Carver 506 with Volvo TAMD 74 EDC

[sunsetacres1318]

Looking at this Carver 506. Looks like a great boat and in great shape. Would like a little insight on the boat and the Volvo TAMD 74 EDC. Thanks!

[Boatsb]

Call carver and ask for customer service.

[RonNP]

IMO Carver has the build quality of a Ford Pinto. Take that for what its worth. You can only put so much lipstick on a pig.

[rob71]

My marina has mostly Carvers here.
I do work on them regularly. Quality is not bad construction wise. They do have difficult hose (AC) runs that are inaccessible as well as buried wiring. A voyager had the ac cooling water tied in with the dishwasher drain ?
I have Volvos in my Hatteras and love them. Very economical and well laid out for maintaining. Caveat is parts are expensive.
Capt. Rob

[rwappleton]

My experience with Carvers are the ergonomics are great. Difficult to work on and there are no legacy Carvers. IMHO they just do not hold up.

[Retired1]

The big ones were brought in via truck in two pieces from the factory. The hull on one truck, and the deck and the superstructure on another-then were assembled by the “qualified employees of the dealership” (you know-minimum wage yard monkeys with no experience). So basically the only thing tying the hull and deck together are the hull-deck joints. There are no structural bullkheads tying anything inside the joints together. This was great for the wide open interior spaces the public loved, but not so much for structural integrity.


We we going to take a 570 Voyager out of Virginia in for trade, but we needed it here in Miami quick for the upcoming boat show. I sent the best Captain I knew, up for the delivery as it needed to be fast, so it had to be done offshore. He called me halfway here, freaking out “this boat sounds like it’s going to break in half, as there’s noises screeching, and popping everywhere, and every time I hit a big wave the concussion at the lower helm is like being inside a trash can being beat with a baseball bat”.
When the boat arrived it was a mess. We didn’t do the trade, and the Captain refused to ever deliver a Carver again.

That all said: their gelcoat was piss poor, and they needed to be wet sanded and buffed to get a shine when they were only a few years old. The air intakes always needed to be repainted as that black just faded quick.
I’m pretty sure their gel coat issues is the reason they filed bankruptcy- as the warranty work was killing them. I remember Jacobs blaming it on the sunlight, as if boats weren’t supposed to be operated in it, BUT by sheer coincidence I happened to be in Cheyboygan Michigan when boats were coming out of their sheds for the summer, and there was a Voyager 530 that was a four year old boat, shed kept there on the lake since new- and it’s gel coat looked horrible, then a 450 Voyager was trucked from NC lake to Jacksonville, and it looked like someone had taken a blow torch to it. That had to be totally repainted. So “build quality “. All of these were too new to have any engine issues, so can’t speak to that.

[Pascal]

Besides overall quality, these carvers are as close as you can get to experience sailing in a power boat. Flat bottom, lightweight and huge sail area make for a handful while maneuvering.

[jim rosenthal]

As long as you don't plan to leave the dock, and the AC units and heads work well, I think it would be an entirely suitable vessel. Now, if you want to go boating, you'd be better off with a Hatteras.

If you want to see what folks think of their Volvo diesels, look over on boatdiesel.com forum. Volvo have had their ups and downs and I think at one point there was a class action suit about their marine diesels. I HAVE had friends who had them and did well with them, but overall they are not the zenith of quality and reliability in marine diesels.

Service accessibility on Carver yachts is known to be a problem. Marine mechanics hate them. Every boat built probably has something you can't get to, but Carvers may have more than most.

[Timeless72]

Spent a lot of my younger years on a Carver. It got us home but at 15 years old, everything needed replacing. Gelcoat was shot. I notice wherever we go, they rarely leave the dock. Either owner looking for nice amenities in a floating condo or just not a boat many want to move. Shallow draft. Too much sail.

[Beachcomber]

I witnessed a new Carver being assembled at a dealer. When they finished there was 2 large totes setting on the dock with about 48 tubes of sealant and 1000,s of screws inside and well as rolls of butyl tape. I asked one of the guys putting the top on if Carver always sent that much extra sealant and fasteners. His response was that the dealer didn’t want to take the time to install that many screws or use any (ANY) of the sealant. I knew then I would never want a Carver.