Carver 440 Research

[Slider]

Looking for the good/bad/ugly on 1993 Carver 440 Cat 3116's / 1100 hrs.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

ROM operating costs I will need to factor in as well (fuel burn chart if there is one to be had)

K/r. Slider

 

[Donsan]

There are a few around with the Cummins power plants and others have the Cat 3126 engines. For my 2 cents, either is preferable to the Cat 3116 but I like Fords more than Chevys.

 

[Slider]

Thanjs

There are a few of us Lehman/Senator fans around for sure.
Cummins is good power and has proven itself over the years.

I am still unclear as to the cost of moving the carver of that size and how the power to weight sits.

Thanks for your comments.

 

[sunchaser]

Slider
You may find David Pascoe's writings of interest on the engines and vessel.

 

[Donsan]

Slider
You may find David Pascoe's writings of interest on the engines and vessel.

Good point! And when you read Pascoe's review of Carver, consider that a similar size and age Defever will weigh almost 10 tons more.


With that said, we had a neighbor up on the Great Lakes who had a 40' Carver he bought new almost 30 years ago. The boat still looked new.

 

[BDofMSP]

Exactly. I appreciate his perspective, but I also consider the purpose and use of the boat. No this boat isn't a passgemaker or a battlewagon. But if you're cruising in nice weather and returning to the dock nightly, who cares? The fact that hundreds of these continue to serve their owners after 20 and 30 years says it all.

 

[bayview]

I had a 440 for years and fount Pascoes comments BS. Carver made many models and used different methods that changed over time.

The 440 has a solid glass bottom with core above W/L. No wood in the stringers or frames. With 450 Cummins I hit 22 Kts fully loads and cruised at 17-18 and at 9 kTs. 2-3 NMPG at 9 and 33 GPH at 18. Darn good boat with an anti roll chine bottom also built for planning. Decent bow flare to knock down waves. The weight specs are misleading because that boat came with gassers as well as diesels and they didn't seem to provide weight for all the options. Loaded for cruising mine weighed 38,000#.
The interior cant be beat for space.

Those V cats will limit access space outside the engines

 

[sunchaser]

Bayview
Good comments. The vessel in question has Cat 3116s and not Cummins. Maybe the OP would benefit by doing some research on boatdiesel.com for that specific engine in a heavy planing vessel.

 

[LaBomba]

I think David Pascoe was having a bad day when he wrote the Carver review. I read it before buying our current boat but for our intended use and location it was totally irrelevant. Are there better built boats, absolutely, but not everyone has the need or $$$$$ for the alternatives.

To the OP, I have a buddy that had 3116 cats on his 37 SeaRay and had no issues with them at all and owned it for 8 to 10 years.

 

[bayview]

Oops I missed the 3116 comment. Those are inline 6 cyl engines. I don't remember the HP ratings but eh Carver does need some HP to properly plane. In trawler mode most anything will work.

 

[South of Heaven]

Slider: Have you also checked out the Bayliner 4788? They have a huge fan base and the interior space is amazing. They are one of the boats on my list for my next boat.