Possibly purchasing a boat with volva pentas.. Need Opinions

[CAPTKEV85]

Good Evening everyone. For 15 years I have owned mercruiser product in my boats. I have the opportunity to purchase a 1989 carver santego 30' for a very good deal. I know the owner of the boat and he is original owner of the boat. It will be an upgrade from my 1985 searay seville which I have simply outgrown with my family. My question I have is that I'm looking for opinions on volvo penta. The info I have so far is that the boat was repowered in 2004 from mercruiser to volvo with duo prop outdrives. The engines are fuel injected 350 vortecs painted red. The boat has always been maintained and well taken care of. My mercruisers have been reliable but also have been a royal pain in the ass with shifting. I also hear people constantly say stay away from volvo but with some research they seem reliable. Its a new world of drive system for me so Im looking for any input or opinions good and bad. Thanks again all!!

 

[alldodge]

Saying shifting was an issue means they were Alpha drives and may need adjusting. The Bravo drives shift smooth just like the VP

Nothing wrong with VP and in many cases they are better. The reason I don't have them is cost of parts, not as many folks work on them or even know how. Just look at the VP section here and see the problems some have and trying to find answers

If you do get VP drives, do not use anything in them but VP gear oil

 

[JASinIL2006]

If you don't plan to do your own work, are there folks in the area who work on Volvos? That would be my concern. If you plan to do your own maintenance/repair work, the extra cost of parts is something to consider, but everything related to boating costs an arm and leg already...

 

[muc]

I was a factory trained mechanic for both MerCruiser (master tech) and Volvo (every class they offered). Volvo is a slightly superior product, but there are not as many trained techs. If your not going to do your own service, that will be something to consider. To be honest parts prices end up being even between the 2 manufacturers. Difference is that MerCruiser made more engines so aftermarket (I don't recommend them) prices and availability are better.

Also worked for a Carver dealer around those years and attended their training classes a few times. They build a good mid to lower price range boat. You get a lot of boat for the money.

If this boat has A/C and a generator, The engine compartment is terrible to work in. Also if I remember right there is no place to put the engine hatches. Had to go in the cabin or on the dock, both tough to do.

This is a big step up for you. Whatever your boating budget was, it will now be at least triple $$$$$.

 

[CAPTKEV85]

Thank you all for the replies. I do all my own service. I am a mechanic so with some knowledge and service manuals I should be able to learn a new sterndrive system. The boat had a kohler generator in it but was removed. Currently there is a portable Gene that will be coming with the boat. Since the genset was removed the engine compartment has a lot of room in it. If I do go with this deal I would likely put the Oem Genset back in it. The Santego does have 3 hatches to access the engine compartment from the cockpit. The boat recently had the steering replaced from cable to hydraulic, a new a/c system, and new hot water heater. This I feel is good because those seem to be expensive to replace. Overall it is a very clean boat and the owner never beat on it.

As for my mercruiser experience I owned a 77 mercruiser 470 pre alpha which had its issues and needed a lot of updates to make it reliable. My current sea ray 1985 I repowered myself in 2013 is great but I feel the drive since its original is tired. New interrupt bracket and switch plus cables and controller it still makes its wonderful grind into gear (yes cables have been adjusted to factory spec). Although with its issues mercruiser still performed well for me since I never had any major issue with them.

My new expense will be winter storage and summer dockage at a marina.

 

[Scott Danforth]

make sure to take a moisture reading of the transom and stringers. Especially on a 32 year old Carver. there is lots of wood and end-grain balsa in the boat.