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 CARVER
33SS - MODERN BOATING
(JUNE 2006)
Issue: June 2006
 CREATURE
COMFORTS
You'll feel more at home afloat on this boat
than in your own living room.
WORDS BARRY TRANTER
In my next life I want to be a naval
architect and/or boat designer. In this life
I don't have what it takes; if we do get
another lap of the block in the afterlife,
perhaps the Gods will confer on me the
skills I missed out on this time around.
Take this US-built Carver 33SS. What options
did the designers pursue before they settled
on this configuration and layout? How many
times did they argue late into the night
about what they wanted this boat to be, and
how they planned to get it?
This is an 11.66m, 38ft 3in hull, measured
from the stem to the aft end of the landing
platform. No one is too sure why it's called
the 33, as it certainly has nothing to do
with hull length.
After they burned the midnight oil, Carver's
designers decided to place the engines
amidships and to drive through conventional
shaft s. They pushed the profile of the
superstructure way forward (as smaller cars
seem to be doing) which doesn't look great
on paper but looks fine in life. The long
coachroof gives the designers massive
internal volume, with room to place galley
and dinette amidships, to have a huge saloon
and a four-seater flybridge.
LAYOUT
The owner's cabin is in the bow, with a
queen-sized island double bed. The bathroom
is en-suite with the owner's cabin and a
second door in the companionway for guest
use. The bathroom has a separate shower
cubicle with glass door and an electric
toilet.
Instead of trying to squeeze in a second
cabin, the designers chose an adjustable
pedestal for the dinette table, allowing it
to lower and form a double berth. The seat
back cushions are Velcroed in place; tear
them off and they help form the double bed.
The galley has a two-burner electric cooker
in a glass top, Corian workbench, microwave,
upright fridge and freezer.
Aft of the dinette/galley line on the
portside is a lounge chair and to starboard
a deep, cushy lounge which folds out to form
a double bed. Richard Pym from Pathfinder
Marine Sydney, the Carver importers, got
plenty of practice at the 2005 Sydney Boat
Show unfolding and setting up this lounge.
By the time we tried the boat he had got it
down to four seconds.
Excuse me if I rabbit on about the Carver's
interior, but this is the feature that
really sets this boat apart. The designers
have placed moulded stairs each side of the
cockpit. They give you access to the
sidedecks which are raised well clear of
gunwale height. What does this achieve? It
means the saloon exploits the hull's full
width, up to waist height anyway, which adds
to that internal volume. The décor on this
boat was in American cherry wood, with
fabrics in off -white and beiges.
The 33SS is a family boat, no question, but
Carver haven't forgotten the old man. The
cockpit floor is reinforced to take a game
chair, there's no fixed cockpit furniture
and the driving position is at the aft end
of the flybridge, so the skipper can see
what's happening around the cockpit and
transom.
You can also option a baitwell, fish boxes,
rod holders and rocket launchers. The
navigation light is high to help with night
time reversing. You can have a bow thruster
if you want, but with twin engines, you can
surely squeeze her into the marina's
inner-most berth.
There are engineering points to discuss,
too. The 33 has two battery chargers, one
linked to the genset batteries so the boat
can never run out of power. There is a
separate switch for the engine battery in
the hold so little fingers can't get to it.
Americans face serious fines for discharging
sewage overboard so the relevant valve is
hidden.
PERFORMANCE
Our boat had twin 330hp Crusader petrol
engines, 5.7lt V8s. You can have bigger
engines, but 660hp is sure to be enough.
Richard Pym and his partner at Pathfinder,
James Mark Anthony, are big fans of the
Crusaders. "They are based on a GM block and
have full freshwater cooling which includes
the risers and manifolds," says Richard.
"In the past five years, closed fuel systems
have helped address the safety aspect of
petrol," adds James. "And you need to do
1000 hours a year to justify the purchase
price difference between petrol and diesel."
The 33 hull is not a constant deadrise
design, it's what they used to call a
warped-plane hull, which means the vee
flattens towards the stern. There are no
tunnels for the props.
On some boats, a warped-plane hull can mean
the bow lift s a lot when planing, but on
the 33 the bow-lift is small and, as the
only driving position is upstairs, you don't
notice anyway. It simply jumps onto the
plane.
The boat rode well and was nicely damped
fore-and-aft , which means there was no
jerking in the motion on the flybridge.
We took the 33 out to sea looking for swell,
but it was perhaps the quietest day off the
Sydney coast since James Cook didn't stop
here in 1770.
At speed, the hull makes only a
moderate-sized hole in the water, a purely
subjective measure of a boat, but to me it
signifies an efficient hull,
efficiently-driven.
CARVING UP THE COMPETITION
The designers and builders of Carver boats
aim to make new owners feel as comfortable
afloat as they would be at home.
The price includes way too much stuff to
mention; reverse-cycle aircon, LCD TV with
DVD, even doona cover, sheets, pillows and
towels. Pathfinder includes what they call
the 'Cruiseaway package', which includes
safety gear, registration, two years of
antifouling and service. They encourage and
help owners to get their licenses.
The Carver 33SS (Super Sport) is an
interesting and original piece of work which
packs a lot into its length. The familiar
view of American boats is that they are all
alike, but this is not the case. In the US,
builders can define their own niche and the
size of the market ensures there will be
plenty of buyers.
And Carver's USP is fitting a lot into a
moderately-sized hull, without inhibiting
performance and handling.
But if the 33 is a piece of work, have a
look at its big sister, the 38SS. It's 39ft
11in, which is 20 inches longer than the 33.
Designers have managed to fit two cabins and
head on the lower level, plus a full saloon
above.
ENGINE ROOM
Test boat had twin 330hp Crusader petrol V8s
with shaft drive.
SPECIFICATIONS
LOA: 27'
BEAM: 8' 6"
DRAFT: 1' 11"
WEIGHT: 3122kg
MAX HP: 320hp
FUEL: 322lt
FRESHWATER: 76lt
SLEEPS: Four
PRICE: $
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