New to big boats and eager to learn!

[TwiceLucky]

Hello everyone!

It’s always exciting to meet new people, to hear about their experiences and to gain knowledge from those who have learned from the school of life.
I have a 1983 3207 32’ with the Crusader 270s. She needs some work, and I’ve only had her in the water in my dreams. However, I’ve started to clean her up and I’m looking forward to the challenge of bringing her back to her former glory. I had her delivered last fall (2023) and have been searching since day one trying to find manuals.

I need to order parts and am hoping that I can get recommendations for companies that have proven reliable to other boat owners. For in person pickup, I hope to find someplace in SE Minnesota or Northern Iowa or Wisconsin.

One of the engines is intact, however, the other one is only partially reassembled after a professional (according to the previous owner) rebuild from when the previous owner had her.

She has sat on stands for a few years (somewhere between 5 and 7) which means I must learn about and go through everything. This is my first "big" boat. Any help, manuals, brochures, general advice, recommendations, parts suppliers’ names/locations, individual experiences regarding this model boat, and so on would be very much appreciated.

Either she hit something or something hit her. She has some damage along the port side near the stern just under the gunwale which cracked the hull and completely broke one port window and damaged another. Also, some of the rail pieces are missing (not related to the accident).

As far as parts go, I know already that I need – port windows, deck rails, all new seats/cushions/mattresses, or the reupholstering of all of them, carpet and/or wood flooring, and an anchor windlass and more.

I am very much looking forward to becoming an active member of the boating community and I thank you in advance for any help you may provide.

 

[Moonfish]

Welcome aboard!

Sounds like you are embarking on a project that will lead to adventure. Sounds pretty good to me! Looking forward to hearing about your progress. Good luck!

 

[TwiceLucky]

It's nice to meet you Moonfish. Thanks for the welcome.

 

[Comodave]

Welcome aboard. Did I miss the brand of boat in the post?

 

[TwiceLucky]

Thank you Comodave.

It's a 1983 Carver Aft Cabin model 3207.

 

[Iggy]

Welcome!!

Being from Boston, I hope someone here can give you a name of a good mechanic.

As to advice. If it was me, I would first go though the engines. That could be your biggest expense. good luck!

 

[TwiceLucky]

Thanks Iggy.

Hopefully, I can get someone to look at her this summer.

 

[TwiceLucky]

I'd like your opinion on something please. I was guided to this forum when I was doing a search for information on Carvers. I didn't realize until just now that the name of the forum was referring to a particular type of boat... duh, silly me.
I don't want to impose on anyone, and after reading several posts, I feel like I may be in the wrong place. Everyone has been genuinely nice, and I have read many interesting posts, however, I hope that nobody resents me being here because I don't truly have a trawler.
I would understand if it were suggested that I go to a Carver forum instead (I am a member of a Carver forum, however, I'm trying to interact with as many boaters as possible to learn as much as I can). What do you think?

 

[Iggy]

I'd like your opinion on something please. I was guided to this forum when I was doing a search for information on Carvers. I didn't realize until just now that the name of the forum was referring to a particular type of boat... duh, silly me.
I don't want to impose on anyone, and after reading several posts, I feel like I may be in the wrong place. Everyone has been genuinely nice, and I have read many interesting posts, however, I hope that nobody resents me being here because I don't truly have a trawler.
I would understand if it were suggested that I go to a Carver forum instead (I am a member of a Carver forum, however, I'm trying to interact with as many boaters as possible to learn as much as I can). What do you think?

I have never owned a Carver. But I have heard many boaters say that they are not good in rough weather.

Personally, my current trawler was the first boat I ever owned that is a diesel. I would never go back to a gasoline engine for so many reasons. But thats me...........

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Welcome aboard. Not to dissuade you from TF membership, you may get more pertinent information from: https://www.carveryachtowners.com/index.php


Sounds like you have a big job ahead of you and I fully understand your enthusiasm BUT, restoration of ANY boat can quickly become a money pit where you're pouring money into a project that, in the end, can cost you much more than taking those $$ and putting it into a boat that needs less work.


Did a very quick search or YW (https://www.yachtworld.com/) and of the few listed there, prices run from $11K to $50K the latter having had a $100K refit (supposedly). THAT owner is seriously upside down and will never see $50K of his "investment". Hahaha. Sorry. Boats are NOT a good "investment" as one very seldom gets any $$ put into it back.


I don't mean to poop on your plans but be prepared to spend $$. Engine work might easily run you $5K+. Repair of the hull damage...Another $5K+. Upholstery, no idea but not cheap from a good shop. Refurbishment of systems that have sat for 5-7 years???? If you don't have your own warm dry place to work on her you will be paying marina fees also.



Wonderful project IF you're looking for something to do but MY opinion is if you want to go boating, look for a boat in better shape.

 

[Bacchus]

Welcome aboard TF.
I've iwned a Carver and would advise that a Carver manual will have very little info on specific equip or systems. Best way is to poke around and list each piece of equip, mfg, model # and start searching for manuals on the Inet.
The TF Library has some manuals if you have same or similar equip.
Requesting help with specific pieces of equip w/pics is more likely to obtain hits.
I have posted many manuals in the Library but have held back those with Copyrights... happy to share them via email if I have something useful in my files.

Good luck with the project

 

[Circumnavigator]

Either she hit something or something hit her. She has some damage along the port side near the stern just under the gunwale which cracked the hull and completely broke one port window and damaged another.

Welcome aboard -- although we're mostly Trawler people, we're happy to offer advice to anyone, some of which is great and a little of which is baloney.


I tend to agree with RT Firefly -- this may not be a good project for a beginner. When fiberglass takes a hit, what you can see is rarely all the damage. Delamination can propagate a long way. If the hit was severe enough to break a window several feet above it, I wouldn't be surprised if much of that side of the boat is delaminated.


A marine surveyor would diagnose a problem like that by tapping gently with a plastic faced mallet. That takes a well experienced ear, but you could get a very rough idea of the extent of the problem by tapping on the other side of the boat to get an idea what the various parts sound like and then on the damaged side. If you get the wrong sounds more than a foot or two away, I'd run away -- or, at the very least, hire a good surveyor to map out the damage and advise you on what it will take to fix.



Jim

 

[TJM]

My advice would be to get the engines up and running and get on the water. You will quickly learn what is important and what is not. If the boat has been idle for 5-7 yrs, lots of systems will need "care and feeding". Some stuff will be simple, impellers, hoses, loose wiring and our friend "CORROSION".

 

[kthoennes]

We owned a 1985 Carver 3207 -- great boat in my opinion. I had to laugh at some of the prior posts. Yes, the manuals are useless, first because they're so general and second because a boat that old would almost certainly have been modified like crazy. I really liked that boat, it was the first big(ger) boat for us too - at least non-trailer-able I mean. That boat taught me so much. In my mind it was a perfect teaching boat -- all the basic systems you need to learn but still simple enough to not need a mechanical and computer engineering degree. That Carver is still in our marina and the new owners are keeping it up very nicely, good to see. We actually sold it for much more than we paid for it, but then we did put a ton of work into it, and we're not in a normal boat market geographically. We never did use the aft head as a head -- we used it for storage, as a closet. We would maybe still have that boat if it weren't for the split bunks in the aft cabin -- not ideal for a married couple. I noticed the post above about not handling well in rough seas but I always thought just the opposite -- given that it's not a very heavy boat, I thought it did very well, but then we're on the Missouri River. High winds and waves in storms, but not like open ocean or anything. We really liked that boat, I have fond memories. We did have to replace the bow pulpit, that was a big but necessary job (bolt on). The engines (Crusaders) were wonderfully simple to maintain. Upper and lower helm controls can get complicated. That was such a good boat.

 

[kthoennes]

Oh, and the other posts are right, I found the old Carver forums to have very little activity and be of very little value. That Carver 3207 is what brought me to Trawler Forum in the first place. This forum is still the best I've found for advice on boats in that sweet spot of too big to trailer, but not huge superyachts, like YachtForums.com. The members on here have been incredibly helpful - I can't tell you how much time and money they've saved me, and how many mysteries they've solved for me.

 

[Comodave]

We don’t care if you don’t own a trawler or a cruiser. I used to own a trawler but now we own a cruiser and I haven’t been kicked off the site, at least not so far…. Boats are boats and maintenance on a boat whether it is a trawler or not is pretty much the same thing. So again welcome aboard and ask away with any questions you need help with. Maybe some photos of your new baby???

 

[Action]

Welcome to the TF.

I do not own a trawler either.
I have bought 3 boats brand new. I still own one of them.

And as Bacchus stated above boat manufacturer's manuals do not have as much info and data as compared to the the auto industry. At least that has been my experience with new boats.

In the auto industry, a manufacturer may make thousands if not tens of thousands of a given model in any model year. A boat manufacturer may make 10. And that model run may last for 10 years. So parts unique to that boat are limited.

The hull and some items are made by the boat manufacturer. Many of the rest of tyhe systems in a boat are made by an outside comany. Especially larger boats are closer to a custom made vessel, than a production made vehicle like a car or truck. As such if you want a port window that was unique to your boat, it may no longer be available. And it may have been made by a vendor that went out of business in the Real Estate down turn or the recent pandemic.

For much of that kind of thing you will need to improvise.
Finding something that works based on dimensions and fuction will be much of the norm.

Good luck