1989 Santego 34

G

Georgian Bay Girl

Member
Joined
Feb 3, 2009
RO Number
31059
Messages
5
We are considering putting an offer on one of these boats (based on sea trial & survey). Just wondered if any current owners could give me some helpful advice on what to look for or be wary of. This model comes with the 454 Crusaders, 6.5 Kohler genny, exterior is in fairly good condition, interior needs some work but nothing major. Although this model is called a "34", its actually 41' overall. We love the layout (and the price!!). Any information would be appreciated!

Elizabeth
 
I have a friend who has a 38 ft.
It is huge inside and lots of storage inside and out.
Pretty flat bottom, but rides good inland.
He, his wife and grand children can all stay on it comfortably.
He added a sat. dish to keep the kids occupied when they don't want
to stay outside.
My wife loves it cause of the room inside.
 
That must be the other 38...the 3897 Santego...it's a relatively flat bottom...the 3467 Santego is quite a deep vee...19 or 20 degrees and rides like a dream. The boat has all fiberglass stringers and a solid glass bottom...should survey out very well!
 
I looked around the net at some of the 3467 santego's. What a great boat! I really like the layout. That's my new dream boat! Can't believe there is 19 degrees on something that large from the 80's from carver. I would be interested in looking at that model down the road.

How is the fuel economy on this size of boat assuming it has the 454's?

Thanks,

Jim
 
(wondering about fuel usage myself...)

The 3467 looks very nice, my only beef with the Santego series is that they lacked the more enclosed helm of the Mariners. That little plastic windshield and canvas setup isn't gonna be the best in a big storm, then again (1) lots of sportfishers use the same setup, and (2) who the Hell is driving these boats in big storms anyhow...

The Santegos certainly have tons of room and are especially convenient for entertaining...
 
My only beef is the tacky bolt on swim platform, but simply because it looks cheap. That's the 80's for ya!
 
I have the 30 foot santego and it is almost identical except a little smaller all around. The windshield works great on plane with the top down, but we usually travel with the enclosure up and the sides out if it is hot. We met a couple of boaters in our travels with the same boat and the fuel economy is similar to ours. We have I/Os in ours but without big blocks, the engines work hard. You wont find another boat with as much room inside! On one bad day, we had eight people inside in ours and it was OK.
 
We have the 1994 Santego 380 - nearly the same boat. We love the room & layout, no steps once you're in the cabin, three steps from cockpit to bridge, walk-out from bridge to bow - can't be beat. Most people think the swim platform is molded in - they don't notice the small seam, the boat is the easiest boat in the marina to board, two molded steps from swim platform on either side.

Fuel economy not too good with Crusader 454's. Cruising on plane in the 18-20 mph range get around .5 to .6 mpg, at 10-12 mph (not on plane) get about .9 mpg. Our Santego handles well, but we are on the Delaware River and have not been out in bad conditions. Seems to handle well in close quarters in the marina. If you have any specific questions, please let me know - good luck.

Ram - does the 380 have the solid core & all glass stringers as well?

Stan
 
Thank you all for your information and opinions. We will likely be putting an offer in - we just need to get over the fact it's a 20 year old boat. I've noticed many of you own 1980's models and aren't complaining. I guess that as long as the boat gets us on the water (and not under it) we're happy!!
 
Stan...All Carver model numbers ending in 7 (ie: 2897, 2757, 3467, 4207, 3807) have solid glass bottoms...cored hull sides, but solid bottoms. Yes the 380 Santego (3467 build code) has all glass stringers. Mind you these aren't solid glass, but are of a "top hat" design and are hollow in the center.

Georgian Bay Girl...being on the water in a 20 year old Carver is better than being on the water in anything else :-)
 
Kenny,

Thanks for the information, I really appreciate it. We love our boat, we are on it every weekend although at the dock a lot more than we would like. We love to anchor out, but the anchorages around here are getting more shallow every year, and the price of fuel has reduced the amount of cruising we can do. Hopefully, the fuel prices will be better this season and we can do more traveling.

Stan
 
quote:
Originally posted by ChefJunk

My only beef is the tacky bolt on swim platform, but simply because it looks cheap. That's the 80's for ya!

Click to expand...


I re-read my post and hope I didn't offend anyone with my comment.

The point I was trying to make was that I think that the boats from Carver of the late 80's are very well designed and engineered. However, that seems to stop at the transom in the case of the bolt on platforms that are designed to look as though they are in fact part of the actual hull.

Believe me, if I could afford a 34/380 Santego, I would be a happy man (and a Santego owner!).

Hopefully I didn't dig myself deeper!

Jim
 
If one ignores the style evolution from the 80's to today, one just might see how advanced the Santego was for it's time with the single level concept.

That boat was on my very short list, but was hard to find. There was one here for sale but was neglected and priced outrageously. Word is the guy's wife wanted the boat gone and hubby did not want to sell it so he priced it out of the market!!
 
Jim,

No offense taken. I happen to really like the swim platform - pretty big for its era, fender storage, easy on/off.

Stan
 
I bought a 1990 (3467) two years ago. We love the boat! She needed a little work also, but once it's fixed up thier great, and that's the nice thing about a 20 year old boat. My friend has a 1991 and we continue to find things to improve on. Here is some tips:

1. The show sump is open and smells, small and plugs. Buy, a weather proof tool box that seals(west marine). Mount the hose fittings with the drain on the bottom. Works great, no smell, holds more water. Also install a bigger hose from the show drain to the sump, drains better and the water doesn't stand in the show.
2. The rear drapes maybe sun faded(?) In the closet by the head, is the drape for the sleeping area. It was like new so we used that drape material to make new drapes for the back.I also removed the back teak step board, that you need to step over. That made it nicer stepping inside.
3. The rear bumper storage is nice, but open and collects dirt. There is a place, here in MN that can make you the plaxiglass doors like the newer models have for around $250.
4. My dash was a little sun faded, so Positron Corp. in Id. can make new dash plates. All ingraved, holes cut, carbon fiber look for $275.

I did a bunch more stuff to fix it up, but they make a very nice boat. Very comfortable! Carver made that design from 1988 to 2002. Models: 34, 638, 380.
 
We docked up next to our friend who has the 38 ft'er.
He ices down beer in the fender holders on the platform sometimes.
It has so much room to socialize. His wife is trying to figure out
how to make the transom seat flip to face forward or backwards.
He said he saw one just south of Houston for ~$89K in good shape.
 
Kenny,

I was looking at a 3067 this weekend. It is an '88 (first year). Are these stringers glass as well? Any major issues you know of on this model?

Thanks,

Jim
 
No Jim...the stringers in that boat are wood covered with glass. No major issues with them other than it is stern drives...and a flybridge, which can make it hard to dock in wind..especially with the enclosure up. The issue with the boats is that Carver decided to use the Alpha drive instead of the Bravo...in my opinion, the alpha is physically too small. Of course, there are many out there and people that have them seem not to have any troubles. They also offered Volvo Duo Prop drives, but I'm not sure if they did in the first model year...to me Duo Props would be much more desirable and once they became available, we ordered all of our boats that way. Also, keep in mind taht the LOA of this boat is about 37' with platform and pulpit.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top