On Sat, 27 Sep 2008 07:27:22 -0600, "TJF"
wrote:

Looking at purchasjng a 26 foot 1984 Carver Santa Cruz. Love everything so
far. Has some minor electrical issues but nothing serious. Comes with a
mercruiser 260 (chevy 350). My question is what do you all know about the
Carver itself? Any specific issues on this model I need to look out for?
From what I see it looks like it can handle any type of sea conditions up to
6-7 foot waves....maybe more. A friend had a 32' Carver and he called it the
condo on the water. He said that Carvers are famous for using every bit of
space and having great layouts. I have to say that this boat is perfect for
the wife and I to cruise, camp and fish.

Just looking for your opinions.


A 1984 Carver is approaching the end of its useful life. Both boat
and engine need to be surveyed *very* carefully by an expert. It will
surely have some hidden problems with something like the hull,
stringers, transom, bulkheads, electrical system, etc., and it's easy
to end up in a negative value position with a boat of that type and
age. If you can afford to run it for a few years and throw it away
it might be a good deal.

If you ever end up in 6 to 7 ft waves, you will wish you were
somewhere else very quickly. Anything over 2 or 3 ft will get slow,
wet and uncomfortable. In addition, that boat is significantly under
powered with a Mercruiser 260. There's a good chance the engine has
been run hard as a result.