Shopping, then Cruising Chicago to South Florida

[pizzazsdaddy]

Forgive me for the delay on reporting about my latest boat shopping expedition and subsequent delivery to her new owner. Since the boat shopping trip and the delivery home were 2 separate adventures, I'll start with the shopping trip that began after I returned from the Bahamas in late July.
Since a new 60 foot anything these days pegs the needle around $3Mil, the premise seemed simple enough. Help my buddy find the nicest turn key boat period, preferably a pristine older Hatteras... Or find as close to a new any other boat as possible for 30% of a new boat price. Restoration was out of the question. We spent about 4 weeks, personally inspecting 35 different boats from Minnesota to Florida. Price was not the object. Physical condition was.

A 70 footer was too big. A 50 footer was too small. We looked at a dozen different Hatteras's. Not a single one for sale at the time (condition wise) was worth bothering with. Where we ended up was unexpected. It was a 57 foot 2003 model Carver Voyager...for lots of reasons.

Attachment 24004
US Built. 700 fresh water only hours on Cummins QSM11s, Inside winter stored since new, Updated Electronics, Factory Hardtop, Comfortable and open interior layout, simply the nicest boat we looked at overall. Cummins Chicago did the engine survey...and they even fixed an oil seal for free that was under a 7 year old recall. The hull surveyor recommended to us up there missed half of what wasn't right. Still, at the end of the day, it was the cleanest "newest" best overall boat for under $400,000 available at the time. And what an opportunity to enjoy the once again pristine Great Lakes waters...
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What was most surprising, was the ride, performance and handling characteristics of this boat, particularly during the offshore run from New York to Norfolk (yes we did this in one day) while experiencing a full day of 4-7 and 5-8ft beam and following seas, all while maintaining 24 knots, at 1950RPM and 75% of engine load at a burn rate of 41 gallons per hour.
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In spite of miserable conditions from a now retreating Hurricane Marie, you wouldn't know it. The ride was way better than we expected, as if she were dancing around the sea conditions. In places where we did have to go slow...this 57 Carver delivered 10.5 Knots at 1050 RPM at a burn rate of 4.6 gallons per engine per hour. The 2600 mile journey was flawless. Not a single issue or breakdown. Captain Bruce Brooks, who's been delivering boats for 40 years was totally surprised and equally impressed. Neither of us expected what this Carver delivered.

[pizzazsdaddy]

This was the Carver 57, as docked in Frankfort MI on the 3rd day of out journey...
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[Boatsb]

A bit hard on the eyes for sure.

[Finalee]

Anyday on the water without a problem is a good one.

[rsmith]

A bit hard on the eyes for sure.

Fugly

[jim rosenthal]

Maybe Carver have upped their game. They have a reputation for difficult access for servicing- lots of stuff crammed in and hard to get to. Anyone want to comment? Glad you had a good trip. Always nice when a boat turns out better than you expected. If nothing else, those are the engines of choicce.

[northshoreone]

I owned the same boat, 2000 model year, for ten years in the Great Lakes. Great use of space in the boat! Mine also had the QSM 11 engines 635 hp and cruised at 25 kt burning 46 gal. Per hr. I did allot of customizing on mine and really enjoyed the boat! They are no Hatteras for sure but a good value fore the money! The Great Lakes are very rough cruising waters allot of the time and in anything more than 3 ft waves it’s a rough ride and you better be holding on to something! I had mine in 6 ft plus the boat would take it but it was NOT fun! My only complaint with the boat was it was almost impossible to get a good shine on the hull! Something they use in the mold during the build process is what I was told. I tried almost every kind of wax you could think of to get it to look good.

[pizzazsdaddy]

This boat had the 735hp QSM11s. During sea trial we topped out at 31 knots, which is the first time I've ever seen the top speed actually equal what the factory said it would. No, it's way not a Hatteras, but way above an Azimut or a Sea Ray in quality details. The cherry wood interior is very well done. The joiner work is excellent. While she hates head seas, the ride and performance far exceeded our expectations in a variety of sea conditions. The comparison here is a fast "modern" boat with modern engines, modern electrical systems, and modern equipment, as opposed to an older design with old technology for about the same total money invested. In this particular case, the Carver 57 won the argument.
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What I found was a well thought out and comfortable galley up design with a pilothouse that is open to the salon. For her 72 year old owner, there are no steep stairs to the bridge deck or the staterooms below. And no sharp corners anywhere. As for her gel-coat, when we got her home, we used a 4-step gel-coat restoration process that brought her back up to "new" condition.
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What put us over the top "after the fact" was the incredible "customer service" we experienced both from Carver/Marquis and Cummins. During the engine survey, the folks at Cummins found an oil gasket issue that was part of a 10 year old recall that Cummins fixed for free. And the folks at Carver/Marquis have bent over backwards in answering every question or concern we have had since buying her. Here's an interesting fact. Carver delivered more (360) 53/56/57 Voyagers during this models 9 year production run, than Hatteras delivered the venerable 53 Motor Yacht during a 19 year run. If you can't find a nice enough older Hatteras, the Carver 57 Voyager is a pretty good option in my opinion.

[SKYCHENEY]

. If you can't find a nice enough older Hatteras, the Carver 57 Voyager is a pretty good option in my opinion.

If you don't care about looks. And IMO, life is too short to own an ugly boat.

[Boatsb]

McDonald's serves more meals than Ruth's Chris


Numbers are just that. Numbers.

And there are more people with an IQ below 130 than above yet they sell carvers.