Opinion needed on a Carver 370 aft cabin

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PJ

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We are going to look at a 370 aft cabin Carver.
It has cummins 300 hp engines. My thought is that it is underpowerd, Just my thought. Would like an opinion on the 370 powered with cummins 300 hp and the 370 itself.
We want just a bit more room than we have on our 30 but want a boat that is easy to handle.
 
PJ, we owned a 350 for several yrs, but gas. I liked the boat, and the only real problem we had was boarding. It had a ladder from swim plat. and all around here are fixed docks. A 3 step dock step did solve it. Don't know the helm layout, but I did enjoy having others sit in front of me, so I didn't have to turn around to talk.
A friend of mine has a 43 Silverton, with those Cummins, and they have treated him well. We have 450's, and he seems a litttle underpowered. They are reliable with good service most ports of call. There are times I wish I had those for ER space. He has good access all around, and I'm pushed right out against our fuel tanks.
 
Dusty thanks for the good information
I like the fixed docks in Flordia with my 30 carver it seems that the dock is the same height as that port/starbord entry. We have floating docks here in Charleston and a three step works well if you are careful, with out the steps it is a leap of faith. We will look at entry very closely when we look at the boat. They have offered a quick run with the boat think I will take them up on that. The Helm has the seat in front so that is the same set up. I like that for my wife when she is NAGAVATING.

Thanks again
 
It is not underpowered. The cummins diesels are the only reason i bought mine. I have a 1990 3608 which is the exact same boat.It was renamed the 370 in 91.I to took out a couple that were gas powered and was disappointed. The diesels are excellent motors and will cruise the boat at 20 mph all day long. Top speed is 26mph. I have just over 1600hrs on them and they run great. I would not even consider any boat over 20000lbs with out going diesel. As for the rest of the boat now issues come to mind. Lots of room for 36ft.
 
Toranto thanks for the info. It was to cold in Flordia to take it out I will do that another time. Think I will make an offer on the boat. I want to take time and look at my punch list and then go down again and take it out and check out the handling and power and then will make the offer.
My wife likes the room and I like the engine access. If I do get it then I will be a two boat onwer for a while until my 30 sells
 
The room is fantastic...comparable to a present day 40 + footer. You'll also appreciate the deep vee hull for cutting through waves...it really rides quite nicely.
 
The only other piece of advice i can offer at this time is. When you go for your sea trial make sure the engines will top out at at least 2850 rpm full out,should be about 26mph. That way you will now the boat is not over propped. The Cummins 6BTA5.9 ,s are excellent simple motors,but very prone to failure if overloaded. Make sure it will reach max RPM. I cruise mine at 2400Rpm max which will give you about 20mph.One other thing these engines smoke alot when cold. I pretty much eliminated that issue by installing a 750 watt block heater on each one and setting them on a timer to cycle on and off every few hours. No more smoke and one crank starts. Good luck.
 
Toronto thanks again very good info. I discused the RPM subject with the broker it is an area that I will pay close attention.

Kenny thanks for your take on the boat. The hardest part of this is going to be putting my current 30 on the market. My wife and I spent Friday night on the boat talking about all of our adventures and mis-adventures on the boat.
 
Just thought of one other thing i forgot to mention.Do not idle these engines to warm them up because they won,t. They do not run like gas engines. Start them up and leave the dock. In the couple of minutes it takes you to disconnect shore power and fresh water and mooring lines is plenty of idle time. You will notice that they won,t warm up as you idle out of the marina. Diesels warm up under load not idleing.They actually run cold at idle. When clear off the marina run up to about 1500 rpm,now is when you wait. Watch the temp gauges until they come up to 180 degrees. Then you can bring up rpm to cruise speed around 2400rpm You will notice when you return and come back down to idle the temp gauges will drop as much as 10 degrees. Any other question feel free to ask.
 
The hardest part of this is going to be putting my current 30 on the market. My wife and I spent Friday night on the boat talking about all of our adventures and mis-adventures on the boat.
I felt the same way about my last boat. I have only had my current boat 1 1/2 years and I already have plenty of new great memories. I got very lucky and sold my last boat in three days for my asking price, You don't want to get stuck with two boats it's a tough market to sell get it on the market ASAP!
As for your choice of new boats I came close to buying a couple of them real nice boats and lots of room. Enjoy the process best of luck.
 
Martin thanks again yes running diesels is totally new for me any thoughts will great be appreciated.
Dave you logic is so correct I am getting the data ready to list the boat now. I will have it done next week Did you use a broker? I am thinking of not using a broker and pay a broker a closing fee to handle the paper work when it sells.
 
370 I will have many questions. The inside has been redone and we want to change it back to the original so we may request pictures of items on the inside. I am going to make the offer tomorrow we will see what happens.
 
I have owned my boat since brand new, I know it inside and out very well. Consider me an open book!
 
Mine is Gas. I never felt the need to have any more power and for the amount of hours I put on the boat 680 since brand new, the cost was not justified. I actually found out I cruise faster with the gas motors than the diesels.

My boat cruises at 3300 rpm 22/23 MPH. At this speed I have figured it gets around .8 mpg. With the diesels in the boat I ran the speed was less, my gas version hits 34 mph consistantly fully loaded with people and all the gear I have on board and the boat jumps on plane.

Just about the only time I wish I had diesels is in a following sea, which on Lake Michigan is a very close together chop. The extra torque would be nice then.

I could go on for days about how the boat runs, but I'll stop!

This boat in a head sea is the nicest riding Carver I have ever run, and I can honestly say I have run about 99% of the Carver lineup at one point or another. The only boat that comes close is the 440/445 MY.

Hopefully there will be another 370 owner on board soon!
 
Its interesting that you should say that.I found the gas engines cruised slower than the diesels. Maybe different props,who knows. My boat is hull # 18 and the first one made with the Cummins Diesels. My boat was originally out of Fort Lauderdale Fla. It was bought new and stayed there 3 years. I am the third owner.I bought the boat from its second owner who brought it up to Marquette Mich. And
I brought it down to Toronto.I have had the boat for 6 years. As i said before the main reason I bought the boat was for the diesels. But to each is own. Glad you enjoy yours. I love mine I have been on many bigger boats that have alot less room.
 
I have been told mine is a freak, and I would believe it. I ran another 370 with gas motors and it was a little slower both cruise and top end. Mine has always been fast to my standards from the point of view of running other Carver MY's.

I feel like if the boat were to have diesels it would need at least 370 Cummins or larger for me to justify the cost (new for new of course). I have a ton of pictures of mine, actually my 370 was the 1994 brochure boat for the interior and hull #1 with the Maple interior. Kinda cool to see your boat in the catalog. I bought mine from the 1994 Chicago Boat Show!
 
Very neat. Because mine was the first diesel a few things had to be changed afterward. Carver did not count on the added weight,and the stripping ended up below the waterline.So that had to be redone also the air intakes on the sides of the hull were enlarged and changed to a grill style to supply the diesels with the higher intake requirements.Did they put mufflers on the gas version? I have 5" exhaust hose coming off the turbos straight down the sides to the stern about 15 ft of hose alone. Makes it a little on the noisy side.My last boat was a Carver 32 Montego With 454,s and it sounded like a cigarette boat very noisy. It also weighed 10 000 lbs less but used more fuel. I also have the grey leather? Vinyl? interior but the wood trim is more teak coloured. I looked at the same boat in the 38ft version but did not like it as much. Only access to the helm from one side,fridge sticking out facing the stairs,and cupboard style galley just to name a few things.
 
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