The registry
Carver Registry: Models, Builds & Photos
Carver is a Wisconsin boat builder founded in 1954 in Milwaukee by Charles Carter and George Verhagen, who spliced their surnames to name the brand and moved production to Pulaski, near Green Bay, in 1956. The company started with mahogany runabouts, switched to fiberglass in the 1970s, and spent the following decades building cruising powerboats with unusually large interiors for their length. Its two-stateroom aft cabin motor yachts, from the 3207 of the 1980s to the 326 and 346 of the late 1990s and early 2000s, are the boats most owners associate with the name. Production ended for good on July 30, 2021.
Pick your model
Founding and the Wisconsin years
Charles Carter and George Verhagen started Carver in Milwaukee in 1954, building mahogany runabouts in a factory on South 27th Street. The name splices the front halves of their surnames, Car from Carter and Ver from Verhagen. Sales grew, and in 1956 the operation moved north to Pulaski, Wisconsin, the small town west of Green Bay where every Carver after that was built. The founders sold out in 1963 to Walter Markham and Glen Nordin, two men who had worked at Cruisers Yachts in nearby Oconto, and under their ownership the company switched from wood to fiberglass in the 1970s. By then Carver had settled into the niche it held for the rest of its run: family cruisers and motor yachts, roughly 26 to 50 feet, that traded some speed for headroom, beam, and living space. A Carver of a given length usually carries more usable cabin volume than its competitors, which is why the aft cabin boats found so many long-term owners.
The aft cabin era
The two-stateroom aft cabin layout defined Carver from the early 1980s through the 2000s: a master cabin aft with its own head, a forward V-berth cabin, and a salon and galley between them, usually topped with a flybridge. The 3207 Aft Cabin (1983-90) put that layout on a 32-foot hull, and the 3607 Aft Cabin (1982-89) did the same at 36 feet.
- 326 Aft Cabin. Built 1999-2001, the last name worn by a hull that entered production in 1991 as the 28 Aft Cabin, became the 300 Aft Cabin for 1993-94, and ran as the 325 Aft Cabin from 1995 to 1998 after Carver added an integral swim platform. It measures about 36 feet overall on an 11 foot 11 inch beam, and standard power was twin MerCruiser 350 MAG MPI gasoline V8s at 300 hp apiece. Two private cabins and two heads on a boat this size was a layout few builders offered.
- 346 Motor Yacht. Introduced for 2002 as the follow-on aft cabin in the mid-30-foot bracket, with the same twin-stateroom, twin-head arrangement, a flybridge helm, and an integral swim platform. Typical power was twin 8.1 liter MerCruiser gasoline V8s rated 370 hp, on a dry weight of 21,800 pounds and 196 gallons of fuel.
Build quality is workmanlike rather than exotic, with a lot of wood in the interiors. The usual survey items on boats this age are moisture in the deck and flybridge coring, original fuel tanks, and tired gas engines, none of which are Carver-specific problems.
Corporate fate
Miramar Marine Corporation bought Carver in a 30 million dollar leveraged buyout in 1985. Irwin Jacobs took control in 1991 when the parent went through bankruptcy, and in 1994 Carver became part of Jacobs' Genmar Holdings, then one of the largest boat-building groups in the country. Genmar filed for Chapter 11 in June 2009. J&D Acquisitions LLC, formed by Jacobs and investor John Paul DeJoria, bought the Carver and Marquis assets out of the bankruptcy for 6.05 million dollars, and production continued at the Pulaski plant under the Marquis-Larson Boat Group. Carver closed permanently on July 30, 2021, and the Pulaski facility went to KCS International, the parent company of Cruisers Yachts. There is no factory support today; parts and knowledge come from marine suppliers and the owner community, which stays active because so many of these hulls are still in service.
Asked all the time
When did Carver build the 326 and 346 Aft Cabin models?
The 326 Aft Cabin ran from 1999 through 2001. It is the final name of a hull introduced in 1991 as the 28 Aft Cabin, sold as the 300 Aft Cabin in 1993-94 and as the 325 Aft Cabin from 1995 to 1998. The 346 Motor Yacht arrived for the 2002 model year. Carver's 32-foot aft cabin of the mid 1980s was the earlier 3207, built 1983-90.
Is Carver still in business?
No. Carver passed through Genmar Holdings, which filed for Chapter 11 in June 2009, then continued under J&D Acquisitions and the Marquis-Larson Boat Group at the Pulaski, Wisconsin plant until it closed permanently on July 30, 2021. The facility was sold to KCS International, the parent company of Cruisers Yachts, and no factory builds new Carvers today.
What engines came in the Carver aft cabin boats?
The 326 Aft Cabin shipped with twin MerCruiser 350 MAG MPI gasoline V8s at 300 hp each, and the 346 typically carried twin 8.1 liter MerCruiser gas V8s rated 370 hp. Diesels showed up mainly on Carver's larger models. Many surviving boats have been repowered, so verify what is actually in the bilge.
What should I look for when buying an older Carver?
On a 1980s or 1990s Carver, survey for moisture in the deck and flybridge coring, check the age and condition of the original fuel tanks, and budget for tired gas engines and dated systems. These are standard old-boat items rather than Carver-specific faults, and well-maintained hulls have held up.
Can I still get parts for a Carver?
Factory support is gone, but most of what wears on a Carver is standard marine hardware. MerCruiser engine parts, common pumps, heads, and electrical gear are all off the shelf. Model-specific trim, windows, and interior pieces usually come from salvage or the owner community.
The wall
The most-documented Carver vehicles in the registry, every photo by the owner.