I recently looked at a 1999 326 Aft Cabin and got a piece of info from the broker that I'm curious about. The seller told the broker the last time he had the boat out, he could only get the engines up to 3100 at WOT. I'm assuming cruise range should be around there (or maybe a little higher). The boat is due for bottom cleaning, but aside from a dirty bottom, what could be causing that? Are there any sites w/ reference material for these boats? The Carver site had some brochures and specs for older models, but not a ton of info.
Thanks.
Steve

Bud37
And everyone
I noticed on your ytd cost estimate on boat expenditures you had $451 down for insurance for a year. HOW?

I own a captive insurance agency, captive meaning one of the major companies and independent meaning all the small companies and the online internet companies.

So as an agency owner I got quotes from $300 a month.
$3600 a year from a major player for $300,000 in liability coverage to $137 a month for a $500,000 in liability coverage. Big difference compared to your $451 a year you mentioned.
Naturally, I choose the latter and one other small bit of info I learned.
Our options are for stated replacement cost value or actual cash value on the hull. It was almost a $1000 difference between the two options.
However, my requested stated price was the same as there determined ACV. So why pay more for the same amount when I am going to work the claims adjuster in either situation. Naturally I will keep checking the values yearly because of my career.

I am not endorsing anyone by any means as I just took this insurance out, but I went with Boats US underwritten by Geico. Still I am at $1600-$1700 yearly on a landlocked lake for a 98 405.

Just wondering what everyone is paying because we are all here trying to save each other money and time.

Thanks to everyone for your responses

I am repeating myself a little since folks may read this post without having read my one from yesterday: "We looked at a 1999 326 Aft Cabin today (the first Carver we've looked at) and liked it very much.". One issue we noticed is that the aft cabin has a musty/mildew smell and it looks like some water has leaked in around the port lights in the aft cabin - especially on the starboard side. There is a narrow shelf under the window/portlight and it has some mildew on it. The vinyl wall covering below the shelf also seems to have some staining. I've read a number of prior posts here about replacing portlights. Is that usually the only solution or can they be removed, and fresh caulk/sealant placed under them and re-installed? Also, any suggestions for products to clean the mildew from the vinyl. Do you think a good cleaning and shampooing the carpet should largely get rid of the musty/mildew smell? I don't think the current owner of this boat is going to clean it up, so if we make an offer on this boat it will be a gamble that we can get rid of the odor.
Thanks.
Steve

Anyone know of the best way to pump out the holding tank in a 350 Mariner? It is located all the way on the top port side of bow and the tank is a good 8 ft lower. When you pump it out normally, it seems to be very VERY slow as the pump out station labors to lift it also probably not allowing it to ever get all of it out. If you own or have owned a 350 Mariner of that late 90s vintage, I'd like to hear your opinion.

This will sound like a strange question but I will describe as best I can. My 98 350 Mariner is new to me and in great shape w 500 hours but it is my first "taller" boat. When I pilot it, I can't but feel a little unstable when in the cockpit. I feel like I get pushed around by 2-3 ft waves and the boat feels somewhat slimy and unresponsive. It may be just me getting used to it but was curious if this is normal or if anyone has any advice...maybe I am being too tentative with it and running at too low of an RPM (it feels this way more pronounced at 2000-3000 RPMs)

Hello, I recently had a problem where both of my fuel tank vents on the outside of the hull were completed plugged up (spider mess and dirt). I would see this happening again and again as it is just an open hole to a rubber hose to the fuel tank. Does anyone know if there is a way to cover or tape off the outside opening? I suspect that could cause an issue with fuel vapors not being able to escape. Not sure if it's just one of those things you need to clean out from time to time or if there is a better "proactive" way to deal with it...Thanks!

Hi, I have a 98 350 Mariner and cannot locate the "mid" bilge. Anyone know specifically where it is and how to access it? Owner's Manual says "located between Salon and Cockpit" which is not helpful. I pulled all the access panels and no luck finding it. 2nd question, mine doesn't seem to come on other than manual which I suspect is a float issue but there always seems to be a couple gallons that come out when I run it. Thanks!!

Just joined...hello!

'06 41 CMY Gas Volvo Penta 8.1s with a Kohler 7.3 ECD-CB generator. Last fall when we purchased the boat there was an issue with the generator. During the repair, the technician told me that the raw water from the heat exchanger exits the boat through a hull fitting in the bottom of the boat because there was no water coming from the generator exhaust on the port side of the boat.

This season I am having issues with the generator restarting after it has been running for say an hour or so. Last weekend I ran the generator for more than six hours straight with no issues. Note, that the generator starts immediately on the first start. If I initiate a shutdown (not an auto-shutdown of the generator) the generator will not restart unless it sets for some time. The error code I get on the restart is UU (Under Voltage) which I do not believe to be accurate. Yesterday as I was continuing to diagnose the issue, water started coming from the generator exhaust on the port side of the boat for the very first time since we purchased the boat. This led me to believe that up until yesterday, the thermostat may have been stuck hence the generator temperature was too high for a restart.

My question is, on the Kohler 7.3 ECD-CB on an '06 41 CMY, does water from the heat exchanger exit the boat through the bottom or through the exhaust on the port side of the boat?

Thank you for your help!

I should have taken pics of the model and the solenoids, but it was late, and hotter than hell up there.

I have power to the helm switch, and power is getting to the windless, but the solenoid switches located near the windless seem to be bad. There is a fusible link that has some corrosion in it (that I will replace), but the fuse is good, I cleaned it off and added some dielectrict grease to it and power seems to be getting past it. The solenoids are located inside a plastic, sealed box with the brand name of the windless on it. Do I have to buy that same plastic box and solenoids, or is it safe to install loose solenoids and wire them separate? Windless motor engages when I give it power.

I thought the brand started with an S (sea star possibly), but should have taken a pic. I'll have one this evening.