Currently looking at 84 3607 and just love the boat, but I asked the wrong or right mechanic and he says all mid 80 carvers have a bad design with the stringers and most are bad. Can any one educate me a little bit on design and what test should be performed in the prebuy.
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Mid 80 Carver Hull Design and Moisture Problems
- Thread starter jhflyer1
- Start date
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2007
- RO Number
- 28240
- Messages
- 1,772
Well...I think he's wrong...most mid 1980s Carvers usually survey well. Definately get a survey to find out on an individual basis, but we rarely have issues with Carver stringers. We have a 1984 3227 Convertible that we had to replace them on, but judging by the rest of the boat, it's not surprising.
Only thing I've seen is that there is a probability that the boat will have some blitering problems which can be delt with. We have an 1985 3607 that had some light blistering which we fixed them and applied a barrier coat and havent had a problem since. Been pretty happy with the boat.
Joe, I would concur with my colleagues that there is no inherent reason to assume moisture or stringer problems on any mid-1980s Carver or any model number that ends in "7" or higher. Please take a look at some of the other threads we've done on this Carver forum over the past year, because there will be more detail about Carver construction and some of the historical issues with older boats (many of which were faced by all the other manufacturers, BTW)...
In a nutshell, a model number ending in "6" or below (such as my 2896) has a balsa cored hull and tacked-in stringers (meaning a lot of the wood is exposed. This has resulted in water intrusion issues from time to time and some of these boats are not desirable values. However a good marine surveyor can tell you whether or not a particular boat suffers from this malady, and as you can tell from the fact that I own a 2896 and used to own a 2895 before that, that some of us aren't too worried about it. I've seen so many old Carvers I know what to look for and to avoid...
The 3607 is a newer design with a solid fiberglass hull, and stronger, thicker stringers. It wouldn't surprise me if there was still the potential for water getting into those stringers, because the construction techniques didn't change THAT much, but again a good surveyor should find this problem if it exists. The hull, being solid fiberglass on these models, is NEVER a problem unless you find blisters (which are generally fixable)...
I'd own a 3607 or 3697 now if I had the money...
In a nutshell, a model number ending in "6" or below (such as my 2896) has a balsa cored hull and tacked-in stringers (meaning a lot of the wood is exposed. This has resulted in water intrusion issues from time to time and some of these boats are not desirable values. However a good marine surveyor can tell you whether or not a particular boat suffers from this malady, and as you can tell from the fact that I own a 2896 and used to own a 2895 before that, that some of us aren't too worried about it. I've seen so many old Carvers I know what to look for and to avoid...
The 3607 is a newer design with a solid fiberglass hull, and stronger, thicker stringers. It wouldn't surprise me if there was still the potential for water getting into those stringers, because the construction techniques didn't change THAT much, but again a good surveyor should find this problem if it exists. The hull, being solid fiberglass on these models, is NEVER a problem unless you find blisters (which are generally fixable)...
I'd own a 3607 or 3697 now if I had the money...
alstgeorge
Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2008
- RO Number
- 29872
- Messages
- 2
In the mid 80's I think most of the manufactures cheaped out. I just had to junk a 88 sea ray because of a cracked transom and bad strings. Found out that they did not use marine ply wood. Definitly get a survey.
I have an 86 2657 Montego. Stringer consruction is poor much wood exposed. Limber holes are not encapsulated in any way. The wood of the main stringers where they are intersected by a cross member's limber hole are not sealed at all. The starboard area at this pont has a hole where the fiber glass overlaps on the inside of the stinger where water drains through. Stringer wood / Water is connected to the transom wood with no seal.
I know this is Carver's bottom line model, but I needed to vent when I read this topic.
I know this is Carver's bottom line model, but I needed to vent when I read this topic.
I'm sorry to hear that those problems persisted that far into the 1980s!!!
Food for thought: Its usually a lot easier to fix a stringer problem than it is to fix a HULL CORING problem, which is why the "7" series and up Carvers are a better choice in that regard. Those boats have no hull coring, so your only potential for problems (usually) is if something happened and water got into the wood in the stringers...
All I can say is, I feel your pain, fellas! I know what its like to remove a stringer with a vacuum cleaner. Its a pain, but doable...
Food for thought: Its usually a lot easier to fix a stringer problem than it is to fix a HULL CORING problem, which is why the "7" series and up Carvers are a better choice in that regard. Those boats have no hull coring, so your only potential for problems (usually) is if something happened and water got into the wood in the stringers...
All I can say is, I feel your pain, fellas! I know what its like to remove a stringer with a vacuum cleaner. Its a pain, but doable...