Beachbum29/Carver
A little first hand info. I have a 1986 3607 Carver, gas, factory hardtop, full canvas, berth it at North Light Yacht Club in Niceville, FL (N. end of Choctawhatchee Bay 12 mi. N. of Destin) I dry rack it, marina launches it every 6 weeks and runs systems in our absence. Otherwise, we use it a few days to a few weeks at a time in the bay and ICW. Bay is big enough it can get significantly choppy and pretty messy but not big swells like open ocean. Here's the scoop:
These are OLD boats. I have put way too much money in mine to ever get anything close to it back just getting it proper & reliable, never mind creature comforts and it was a reasonably good boat when I bought it. Have a very good survey done and do a proper sea trial - lots of reference sources out there on how & why to do both. If you get the diesel boat, absolutely have an oil analysis done. Very few 3607s were produced w/ diesels. Stuffing boxes, bonding system, EVERY thru hull including strut bolts, wiring (these old boats have often been fixed, screwed up, modified, etc. and can be a wiring nightmare, sometimes dangerous). Expect the original A/C units to be real close to giving it up by now, along with the 'fridge and Princess stove. The original gas gensets are Onan 6.7K CCW models and by now they are really tired, ancillary parts are sparse and major parts like manifolds and cyl. heads are nearly impossible. I suspect a diesel genset of this vintage will be similar. Plan on a new genset if you intend to anchor out - we don't, we marina hop. Throttle/gear cables will likely need attention as will the helm hydraulics. Replace the old air pressurized system with a contemporary helm pump and be sure the upper and lower helm pumps are of compatible types. The upper helm engine controls are pot metal junk - mine broke. Replace them. Lots of plastic bits that are old. All fixable but time consuming and while not overly costly, still adds up.
The step issue aside, for a 36 foot boat, these Carvers are quite comfortable for what they are, a floating motorhome. You don't drive a motorhome like a sports car and one does not use a Carver like a Bertram or Viking. Four aboard is quite comfortable for several days to weeks - 2 staterooms (the fwd. V berth is roomy and comfortable), 2 heads, privacy doors, functional galley, decent aft deck, nice cruiser. Lots of interior teak. Ports leak and stain the headliner, expect the acrylic to be fogged and, trust me, they can't be polished out. Clear port lights will require replacement. They are available from Pompanette, you don't have to take the entire port assembly out of the hull. The water lines, by now, will be flaking the plastic from inside the lines and plugging up the faucet aerators, and the line clamps will be failing. Minor issue but you'll have lots of little leaks to track down and repair. If it has the original furniture, keep it and reupholster. Mine didn't and finding a sofa to fit is not easy.
If you have a sound hull and mechanicals, this is all stuff that is fixable but you WILL be fixing unless the seller has already done it and if he has, pay the man the money. Look at the canvas carefully. Again, fixable but not a small check to replace all of it. The deck screws/bonds to the hull, the flybridge screws to the salon/deck. Expect to chase down some leaks and spend time with your caulking gun.
All that interior room and comfort and the ability to run on plane at 12K or so comes at a price. It is not a deep V hull and the back half of the hull is flat with no keel. In moderate chop & wind, the hull wallows a lot and requires some degree of chasing the helm. It's a bit top heavy and presents a lot of sail area to the wind but is stable for it's intended purpose. Carvers of this vintage are adequately built but not brutes like a Bertram. Bottom is solid glass but freeboard and decks are cored balsa w/ plywood at mounting points. It is a Chevrolet. Nothing wrong with that but it was not intended to be an open water boat - it is a lake, river, coastal cruiser. Three foot seas won't be fun and the ability to run at 20+ knots (yes, a gas boat will go that fast at north of 40 GPH) won't get you out of bad weather in 3 foot seas - the hull can't do it and if it does, you won't like it.
I can give you cruise speed/GPH/RPM numbers for a gas boat but if you get the diesel that won't help you. In smooth water @ 12 knots the boat is a breeze, a little chop is no big deal, moderate chop is more comfortable at below 10 knots. Running faster and up to full bore is fun in smooth water but not worth the fuel cost. The more wind there is, the less fun the boat is, especially with full canvas, but that is true of a lot of boats. It'll chug along at 6 knots also and while not really "sipping fuel", be notably more economical. Diesels like to be a near full throttle so I'd suggest you do some research on the parameters for a 3607 diesel boat, again they didn't produce many of them. There is a Carver owners forum - the factory is of no use other than having an online library of old brochures. They have no older parts or information about the older boats.
Is it a "good" boat? For what this older boat costs, for a semi-live aboard "condo" that you can putt across the bay (or in your case along the St. John) or along the ICW to another marina, back it in, fire up the grill and pour a martini, you bet it is. Lot of boat for the money and something similar that is significantly newer or factory new is crazy expensive. The new 36 Carver is $360K !!!! base and it is still a Carver. You can get a lot of pre-owned Bertram, Viking or any variety of actual trawlers for those bucks. Doing the Keys, other than following the highway in good weather, or Bimini could be iffy. You'll need a predictably good weather window, range is an issue, at least in a gas boat, and cruising in a group might be prudent. Do I like my boat - YES!! We use it as a floating condo/second home and for that purpose and what it cost, including the irrational amount of money I have put into it, it does well. I like the vintage look (all the swoopy windows, chrome and automobile helms are dumb in a boat), it's a presentable ship shape boat I'm not be ashamed of berthed next to some got bucks guy in his Selene and it is very comfortable living. Just expect to expend some time, sweat equity and bucks to get there, unless the seller has done it for you already. If he has, snap it up.
Have fun.
....each boat design is intended to excell in one area so what you must do is nail down the most important job intended for your new boat and then shop accodingly. Will you be spending lots of time in rivers or on the flats or travering intercostal waterways or blue water, etc. After you pick this first condition then list the most desirable charactoristics for this type of boating.......naw, forget all that,just pick your boating intent then post a thread and ask forum members what is the best boat design for this kind of boating.
