1993-1997 280 Sedan Bridge with A/C - Any Owners?

J

JoLin

Member
Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2009
RO Number
31399
Messages
368
I'm in contract to buy a 1992, 26 Command Bridge in the spring. That model was renamed the 280 Sedan in 1993, but was otherwise unchanged, EXCEPT that A/C became an option.

Looking for any owners whose boat is equipped with the A/C package.

I've searched online and written to Carver (no response). Trying to determine where the major components were installed, how ductwork was run, and the BTU capacity of the unit installed at the factory.

Any help greatly appreciated.
 
Well...with over 60 people viewing this without a response, I'll chime in with my thoughts. To my knowledge, which is somewhat limited in that I have owned only 3 Carvers in the last 20 years.....I never heard of a Carver Command Bridge. Most Carvers have a model name live Santego, Rivera, Mariner, Montego....etc. My admittedly limited knowledge of Carver boats does not recall a 26 foot boat referred to as a command bridge. Ramsport should be checking in soon as he is our Carver know-it-all and hopefully be able to provide some actual knowledge to your question. If you would provide a better description of the actual model, you might get some better answers than what I am providing.
 
The 28 Command Bridge in 91 and 92 replaced the old 28 Mariner/Voyager. The 26 Command Bridge was a smaller version.

While I am not familiar with AC placement, I would imagine it to be either under the dinette or in the V-Berth, similar to the 28 Mariner/Voyager.
 
quote:
Originally posted by eric_b

The 28 Command Bridge in 91 and 92 replaced the old 28 Mariner/Voyager. The 26 Command Bridge was a smaller version.

While I am not familiar with AC placement, I would imagine it to be either under the dinette or in the V-Berth, similar to the 28 Mariner/Voyager.

Click to expand...


The OP is correct. The '91 - '92 26 Sedan/Command Bridge is the exact same dimensions and spec's as the '93 280 Sedan/Command Bridge. The only one I have seen with an A/C was an after-market unit mounted under the dinette seat.

Bob
 
The 26 Command Bridge (actual model name) was a boat built on the 2557 Montego hull. It was later called the 280 Command Bridge (when the 12'10" bean 28 Command Bridge turned in to the 300 Command Bridge) about the same time the 25 Montego turned in to the 280 Express. We sold one in it's production run, but it didn't have AC, and it had a single big block Volvo DP...very tippy boat! I understand the twin powered ones were much more stable. I am going to suggest either under the fwd bed or under one of the dinette seats as the unit mounting location (fwd bed would be better for balance) and the ductwork would most likely run down the port side of the boat.
 
Thanks, Bob and Kenney.

Two obvious choices, at least for accessibility, would be the under a dinette seat or under the starboard side sofa. Hoping that Carver didn't put it under the v-berth. If they did I'd redesign it anyway. I don't have ready access to the boat so it's hard to see what's viable and what isn't right now. Placement of the main unit is really the least of it, as there appear to be several places it can be tucked into the boat. I'm a lot more interested in how and where the ducting was run, and where the output registers were placed.

In all the google pictures, Carver brochures and seller ads I've searched (been at it for a couple weeks), I have yet to see a single picture that gives me any idea of where the components were located.
 
Kenny, does a Carver owner's manual provide schematics of the major installed systems and options, like A/C, electrics and plumbing? My Four Winns manual has all that info. If Carver has the same it might be worth ordering one for one of the later (280) models.

Are there any other sources for those manuals, besides ordering from a Carver dealer?

I did learn from the 1996 specs that Carver was installing a 12K BTU Marine Air unit. That's something, at least.
 
The way I look at this is...doesn't really matter where the factory put it during the building phase, what matters is where you can put it after the boat is built. The two aren't always the same.
When I bought my current boat, I knew the first thing I was going to do was install an AC unit. I brought my AC guy on board and we discussed the different options that was available to us and we picked The one that worked best for me, which just happened to be the easiest and least costly installation, which never would have been done that way at the factory. Never in the conversation did we discuss where the factory may have installed it.
 
It's a good point, cwms. No argument. I do need to be able to do most of the work myself, though. Knowing where the factory put things (particularly where they ran the ductwork) might pay some dividends, whether or not I actually copy their install. Hard to say since the boat isn't in front of me. Could be that the solution will be self-evident once I'm able to crawl around it.

A lot of the reason that I stated this thread was to solicit feedback, too. Does the factory install work well? Are the output registers placed in the right spots? Is there enough cooling capacity? Doesn't look like I'm going to get anything here, though. That's a little surprising. The boat had a pretty long production run. Except for the nameplate, it was unchanged for 8 years. Carver musta sold a few of them, or they would've canned it...

Finally, it's a long winter. I might as well spend some time doing research :-)
 
My 2757 Montego had passages made through bulkheads where they would have run ductwork when building the boat. I was able to use it. Hopefully, they kept doing things like that into the 1990's so your installation will be as easy as mine was. It took me 7 hours, start to finish, with running to the store 3 or 4 times in between.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top