Looking at Buying Our First Boat (1996 Carver 320)

N

Netsurfr

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33252
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Hello everyone. New to the forum here. My wife & I are looking into buying our first boat so we're newbies at this. I have sailing & boating experience but not as an owner. We came across a 1996 Carver 320 Voyager that's being sold by someone we know and we like the overall style of the boat. We're mainly looking for a family boat where we can go spend time over the weekends at & go on short cruises around Lake Michigan and also get into fishing.

So anyhow the Carver we're looking at is being sold for $29K so as far as we can tell well below asking price of other 1996 voyager 320s. I had the boat surveyed and a couple of things came up that worry me. The survey was just completed today so I don't have the final report but the surveyer said the boat is in better than average condition (in terms of care and maintenance) compared to boats of similar age BUT it wasn't meticulously maintained. We'd be looking at replacing the carpeting, upholstery, blinds and some other issues. The bigger concern is that the inspector pointed out that at some point the boat must have been hit while docking or something because there was some fracture cracks on the port side of the hull fiberglass. He said there were no signs of delamination? or moisture so it could very well be just a gelcoat crack but he can't guarantee it. Additionally sa very small hair line crack was found under the boat by one of the shafts. Again he said it could be superficial but needs to further inspected by a fiber glass person. Lastly there was some sign of moisture in one of the corners of the cockpit due to some small hairline cracks in the fiberglass and water will find it way in there. He said it's normal for a 17 year boat to experience these types of cracks/water issue.

So what I'm hoping to get some feedback on is weather or not this is common and nothing to panic about and walk away from the boat on or if it is in fact too much of a risk to move forward with. The owner was agreeable to get a fiberglass person to come in and take a look at the bottom & side issues and seems to be willing to adjust the price even further if an issue is identified but I'm now worried if this is a sign of bad things to come w/ this boat.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
 
I really wouldn't worry much about those items but I'd definitely get them checked out. Small stress cracks are pretty common in gelcoat, just need to make sure that it doesn't go through the fiberglass.
 
I would agree. Have a fiberglass expert come down and give his/her opinion and if it is something more serious, what it would cost to fix. Then you have more information to work with to make your decision.
 
Thanks for the reply. Makes me feel better. I did some internet searches on boat fiberglass cracks and see now that those cracks are normal and as long as they are in the gelcoat not a big deal so we'll see what the fiberglass person finds when he looks at the them.

Now my main question/concern is regarding the moisture the survey found in one of the corners of the cockpit. He explained that theres cork under the deck and that because of screws/small cracks that water seeps in and the cork starts getting wet & rott. There was some softness as you stood in the corner he found moisture in but not a lot. He didn't seemed too concerned but said it's something that is probably more expensive to repair than what the boat is actually worth. Any thoughts from you Carver owners on this? Thanks!
 
i have a 1996 voyager 320. i could be wrong, but i don't believe there is cork under the cockpit sole. where is the boat located? i ask because i had one surveyed in southern nj that i passed on and would encourage others to pass on as well.

btw, i had mine shipped cross country from the san juan islands (off the coast of washington state) to nj (and then sailed her home to long island). even though the boat was the furthest from my home, it turned out to be the cheapest, even including shipping. it also surveyed extremely well, or i wouldn't have bought it. the point is, you don't necessarily have to restrict your search to a boat close to home.

if you have other questions about this model, let me know.
 
This 320 is in WI so doesn't sound like the same one. Just got off the phone w/ the surveyor and there is a laundry list of items some considered high priority concerns that he said should be addressed by the seller. Some other that are medium concerns that should be monitored by the potential new owner to ensure they don't become problems down the road. Given some of these items I wouldn't say it surveyed extremely well BUT then again I'm new to buying boats so not sure if all these issues are to be expected in a 17 year old boat. It's making our decision a tough one now!
 
You are doing the right thing asking for experience. Unfortunately we cant see the boat but your surveyor should have a lot of experience. Ask him straight up if he thinks you should buy that boat or keep looking.
 
Where are you located and where is the boat located? I'm in Milwaukee. I am not a surveyor, nor in the market for a boat, but could look at it if it was nearby...
 
Your surveyor will help place a value on the boat in its present state. Whether the seller makes the fixes, reduces the price because of issues not fixed, or simply says "that's the price, take it or leave it" is up to him. Then it's your move. Bottom line is you'll know what you're getting into. As far as issues are concerned, there are always issues, even on new boats, and especially on older ones. That said, i'd stay away from any issues that were major.
 
Instead of cork...maybe he said core? Balsa is the most common material used as a core because of its light weight. If its in the actual flooring of the cockpit deck, I'd definately get a glass man's opinion and cost to make it right. The crack in the hull would be a big concern-Carver doesn't have coring in the hull below the waterline but delamination and water absorption should be investigated thoroughly. Don't be afraid of walking away from a $29K mistake-it is still a buyers market out there.
 
This thread made me smile because our boat was in generally very good condition when we bought it, structure and engines were solid and still are, runs very well -- but even in generally good shape, my ongoing to-do list is now 104 items long. Okay, maybe I'm a little fussier than the average guy, but such is the life of a boat owner. Still, when we were shopping for our current boat (and of course we're shopping again now) we were willing to put up with a lot of minor issues and dirt and junk, but not soft decks. Even if you had the money to get it ripped out and repaired, who needs the hassle and loss of boat use when there are dozens of others out there with nice solid dry decks. I figure you're going to have enough maintenance to do on a perfectly good boat than to roll the dice on a soft, wet spot in the cockpit.
 
Well thanks everyone for your tips/help/advice. As it turned out the surveyor found too many major (at least for my wife & I) issues so we passed on this one. Yes they all could have been investigated/fixed but for our first boat we are looking for something that's more ready to go if you will. The money spent on the survey was SO worth it though. I learned a lot more of what to look for and think about and will certainly get a survey for the next boat we're looking at.
 
Ok, reading this thread has me a little nervous now after reading about soft decks, and rot.

Our 325AC '96 came with the fender rack option on the swim platform, not the dock box option which was inconvenient, so I mounted a dock box on there. I drilled 4 holes into the swim platform where I mounted the dock box, and used LOTS of 3M 5200 sealant around the bolts at the deck level [under the box], raised the box by about 4 big washers [about 1/4"] to allow water flow underneath and 5200'ded both above the washers and inside the dock box under the washers and bolt heads. As you can tell I was really paranoid about water seepage and the possibility of rotting my swim platform.

Can anyone think of any errors possible with doing it this way? I've also moved carpet snaps and sealed the old holes with 5200 and it seems to have always been ok.

Thanks, Tom.
 
If you didn't seal the holes with epoxy(oversized the hole and fill with epoxy then drill the proper sized hole), you may want to reconsider doing that. There is too much vibration, flexing and water to keep water from the hole drilled in a swim platform. I had a '86 Mariner with a propane tank locker on the swim platform. Carver did not feel in necessary to seal the bolt holes when they drilled thru the platform to mount the locker. Guess what? I had to even re-do the support bracket thru-bolts through the platform. Do it now...and save yourself lots of trouble down the road. Just my 2 cents.
 
Thanks for the advice, and I'll act on it. Please correct me if I'm wrong at any stage, but here's what I think I'll need to do: remove dock box 4 large wood screw bolts in the platform. remove dock box. check holes for soft wood/rot. if ok, drill perhaps 1" holes to a depth of perhaps 2". clean out. epoxy entire hole, to be flush with platform. let dry thoroughly. place dock box on and drill appropriate size hole into epoxy for large stainless wood screws. remove dock box. 5200 around holes. put dock box back and screw down.
 
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