1986 32' Carver Mariner

M

MAXUM27

Member
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
RO Number
19938
Messages
246
Looking for owners ... I have a guy willing to trade my boat for a 1986 32' Carver Mariner with twin Mercruiser 350's. Was wondering if there are any specific issues with this boat and some things I should look out for
 
I have an 1987 32 Mariner with the Merc 350's. A few issues that I have run into was water coming in the side windows around the frame due to screws backing out of frame. I was able to caulk the seam on the frame and screw back in to solve water entering inside cabin. Limited access to work on engines on outside with provided hatches. Work around is that I remove screws in deck and raise/tilt floor up that provides access to all. Usually adds 30 minutes to spring or fall engine work. Shower stall might be small for some but I find the seperate shower in a 32 a great feature.
 
I've got the '86 Mariner with small block crusaders. For a 22 yr old boat, its in pretty good shape for being in salt water most of its life. Great boat for entertaining and crusing and pretty ecomoical to run. My boat burns an average of about 15-17 gal/hr when you figure in a moderate amount of hull speed travel through no wake zones. The '86 was the only year Carver put a keel on the hull. 87 and later Mariners have a flat hull. I was planning on asking this forum if anyone knew the reason for the hull change but was going to include some pics so folks could see the differnce. Take it for a spin and have a survey done but IMHO its a great boat! If you have any other questions, I'd be happy to try and answer them.
 
The 3297 Mariner hull mould was purchased from the then defunct Pacemaker with keel intact. Carver did testing on the boat and found that, because the boat sits so deep in the water, that the keel was not needed. I've run both hulls at the dealership/marina I work at, and I've noticed no difference in slow speed handling at all. I would not let Keel or no keel be a factor in purchasing one of these boats. It is a great boat with a very dry running hull, aside from it's love it or hate it looks. I remember one of our customers said just before signing for it..."Damn, that's ugly....where do I sign" I laughed and brought out the paperwork.
 
Thanks for the Input. Right now I have a 1990 Maxum Express Cruiser with a Merc 7.4 and It Inhales gas also its way to small to entertain and/or live on so I found a guy who is willing to trade me his 86 Carver Mariner 32 with Full electronics and twin Merc 350's for my boat I just wanted to know if any quirks with it so when I go to look at it I can tell if he took care of it or not. Of course if we agree upon it then I will have it surveyed to ensure its a decent boat. Also trying to get a feel of how satisfied people are with it.
 
I agree they are Ugly but looking at the space they provide and the Amenities for a 32 I get a little gitty when I see it .. and if its costing me nothing but a survey and a haul then it makes it twice as nice. thanks for the input just crossing my fingers that all goes accordingly.
 
I mostly am on the hook and all parties are on the bridge for two reasons, the space is tremendous and full view around whole boat as opposed to sitting on back deck. The frig is a great size for staying out a few days. My surveyer had mentioned that some Mariners had delamination (around bow rail stanchions and swim platform) issues and some blistering you might keep an eye out for that. IMHO great boat for space, amenities, engine efficiencies. Good luck!
 
I find the keel is invaluable as it protects the props. Where I boat, there is a lot of skinny water and I have more than once discovered uncharted sandbars. I am certain that a keeless Mariners would have left me with damaged props. With regards to delamination, Timeoff's comment reminded me that the swim platform is soft where the support bracket bolts to the outside edge of the platform. Also, my boat came from the factory with a propane stove and where the propane locker bolts onto the swim platform, I discovered that Carver in their infinte wisdom, neglected to seal the vent hole they drilled thru the platform and the coring is quite rotted. I did some temporary fortification but will eventually have to deal with soft coring in several areas of the platform.
 
"The 3297 Mariner hull mould was purchased from the then defunct Pacemaker with keel intact..."

Now there's an interesting bit of trivia that I did not know! So is this the same hull that Pace used on its 32 flybridges over the years? When was this hull actually designed??? I always wondered why it looked so much different from the usual hulls designed by Carver, with that very sharp, deep bow and rather bulbous sections foreward of amidships. Plus that hull is nearly flat at the keel - all those Carvers were modified Vs but the 3297/3257 was much more extreme...

One thing Carver got right - Pacemaker used to have TERRIBLE problems with gel coat cracking all over their hulls - most of my friends who own them bemoan the fact that their boats are a mess. That's one problem I've never seen on a 32 Mariner...

Ram, perhaps you can shed light on/put the kibosh to some rumors I heard about these 32s over the years, relating to how they must be pulled from the water and laid up for winter. People I've talked to (mechanics who should know better) say that those boats requre careful handling and blocking in order to distribute the weight properly or they can be damaged while on land for the winter. Now I suppose that's true for any boat, and I know it is true for my older Carvers with the cored hulls, but is there any particular issue with the 3297/3257 that required extraordinary care???
 
Yes Pete... If you block the keel too far back in front, damage can occur. We had a new yard guy block one a few years ago, and the front block went right thru the hull...it was placed on a flatter section of the hull. We had this happen this year to a 2002 Maxum 3300SCR, aparently there was a problem in the manufacture of the boat, and they are covering the repair under warranty. As far as time period of design, I believe that 32 Pacemaker came out in the mid 1970's, so that hull design lasted approximatley 20 years. I'm told that the current 350/36 Mariner have a modified version of the 3297/3257 hull, so that extends it even further. However, 2008 may well be the last year for it.
 
Wow! Neat history on the 3297 origins. I didn't realize that there was any real correlation to the 350/36 - it seems like a so much larger boat despite the similar design cues to the older model. Do you surmise that 2008 is the end of the Mariner, or is a replacement in the works???
 
Overpriced for year and hours on motors. Nice layout but you can do better if you look around a bit.
Jim
 
quote:
Originally posted by 32carv

Overpriced for year and hours on motors. Nice layout but you can do better if you look around a bit.
Jim

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I was thinking the same thing - thanks. Thing is it is right down the street from me. What do you think the right price is - assuming all is in good shape.
 
Somewhere between $15k to $20 would be a fair price depending on mechanics and moisture issues.
Jim
 
I owned an '86 Mariner for 10 years. The stringers have no wood...the only soft spots I encountered were in the swim platform which have balsa coring. On an old boat, you probably will need to pay cash-most banks won't finance a boat that old. It's a great boat and I enjoyed the hell out of it. The only downside was the stateroom-having to climb over my better half to get in and out of the bed got old. The Admiral said to get a bigger boat with an island berth-gawd I love her...moved up to a 38 Santego with an island stateroom-lots more gas money needed....but thats what goes with going to big blocks. You are choosing a really nice boat-good luck with whatever decision you make!
 
quote:
Originally posted by cmariner32

I owned an '86 Mariner for 10 years. The stringers have no wood...the only soft spots I encountered were in the swim platform which have balsa coring. On an old boat, you probably will need to pay cash-most banks won't finance a boat that old. It's a great boat and I enjoyed the hell out of it. The only downside was the stateroom-having to climb over my better half to get in and out of the bed got old. The Admiral said to get a bigger boat with an island berth-gawd I love her...moved up to a 38 Santego with an island stateroom-lots more gas money needed....but thats what goes with going to big blocks. You are choosing a really nice boat-good luck with whatever decision you make! As I re-read this OP...is this really a thread from 2008???? WTF?

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Thanks everyone. I am going to take a look at her this weekend and if she checks out well - and my mechanic gives me the thumbs up .. I'll offer $15-20 .. I really appreciate the help! I do like the layout of these and - according to my wife - we will be getting one.
 
Good luck! Offer what you think is fair, they can take it or leave it. Plenty of similar boats out there if you like the layout. My memory is it is a very comfortable layout inside and roomy outside.
Jim
 
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