Carver Owners Forum

Howdy all! I have a (new to me) 2004 366 a/c and have started noticing how low she seems to sit in the water…most concerning is the bow thru hull for the forward A/C discharge. See pic. Currently the water tank (that resides under the aft bed) is empty and the side fuel tanks are full. Only other change is the new bow thruster and two batteries in the fwd cabin that total 170lbs. I looked for pix of others for sale and the few bow shots low enough seemed to all show that discharge within an 1” or so of the waterline it was never very clear. Anyone here with same model that can weigh in, hopefully with a clear pic, to ease my mind or let me know I need to make changes?

I agree, it does seem from that pic to be very close....it appears any failure there could start the boat taking on water quite easily, extra bow weight from the water inflow would make it worse.

Inside the hull the hose may have a loop up but that wont help if the fitting itself fails. Is it plastic ?

I’m sure it’s the original factory thru hull so yah, probably plastic. I know it sat higher before the haul out and survey and I’m sure 500+ lbs of water in the aft would make a big difference but it’s winterized so that’s out for awhile. Thinking I might move those batteries to the back for the winter. Not sure what else I can do now.

Yup the batteries are a start, consider the anchor and rode/chain and anything stored in the bow....relocate to the aft until you can come up with a plan......I am guessing you are not moving the boat now.

Just might give you a comfort zone for thinking and leaving the boat alone. Worth a try.

Hopefully someone with the same boat and thruster can chime in.

Had a break in my schedule so I ran out there and moved the two thruster batteries to the aft cabin for the winter. Made all the difference! I’ll be changing that fitting to Stainless Steel in the spring just in case. No doubt the 150ft of chain the PO added is a consideration as well but I think this is good for the winter. Still surprised Carver put it that low though. [img][image][/image][/img]

Some manufacturers put HVAC discharges low to minimize discharge noise. The higher the discharge the noisier it is. Mine are close to the water line too, love it, can't hear them while sleeping. Now if only my neighbours were the same way! Spent an entire summer putting up with a neighbour who's system came on every 15 minutes with high discharges. I have the original units from 1989 so not so quiet but the neighbour's discharges were louder, very annoying.

Some manufacturers put HVAC discharges low to minimize discharge noise.

Both my front and rear AC discharges are 1/2 submerged from the factory, only wish my center discharge was also as it does make noise and causes stains on the hull.

Hmmm, could turn into a new project.

My dock neighbours boat (Cruiser Yachts) has 2 side discharges that must be at least 3 1/2' above the water line and shoot out about 4 to 5 feet from the boat, talk about noise and a stupid design. No way could he run AC while docked on his starboard side.

My 1998 355 has the discharges a couple feet above the water line. It also has one on each side of the boat, so the neighbors on both sides can be equally annoyed.

Wow, I hadn’t considered it to be a good thing! I was mostly concerned with the soon to be freezing temps and if enough water was in there, it could freeze and crack that fitting and allow water to pour in. Thank you all for letting me know the advantage to having the discharge close to the water line!

Carverlvr2 wrote:Source of the post I was mostly concerned with the soon to be freezing temps

That is a very valid concern and good on you to address it as you could. The difference is, your boat is in the water for the winter as many others are hauled out so where that fitting is located can mostly be a concern for noise control.

Imo .....Any side hull discharges, if not easily accessible , should not be so low as to be able to take on water in normal circumstances with no way to easily access the leak, or even check for a leak.