CARVER OWNERS CLUB
This site is owned by, managed by, and exclusive to Carver, Californian, and Trojan owners.

July 2010

Irwin Jacobs and his new partner, doing business as J & D Acquisitions, are back in the boating business. They answer the phone, "Marquis" when you call the old Carver Boat telephone number.  Here is the latest we can find out based on several sources, including an interview Jacobs gave to Soundings Trade Only, a boating industry magazine.  Note that we cannot independently verify any of the information presented, although similar information came from several independent sources.

It appears that the new company has an inventory of new boats.  How much inventory is not clear.  A Carver source said that he thought they have 20 to 40 boats in stock.  He went on to say that he was not sure of how many they had.  It appears that they are hiring workers.  Industry sources estimate that about 150 people are now employed by Carver while Carver says that they have about 300.  This is up from a low of about 100 people working through the bankruptcy.

One of the most striking differences is the dealer relationship.  Most industry sources agree that the days of floor-planning boats is over, especially for the larger boats.  Carver's new approach is to have yacht centers with all of the models.  There are three yacht centers planned in the US: one just outside Atlanta with the Singleton Marine Group, one at Galati near Tampa, and one near Ft. Lauderdale with Yacht Blue.   There is also a European center planned for Monaco.  Prospective boat buyers would go to the sales center, pick out a boat, and buy it.  A captain and crew is available for sea trials.  Mr. Jacobs is quoted in Sounding Trade Only Today as saying, "What we want to do is build our business around retail business, and the dealer will have an opportunity to make money without having to worry about the end of the year where they've got to discount the boat and curtailments and everything."  He goes on to say that the investment in the centers will be around $15 million.  He also says that the arrangement lets Marquis/Carver, "... control the inventory down to a level that is really more on our side.  We can control these boats, so to speak, and they won't get on the Internet and be competing against each other." 

Right now there are more questions than answers concerning this arrangement.  Could you trade in your boat?  Who would perform warranty work on the boat?  What would the delivery time be?   Carver is saying that they have signed up two dealers.  This is a major change in how Carver has done business.  The new boat warranty used to be serviced by the selling dealer, in an odd arrangement that frequently left traveling boat owners with no effective warranty.  What are the prices expected to be?  We'll keep watching this as it goes along.

Those of us who regularly cruise our boats usually do a nice job of maintaining the engines, the fiberglass, and the electronics.  We don't necessarily do such a nice job of tuning the props.    Two of our members recently had their factory original props tuned up.  The cost was about $1200.  The results were excellent. They estimate a 20% improvement in fuel consumption, especially at higher speed.  They are able to cruise at 21 knots while burning 30 gallons per hour (gph).  The fuel consumption at 16 knots is less than 34 gph.  They also found that they were able to travel at hull speeds (8 to 9 knots) with better fuel economy.  One commented that the improvement seemed to be linear, that is, gradual improvements across the entire range of operating speeds.  Both noticed a smoother ride, with the boat not struggling so much as it made the transition from hull speed to plane speeds.  The boat seems to strain the engines less and there is less difference between the synced engines - about a 50% improvement.  Their props were tuned by a service company working at Herrington Harbor North, Digital Prop Shop, Call Ralph Beatty at 410.867.8878 or visit the website at www.digitalpropshop.com.  The evaluation costs about $100, well worth the value of possible improvements. 

Flotsam

Snubbers - Several of us have tried to figure out a way to tie up the boat in the slip such as we can account for tidal changes and still be close enough to the dock to get on and off easily.  I've seen rubber snubbers that one wraps a dock line around.  These have two problems - they are relatively expensive and they don't last as long as I think they should.  A member showed me that one could use the heavy rubber straps used to tie down travel tarps instead of the snubber.  I used two of them for strength and, two months later, find that they work well.

Great On-Line Service - My dear, sweet, wonderful wife who regularly reads the newsletter occasionally gets an idea about a product that she just really, really wants.  Somehow, we lost the cover on the windlass remote control switch.  It was a white plastic and I though we'd replace it with another white plastic cover.  My DSWW decided that she wanted a chrome cover, something she found on the Internet.  She ended up calling Go - 2 - Marine ( http://www.go2marine.com 1-800-998-9508) and asking if the chrome switches came with chrome covers.  It ends up that the chrome switches don't come with chrome covers, so we ended up with white plastic covers eventually. This took some jockeying around, calls to the manufacturer by Go2Marine and a return.  Everyone at Go2Marine was courteous, understanding, and prompt.  I thought they were great and my DSWW has them high on our list now.

Princess Range Parts - I don't quite know why, but it's become more and more difficult to find replacement parts for the older Princess stoves and ranges.  It turns out that you can contact the manufacturer directly and they'll ship you replacement parts.  We had to replace the electrical control blocks on the burners.  The prices are reasonable, although they have a minimum purchase amount, so you may want to have a list of things you need.  I think the minimum is $30, without shipping.  They accept credit cards.

Our destination marina for the ICW cruise south this year is Harborage Yacht Club and Marina in Stuart Florida.  This beautiful, well appointed marina is centrally located on the east coast of Florida.  Its biggest drawback is a lack of parking, especially on weekends.

Loggerhead Marinas recently purchased Harborage Yacht Club and Marina.  This provides our cruisers with an interesting opportunity.  Loggerhead Marinas have a reciprocity agreement with each other, so you can stay up to 7 nights at another Loggerhead Marina while only paying for the electricity.  (NOTE:  This is subject to availability and approval of the visited marina.)  That means that, if you have an active agreement with Harborage, you can stay in Daytona and/or Vero Beach on your way south and north for very little charge.  It also means you can cruise to other destinations in Florida over the winter without having to pay huge docking fees.  I haven't been to their marina on Lake Okeechobee, but it has to be at least as good as the one where most people stop.  Crossing Lake Okeechobee is a great adventure that opens up the west coast of Florida to us. 

The reciprocity feature with other nice marinas is a fantastic deal for us.  For more information about Loggerhead Clubs and Marinas, go to their website, http://www.loggerheadclubandmarina.com.

Some events we are considering/planning are:

•   ICW Cruise South.  This will start with a planning meeting where the captains and the cruise director (Bruce) discuss the trip south.  This is currently planned for mid-September, followed by the actual cruise south beginning around November 1.  If you are planning to travel with us going south this fall, contact me no later than August 15 for more information.
•    Saturday Night Out at Home.  Eileen and Stephen Stewart will host a Saturday Night Out in their home in Kennett Square in late January.  Details to follow.
•   Florida Thanksgiving Dinner.  This is really a tribute to Gayle Barnum who insisted that we COULD have a complete Thanksgiving dinner on a boat.  So we did.  Last year was the best ever, with everybody pitching in a bit.  The pumpkin soup was a bit iffy, but everything else was great.

We are still working on the new version of Boat Talk.  Work has interfered with actually doing something.

Once upon a time, the Club had a store where you could buy marine supplies for significantly lower prices.  We are working to offer a similar deal, with even better prices.  One of the problems is making sure that we have a good product mix.  We are leaning towards offering paints and cleaning supplies first and then branching out to other areas.  One surprising (to me) hot item is control cables for shifters and steering.  We have a good supplier now for U-Flex cables, if you are interested.

Let me know if you have an interest in purchasing marine supplies through the Club at Internet prices.