Surveyor David Pascoe wrote that he only published a builder's defects once he had found a pattern across several boats and ruled out abuse or accident. His Carver 370 review is one of those, built around four boats he examined: two Carver 43s damaged in a hurricane, a Carver 46 in a yard and a Carver 370 with a failing bottom. It gives a clear picture of what to check on a cored powerboat of this kind, whatever the builder.
Thin cored hull sides
On the two Carver 43s driven ashore in a hurricane, Pascoe found balsa cored hull sides with an outer skin of about 1/8 to 3/16 inch. One had part of a helm chair base punched through the hull side; he found a small hammer swung with moderate force would go through. The other had holes punched all around and creases in the hull sides where it had scraped other boats.
Cored transom below the waterline
On a Carver 46, a yard was adding a cockpit extension. Once the aft interior was stripped and the exhaust pipes pulled from the transom, water started pouring out of the balsa cored transom and hull sides. Pascoe found the hull had been cored down to the chine, well below the waterline, and that through-hulls and exhaust pipes were simply cut through the core and bedded in place. When the fittings leaked, the core filled with water. The inner laminate over the core was one layer of mat and roving, about 1/16 inch, and the yard found too little material to bond the extension to.
Where to look. Meter and sound the hull sides and transom around every through-hull, exhaust outlet and transducer. Look at how each fitting is installed: bedded straight into the core, or into a solid area. Note any repairs or filler around fittings.
Bottom laminate and flexing
The Carver 370 had what Pascoe calls a bottom laminate failure in progress, caught when parts of the bottom began peeling off after haul-out. He measured the bottom between frames at about 1/4 inch at best, with chopped strand mat making up at least a quarter of that thickness. The photographs show cracks outlining the stringers and frames, circular stress cracks from flexing, cracks painted over several times, and a badly cracked strake.
Pascoe compares the 370's advertised 17,500 lb with about 32,000 lb for a similar sized Hatteras of the same period.
Where to look. Out of the water, the bottom for stress crack patterns: straight lines that follow the stringers and frames, and circles on unsupported panels. Look for cracks that have been painted over. Push on bottom panels between frames for movement. Where a test hole has been cut, measure the laminate.
Recalls
The USCG recall list holds two Carver records: one for the Santego, Express and Aft Cabin models, and one for the Trojan 370 and 390. The public pages show the models without the defect, so check the hull number with a dealer.
What to check on a Carver
| Area | What to look for | Source of the concern |
|---|---|---|
| Hull sides and transom | Wet core around through-hulls and exhausts | Pascoe, Carver 46 |
| Through-hull installation | Fittings bedded straight into the core | Pascoe, Carver 46 |
| Hull side skin | Thin outer laminate, dents or creases | Pascoe, Carver 43 |
| Bottom | Stress cracks along frames, flexing panels, delamination | Pascoe, Carver 370 |
| Laminate thickness | Measure at any opening or test hole | Pascoe, Carver 43, 46 and 370 |
| Recalls | Open campaigns for the hull number | USCG recall list |
Writing it up
"Hull, starboard side at the exhaust outlet and engine raw water intake: moisture readings well above the dry reference over about 400 mm around each fitting. Fittings appear bedded directly into the balsa core. Recommend core samples to confirm the extent, and that the fittings are removed and the core around each sealed or replaced with solid laminate." Name each fitting so the yard can find it.