First time poster, not an owner....Yet!

[PCOMT]

I have been reading this forum with interest. There seems to be quite a bit of information on many models. I look forward to earning more and more.

I do have a question and hope for a quick answer. We have found a 1981 3007 Aft Cabin model and will be flying out to look at it. We will have it surveyed by a SAMS accredited surveyor before any purchase.

My question is in regard to the hull construction. Would this model year have a cored hull or all fiber class?

I have heard horror stories of cored hulls leaking, being water logged, etc.

I am always open to free advice and would appreciate any and all feedback!

Thanks for letting me join up!

Peter

[Ramsport47]

That boat will have a solid fiberglass bottom with (possibly) cored hull sides. Any Carver model designation ending in 7 or higher is a solid fiberglass bottom. The reason I put () around possibly for the hull sides is that Carver seems to have used side coring in boats 32' and larger, and the one you're looking at is a 30' model. Our 31 footer is not cored in the sides, nor was my older 27 footer. Coring can be a horror,if not treated properly...and most were not. Coring in the sides is an accepted process and will usually not show any issues.

[PCOMT]

Thanks Ramsport that helps a lot! I appreciate your reply and I am relieved!


When you say it could have "cored hull sides", would this still be below the waterline?

Where does the bottom end and the sides begin?

I might sound like a beginner, well, I guess I am when it comes to big boats. Most of my experience has been with smaller aluminum boats. They have all been aluminum from the keel to the gunnels. When I watched video of FG boat construction, it has always been FG, never any coring. So if I sound confused, I guess I am a bit.

I toured a houseboat factory in Tennessee, where they make the Lil’ Hobo. They use a sandwich of material for the house construction. Mostly to keep the weight down. Everything below the water line ( pontoons )are all FG.

My personal preference is to have FG below the waterline. I have heard such horror stories of wet coring and it basically requires a major rebuilding or in extreme cases, scrapping the whole boat. I do not want to buy a problem. I know my surveyor should be able to determine this, and I will be very explicit with my guidance when asking him to double, even triple check for the construction and the condition. I suspect I will have to pay for a haul-out, but it would be cheap insurance if there is any problems


Thanks Again

Peter

[Ramsport47]

Carver stops the coring at the waterline, so no balsa below the water. Also, depending on model and year, there could be no structural wood below the waterline in the bilge. Let me know what you're looking at and I'll tell you if it does or not. All of their newer boats also use an aluminum gridwork for the floor supporting on aft cabin and sedan boats.

[PCOMT]

Thank you.

again, relieved! This is getting better all the time!

I have a few other questions, but I will need to post them to the correct boards.

I appreciate the quick replies. We are looking so forward to purchasing a boat and this Carver 3007 is speaking very loudly to us. The news so far has been really great!

More questions to post, so I have to run!

Peter

[Ramsport47]

The 3007 will have wood in the stringer system, and the floor supporting is wood as well. Not really a need to worry, but get a survey to assure yourself of a good purchase

[PCOMT]

In your opinion, is $20,000 CAD a reasonable amount to pay for a 1981 - 3007? I often wonder if the price is attractive to hide problems...

There are not a lot of extras, just 2 newer chart plotters, a dingy with no outboard. No generator.

We have a surveyor lined up. We used him on our last go see and we liked his professionalism, his mannerisms and his dedication to us, the client. It actually got tense with the owner there, he seemed to have a answer or rather an excuse for every item the surveyor found and was becoming rude. I stopped the survey and walked away from that one.

I beleive in the rule of three regarding risk and risk management. I also apply it to many decisions I make, especially the big decisions.

For those that have not heard of this rule of 3, here it is in a nut shell:

The process is that three marginal conditions should be considered as equivalent to a single exceeded limit when deciding to halt operations. This is equivalent to the three strikes rule in baseball, although the metaphor used here is based on the traffic light, where going through an orange or amber light may still be acceptable, but it is close to going through a red light.


All Green - Proceed normally
One Orange - Proceed normally
Two Oranges - Proceed with caution
Three Oranges - Halt operation, Reduce problems (3 Oranges = 1 red)
One Red - Halt operation

Peter

[Ramsport47]

If I'm right, the CAD is very close to the USD. If that's the case, the price seems high to me for a 33 year old boat. Condition will play in to that, but it seems to me to be more of a $12,000 to $15,000 boat.

[waybomb]

20k seems high to me as well. I went to NADAGUIDES.com and plugged in some basic info and it came came back with a value of 14k or.
Nadaguides can be screwy though. If it is a low hour, clean survey, no work needed vessel, it may well be worth around 20k.
The surveyor will provide a current value for insurance purposes. Offer a couple thousand less than that. My 2 cents...........

[PCOMT]

Thanks Guys, (Kenny & Fred)

I will wait for my survey to see what he values it at. I am hoping that the boat is in really great shape, if so, then it might be worth the few extra $$$. The broker responded with the following:

Unfortunately I have little idea of hours on the engines and the owner doesn't appear to have much of an idea either but the Hobbs meters indicate more hours than these engines physically show so I am guessing that at some stage, they have been rebuilt.

He went on to say:
Transmissions were rebuilt recently and the engines start up very easily and run well.


The ad says the owner wants it gone and to bring all offers. There may be some negotiation room. I will see what the survey says...

Thanks again guys!