530 or 570? And hello!

[dave907]

Hello,

We have recently sold our 39' Bayliner (2002 3908) and are looking to move up to a Carver 53' or 57'.

I was wondering the collective knowledge base here can point out any significant differences pros/cons between the boats. They seem to be nearly identical except for length. Is one preferable to the other for any reason besides the extra 4'?

I have also been advised by a broker that one should avoid buying Carvers with Volvo's if possible because it is more difficult to get them serviced. He advised buying only those with Cummins. He said, for example, that if one were in the Bahamas and had a breakdown w/ the Volvo's you would have to fly a mechanic over from the mainland. Can anyone give me some insight on this? I've owned boats with Cummins engines and really like them, but I have no experience with Volvos.

I'm a long-time boater. I grew up in Cordova Alaska in the commercial fishery (seine and gillnet). I spent ten years captaining a tender (the kind that buys fish from fishermen, not the kind you take to the beach) on the Copper River delta. My first pleasure boat was a 34' CHB Trawler which I cruised for a decade w/ my wife and daughter in Prince William Sound. During the last ten years I've wintered in Florida and have had two boats (not at the same time . . .) which I cruise in the Charlotte Harbor area out of Cape Coral, a 38' Bayliner and most recently a newer 39' Bayliner. I'm also rebuilding a 26' Nordic Tug up in Alaska during the Summers (gutted down to the stringers, new engine . . the works).

The plan with the new Carver is to spend a month or so in the Exumas during the late Summer and run North on the intercoastal in late Aug to early Oct to avoid the heat in FL.

Nice to meet everyone.

Dave Stephens

[g36]

Welcome aboard

[RGrew176]

Welcome Aboard.

[waybomb]

Welcome aboard!
Wish I could help. Good luck!

[Carpediem]

Welcome aboard, I know the feeling of uncertainty switching from Cummins to Volvo. We are doing that right now by going from AaSea Ray with Cummins QSCs to Volvo 74 Ps on a Carver 506. We were looking for a 530 but a great deal on a 506 landed in my lap so we are going that way instead.
I do all of my own work so I will just have a slight learning curve on the Volvos. I did every thing myself on the Cummins and took 4 years getting familiar with them. I'm looking forward to learning the Volvos. They are just machines after all. People think that marine mechanics are special I guess. Some are better than others I guess but I am an A&P mechanic with an Inspection Authorization to return aircraft to service after major repair. If you take your time and have the proper reference manuals and good tools most of the service and repairs on boats is pretty basic. The biggest thing that adds difficulty is the access. Interestingly enough its the same on many aircraft systems.
Cheers and good luck on your quest!

[bud37]

Welcome to the forum....