Potential 406 AC owner

Get into as heavy seas as you can find and take them wrong so you can see her at her worst. Bring a GPS & check her speeds going into and with the seas at 80% and 100% throttle. Check the exhaust smoke when you throttle up. Also, check the condition of your canvas and isenglass as this can be costly if you start replacing a year down the line. Other than that your surveyor's report will probably give you what you need. On a 2000 you're probably going to replace the charplotter & possibly the radar soon. So don't be too impressed with it's electronics while negotiating. Good luck.

You CAN get a lot of boat for the money with a Carver - but many owners do not feel they perform well in anything but good weather and calm seas. Under those conditions I would own another Carver. If I was going off shore I would look to a more seaworthy and sea kindly vessel. We loved our Carver but it proved to be unsatisfactory for our uses so we sold it for nearly what we paid for it. It held it's value well which is not common for most boats.

Bad reason to swap out the radar. You have the "spinny thing". It's inside the dome. That's a closed array as opposed to an open array that you most often find on bigger boats. Personally I prefer the open, but I also like money in my pocket. Tell her that, for what that will cost, she could have a nice piece of jewelry or a nice weekend away.

The 406 Carver is an amazing value in the current market. Not many years ago that was an upper $200's boat. Today - just over the $100K mark. The 370 Cummins are the right engine. She is a perfect mid-sized aft cabin for the Chesapeake. Good luck with her.

Check logs on the last dates/hours of filter changes
Is there a fuel cleaner aboard?
Fuel, water, oil leaks
Injector status? Any recent service work?
Haul out during the survey. Check zincs and trim tab operation, shaft seals, bottom paint condition, blistering, damage to props. Have the surveyor mic out the props as well.
Spend the additional and get the engine oil analysis.

she'll do you just fine in the bay, our 3607 hates following seas so beware of that, Carvers are not big water boats. I've had mine out off Va. beach Va. a few time in 4 and 5 footers boat did ok big the ride sucked. 1 to 3's you be fine. As far has the engines get a Mech to inspect them.