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New Carver Owner

Discussion in 'Carver Yacht' started by plegs1, Feb 24, 2010.

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  1. plegs1

    plegs1 New Member

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    We are the proud owners of a 1987 32' Carver Montego, and welcome any advice from other Carver owners or experienced boaters. We are new to boating, and are researching Chapmans, other forums, and asking a ton of probably dumb questions.

    Our engines are 340 hp merc's...with gas tanks @ 192 gal. We read on this forum that many did not recommend cruising several hours from land.....why would that be the case? This boat is solid .

    We hope to explore and meander in several locations.....what do you think?
  2. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Rough 4' seas will keep you busy. You don't want to be out in 7's. It's a fine enough coastal cruiser though. Enjoy and congratulations.
  3. talexander38

    talexander38 Member

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    I have a Carver 3607 and it's true 4'ers will work you over on the wheel and 6 or 7's will make you scream, Our boats are for going for rides in good water, they're no sport-fishers that are meant to bust big waves. Do you have the 340hp 454's ?
  4. plegs1

    plegs1 New Member

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    New Carver

    yes....they are 454's with 340 hp. We are looking at a trip some 200 miles, at a steady 15-20 .....what might the fuel consumption be?
  5. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    My experience with gas Carvers is that you're looking at 1 possibly 2 fuel stops. I'd have to go into my logs for the exact fuel burn, but I remember on a 370 doing 111 miles @ a steady 17kts. and coming in with about 15 gals. left.
  6. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    Welcome

    the first thing to keep in mind is that there are many factors which will affect fuel burn. First is weather, mostly winds in the keys since current isn't much a factor there. The load and bottom condition. On a smaller boat load has an impact on speed so more bodies, full tanks, more gear will make a difference

    you ll be very surprised to see how a few barnacles on the props (and bottom) can cost you as much as 20% in speed and fuel

    also most boats ghat size need the trim tabs to increase efficiency. Full tabs yo get on plane then pullthem back up a bit depending on speed. Watch your gps to get best speed at a set rpm

    also, in 20 years a lot of things happen to boats. They get heavier (more junk), props are messed with (replaced or damaged) so don't ASSume that your boat will burn x gph because another one does...

    Start with shorter trips and get an actual fuel burn by keeping a log of time, distance, and actual fuel fills. On a gas boat like flow meters although not cheap can pay for themselves in fuel saving by helping you find the best speed for set power settings trim etc.. For instance I m pretty sure that 15kts is kot the best speed for that boat as you probably barely on plane even with full tabs

    200 miles runs from key largo tell me that you have the bahmas in mind... That s fine although get some experience before attempting the crossing, it can be nasty sometimes...

    Oh and DO NOT TRUST FUEL GAUGES!
  7. plegs1

    plegs1 New Member

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    Thanks for the great advice! We are taking smaller trips first, and 'getting our legs', move to greater distances. Our first big trip is to go from Clearwater to Key Largo. We plan on taking the ICW....taking 2 days.

    But, what about 25-35 knot wind.......the other day here in the keys, winds were 30-40 for 6-8 hrs.

    My thinking is to stay ashore and wait it out, but others have told us that if you stay in the ICW, you can weather it out.

    What is criteria on deciding that? Common sense tells me to STAY AT HOME!
  8. Pascal

    Pascal Senior Member

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    25-35kts is way too much considering your limited experience! while indeed the ICW will be pretty calm almost regardless of wind, handling the boat (docking, waiting for bridges, etc...) may be too much for you.

    two days in the ICW from Clearwater to Key Largo? well, first the ICW will not take you all the way, far from it. the first section down to Marco Island is pretty straightforward, although from Ft Myers on you're outside and exposed. with a boat like yours, this is a good weather run only, under 15kts.

    dont' understimate the run from Marco to the Keys... first make sure the weather is good, it will be miserable with NW winds... then, keep in mind you're pretty much on your own there with limited/marginal cell and VHF coverage... you must get a good handle on your fuel burn during the first leg to make sure you have the range. make sure you have all the charts, the run is pretty much offshore and straithforward south of Marco although when you get to into florida bay, there are a few markers and shoals to watch out for on the run to Islamorada.
  9. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    You won't want to be in any exposed area in more than 15kt. winds. Also the bridges lock down at (I believe) 35mph winds. If you make that run on the Gulf side I'd strongly advise you to bring along someone with experience at reading the waters (picking out shoals). It's not just going marker to marker. With a beam wind you will have a tendency to keep the bow pointed at the marker while the boat gets pushed out of the channel. Also, as Pascal pointed out before, wind will adversely affect your fuel consumption, and your SOG. In addition the ICW can be very slow. Keep those things in mind as you plan fuel stops. Although I haven't worked out the miles, that trip sounds ambitious. Running all day can be very boring, especially for kids, and cranky kids put 4 Sale signs on boats almost as fast as cranky spouses.
  10. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    No offense, but under what evidence and terms do you consider the boat "solid"? I'll refer you to this written by a very respected surveyor: www.yachtsurvey.com/boatreviews/Carver370.htm The advice you have received is solid regardless of the quality of the boat of that type design. Several hours from land at typical cruising speed leaves you very exposed to changes in weather. I have on numerous occasions seen the ocean go from flat water to 20' seas in a matter of hours as a strong front passes through. You never want to even see 10' seas with your family onboard, I can promise you injuries. It's not that big of an issue though unless you are just cruising along at 6 knots or so, because you will find that that 192 gallons of gasoline is not a whole lot. You'll find that you will be using around 30 gallons per hour at cruise speed in the low 20s (you'll find that to be around your best MPG speed range above 6kts, I suggest a set of Flowscan fuel monitors connected to your GPS so you can fine tune your speed/efficiency for the current conditions, can save you their cost very quickly if you do a lot of boating and you get real time range figures). So, if you figure 3% of your fuel is inaccessible (typical) and a 30% reserve that leaves you with just over 125 gallons of fuel to voyage plan on. So you're looking at 4 hrs running time, two hours out, and two hours back. That leaves you with an offshore radius of 40-45 miles, or a passage distance of 80-90 miles., and this is assuming nominal weather conditions. If the weather picks up, fuel consumption (and an increase in inaccessible fuel) does as well which is why the 30% fuel reserve should never be violated.
    If you're going to go 6 kts for several hours, then the fuel and time numbers change considerably and a 4 hr ride out can be returned in an hour or so heading back in. Unless the water is flat calm, that boat will have a very uncomfortable ride at those speeds since its ride stability is achieved dynamically.

    Good thing is, where you are, you will never have a reason to be "several hours from land". You run up the coast to Miami or Ft Lauderdale, top off with fuel and you'll be across to Bimini withing your safe passage distance. Just pick a nice day, 3 day weather forecasts are pretty accurate anymore. I will advise you not to cross the Gulf Stream if the wind is blowing over 10 kts with a northerly component. Once you're in the Bahamas, you're golden. There's plenty of good boating down in the keys anyway where you can stay within protected and semi protected waters and have a great time. Many reefs have permanent bouys, just grab one and "pool's open". Fuel and aid is well available everywhere.
    Boating can be a great joy for a family, just always think conservatively and everyone will remain safe.
    Last edited: Feb 25, 2010
  11. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    Your common sense on this is solid. You have a twin engine boat. Say you are cruising along in the ICW with a 25-35kt cross wind. If you lose the leeward (down wind) engine, you may quickly find yourself in a situation where you cannot maintain your position withing the channel and can end up in the mangroves or on the shoals next to the channel.
  12. Carver370

    Carver370 New Member

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    If I had a dime for every time somebody who knows nothing about Carvers posted that link I would be rich by now.

    What they do not know is that Carver ended up taking every single boat back that was affected with the problem not so well described in that review of that 1 single boat that was surveyed.

    Yes I do own a 370, around 1997 I got a letter in the mail and my marina gave me a call saying they had to ship my boat back to Carver. Free of charge they took the boat back to the factory fixed their problem and the boat was back before spring launch.

    Is the 32 Montego capable of it, yes but pick your days. I would pick my days if I were in any boat of any measure "superior" to Carver as well :rolleyes:
  13. plegs1

    plegs1 New Member

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    Again, thanks for all the feedback....all of it is good! We are conservative by nature, we expect hic-ups, and usually proceed accordingly. All of which is to say, we employ 'common sense'....not so common any more.....stay close to shore , and learn our boat. Along the way, I'll learn a bunch while exploring.

    Can you recommend a good boat maintainence book, or something a novice like me can learn from?

    I
  14. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    I recommend the manufacturers' operating and maintenance manuals for the equipment you have on board as everything has its quirks.
  15. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    In all these years I have never met an owner who has read all his manuals. So I ask that they just breeze through them so they know where to look when the need arises. I'm thrilled if I can get them to actually read the chartplotter or radar manuals. Pretty much everything he'll need reguarding basic maintenance can be found right here on YF and it's less dry than an engineer's manual. Someone (maybe it was even this poster) mentioned hiring a mechanic to spend a day going over the maintenance of his boat. Another mentioned a weekend diesel course. Great ideas.
  16. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    As long as it's on the engine that's in use. A weekend diesel course won't do this guy any good since he has big block Chevys which run on gasoline.
  17. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    Righto, but I'm sure they have them for gas as well. Again, someone on another thread mentioned about hiring a mechanic for a day to teach him in a private session. There's your class.
  18. Henning

    Henning Senior Member

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    It would be a good idea, have them come in and show you the common failure parts like the ECM or points and how to change them as well as make out a list of spares which should be carried.