Want to purchase a Voyager

[Dani-lu]

Hello, I am new to forum. I am currently looking at a few Voyagers (45, 53 and 56). I know nothing about Volvo diesels, and some of the Carvers we are looking at have Volvos. I have a lot to learn about Carvers, but I like what I have seen so far. Seem like well built boats that we can liveaboard for months at a time. Any advice on what i should beware of, any issues with certain Volvos and Cummins, would be appreciated! Look forward to learning a lot and becoming a knowledgeable contributor in the future. Thank you, Jeff

[RGrew176]

Welcome Aboard. There are several here who will be able to give you great information on the yachts you are looking at. Me, not much help as I have a 3007 Aft Cabin model. Best of luck. You've come to the right place for any information about Carver boat and yachts.

[tomschauer]

A marina friend of mine has 56, I believe year 2010 with the Volvo 12 Liter engines. Beautiful boat and runs great. The only problem he ever had, other than regular maintenance was an exhaust elbow came off while under way and made a big mess of the engine compartment before he noticed the problem.

[rcoff512]

Dani-Lu,

My wife and I own a 99 Voyager 450 and live aboard on South Shore Long Island May through October.

Ours is Cummins Diamond C series powered. We love the boat and have learned to accept the few short comings found for our use. We have the pilot house model and find the dinette format would have been better for us as we are retired and if the weather isn't good we don't travel. We also find the boat is somewhat under powered 17 kts cruise and 21Kts top end as loaded for us. The boat is heavy and gets heavier as one lives aboard and with the flybridge enclosure, has quite a bit of windage, but again we are retired and not in a rush.

As with any diesel you must not be over propped for longevity. You will find that Volvo engines perform comparable to Cummins but will cost more for service and parts than the Cummins. I would imagine that 450 HP in the 450 Voyager would be the least I would recommend and substantially more required for the 530 and the 560.

As far as the systems aboard, all are manufactured by other than Carver and I find them all adequate, but there are different strokes for different folks. Also, the older the boat (any boat that is) the more difficult it is to find the parts. Our 99 is almost 20 years old so when I find OEM light fixtures, door hardware or bow thruster parts etc. I also buy extra spares (experience here).

The workmanship is on par with most other production boats and if given the proper attention will function as designed for a long time. We don't beat the boat up, and tend to it with care and love as it is our summer home. I would be happy answering any other questions you may have, so fire away.

Rich

[Dani-lu]

Rich,

Thanks for the response. We still live on Long Island and are getting our home ready to be put up for sale. We plan on buying a place in Florida, and bring the boat north to liveaboard every summer. Snowbirds via boat. Forgive the following boat blasthemy, but we currently own a 2001 410 Sea Ray Sundancer, with Cats. It has been a great boat and I have it dialed in, but we want more space for a live-aboard. We keep it on the south shore, so hopefully we will meet you this spring. Like Carver, Sea Ray is not a blue water boat, but she has handled some rough seas and inlets without a complaint. I solo piloted it to and from Florida a few years ago and loved every moment of the journey. I spent many days cruising outside, to avoid some of the trouble spots on the ICW and save time, since I had limited time off work wise. I am hoping a Carver Voyager can do as well, if not better, consideing it weighs twice as much. We do not plan on cruising at 20 kts with our next boat, ensuring we don’t run out of money, assuming we are blessed with long healthy lives. Basically, we plan to use our next boat like a Trawler, which means we will run at 7 or 8 kts for long range cruising. I would think the Voyager would do well on fuel at trawler speed. Just not sure how well she would handle, from a rolling standpoint.

Appreciate any and all knowledge on the Voyager.

Hope to meet you on the GSB this spring.

Jeff

[Dani-lu]

Qr Bbpost A marina friend of mine has 56, I believe year 2010 with the Volvo 12 Liter engines. Beautiful boat and runs great. The only problem he ever had, other than regular maintenance was an exhaust elbow came off while under way and made a big mess of the engine compartment before he noticed the problem.

Appreciate the response. We are looking at early 2000’s, but hopefully not much has changed and the early 2000 ones will run as nice as your friend’s 2010. Jeff

[tomschauer]

Checked with my friend, its a 2007, he bought it in 2010. He has had no issues and enjoys the boat. Takes it from MD to FL every other year, he says it does ok in big water but would not make a habit of long cruises in big water, although he believes the boat could take more of it than him.

[RGrew176]

The fact is that boats generally can handle more than we want to.

[Viper]

Welcome aboard, hope you find one that suites your needs.

[Dani-lu]

Still looking. I am leaning towards the 530 or 570. Still trying to figure out the differences between the models, including the 560. Any experience good and bad would be appreciated. For example, are these boats underpowered with the smaller 400hpengines. Should I make sure to get one with the 600hp engines.

I prefer the hard top on the fly bridge. Any comments?

Does the AC in the fly bridge help much in hot weather, or better off in pilot house.

My AC in my current boat cabin stays nice and cool. Any issue keeping the cabin and sleeping areas cool.

Are the generators properly sized to run the entire boat at anchor?

We truly love our 410 dancer, so we want to make sure our next boat is as solid and well equipped. I know no boat is perfect, but I want to make sure there are any expensive shortcomings that I will need to upgrade or have to learn to live with.

Thanks,

Jeff