 8.1L gas engines, which pushed that boat along nicely but were rather thirsty (my diesels push my bigger boat faster at a lower GPH).

As far as the comparison put forth by the original poster... I'm assuming we're talking about motor yacht models here... if so I think the Carver and the Silverton MYs are ugly as hell. Of course that is subjective and only my opinion. The Sea Ray MYs are not without their aesthetic awkwardness (particularly when compared to other Sea Rays), but are much better looking than the other two.

No doubt, the motor yacht decision is a tough one. They offer all the comforts of home (not that there's anything wrong with that), but do have some tradeoffs from a handling/performance/aesthetics perspective. We almost went down that path before deciding on the 44.

Good luck in whatever you decide!
 
While in Charleston In November we boarded a for sale 40MY and LOVED it. The thing looks like a bulltet, which sometimes I like and sometimes I do not. It had the 450 Cummins Diesels. She was a beauty. Owner's business was expanding so he did not have time for the boat anymore. It's loaded, even with a rear camera. Interior was stunning and roomy, even for my 6'3" height. It's been added to our next boat list.
 
it's interesting but around here (jersey shore) i have NEVER seen a SR MY. Lotsa ACs (420, 380, 370) but no MYs. the only place i see a TON of them is in the back of power & motoryacht (brokerage sections) and they all seem to be florida boats. any of my fellow jersey boaters concur?

all of the "modern look" MYs are a bit "odd" in appearance. that is, of course, to maximize interior space. in doing so, i think you lose a bit of the sex appeal of a DB or DA. i sort of agree with prodigal - carver and silverton MYs are too FUGLY for me to consider buying one (sorry but it's only one man's opinion). that being said, a friend at our marina has a 2002 Carver 396 currently on the market and it is a beautiful boat. the interior quality is top notch and he has done extensive ocean (coastal) cruising and has had NO problems with seaworthiness or mechanical issues. he has 8.1 crusaders, which do move the boat nicely, but she is a pig on gas - worse than mine!

anyway, if you decide on a late model carver in the NY/NJ area, let me know and i'll put you in touch with my buddy al!
 
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