Carter 33 - potential buyer - what's she like ?

[homa]

Carter 33 - potential buyer - what\'s she like ?

I am considering the Carter 33 for the following reasons:
likes: Roomy and fast, price (a lot of boat for the money)
dislike: wooden toe rail and cockpit locker covers on the earlier models - more maintenence, most fitted with sail drive - more maintenance. Tiller takes up most of the cockpit and I would seriously consider converting to wheel steering. I have read that they are a "little tender" ?
I have a young family so don't want to put them off sailing if we get caught out in inclement weather, but on the other hand I don't want an all out cruiser.

Am I on the right track here or are there other things to consider with the Carter 33 ?

 

[Stevie_T]

Re: Carter 33 - potential buyer - what\'s she like ?

Hi Homa
I used to sail a carter 33 for a sailing school. I don't know about saildrive meaning more maintainance but the one we had, had a standard prop shaft arrangement.
Unfortunately the prop wash on the rudder was so bad that it was most uncomfortable to hold the tiller under power, so the tendancy was to support it with your leg, I did develop bruising on my thigh because of this. Of course i have no idea if the correct prop was being used etc. but I would have been tempted by saildrive for the above reason.
Other than that she was a fairly solid boat that sailed quite well and was certainly fairly roomy for her age.
Personally I didnt like the boat and neither did most of the instructors, however that was probably because she was a pretty tatty and poorly maintained example. Had she been more comfortable inside I may have formed a better opinion of her.

However assuming good condition I would have thought a Carter 33 could make a fairly good coastal cruising yacht for a family on a budget.

 

[ColinS]

Re: Carter 33 - potential buyer - what\'s she like ?

I have sailed a Carter 30 for 7 years now and apart from the wooden bits you mention I have no gripes with her.
The 33 is a stretched version of the 30 and therefore you will get a boat that goes very well in all wind conditions, especially light airs where you should have no trouble picking off many of the larger modern boats.
The genoa can be a bit of a handfull, but it will certainly build up your crews muscles.
I also have a saildrive and prefer it to shaft because of the much reduced engine noise/vibrations. The hull seal is recommended to be replaced every seven years, but I replaced the original after 18 and there were no signs of cracking or ageing at all.
Personally I wouldn't go to the bother of fitting wheel steering, because tiller is so much more responsive. It can also be folded out of the way at anchor giving you the full cockpit to lounge in.
Hope this helps /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[homa]

Re: Carter 33 - potential buyer - what\'s she like ?

Hello Colin,
What's she like in a blow, do you have to reef early ?
Is she wet when going to windward ?
What is she like manoeuvring in a marina particularly interested how she goes astern under power ?
I only mentioned the maintenance of the saildrive as I had read elsewhere here that it was a thing to look out for, but from what you say, it looks no more than for a conventional stern tube in the long run. I like the sound of less noise/vibration, hadn't occured to me, but makes sense and one thing I should consider for a sail drive as an advantage.
Thanks for your response
Matthew

 

[Phoenix of Hamble]

Re: Carter 33 - potential buyer - what\'s she like ?

Homa,

I have a 33 3/4 tonner which is a Carter design, based upon the 33, but with a bit more beam let in...... otherwise, underwater hull shape etc is very similar....

My initials answers to your questions.... (although I've only had her 3 months)...

In a blow she's a dream... tracks very well indeed, and extremely sporty performance.... bow tends to pitch a little, and causes water over the foredeck a little, and it washes down the side decks... but nothing serious, especially with a furling genny....

She's perhaps a liitle wet to windward, but no where near as much as say a Contessa 32...... and the standard 33 design has a decent set of coamings that should keep it out of the cockpit ok.... I certainly haven't got this marker down as a problem....

I tend to reef reasonably early anyway with 2 young kids on board, but I do also have an enormous furling genny of over 150%, so thats my first target... I've sailed her briefly in 18kts with full main... and perhaps for a cruise I would have added a single reef in the main for comfort, but she wasn't demanding it.....just a small furl in the genny to balance her up.... Looking at the rig, its quite large by the standards of her age group anyway....

I don't have a saildrive.. its a conventional shaft with a twin blade prop.... but its OK in reverse.... a slight kick in my case to port, but with a relatively deep and short fin, not a problem to maneouvre...... I do occassionaly reverse onto my berth, so obviously confident enough to do that....

My critiscms would be....

the shallow bilges are a bit of a pain.... they could do with being slightly deeper to manage any water ingress, but then again, you can't either lose stuff in them, and they are easy to clean!

The aft locker area needs careful attention... some versions I looked at were very poor on best use of space... others were better...

engine access is OK, but could be better.... I have to crawl inside one of the stern lockers to get at the fuel tank, and its associated agglomerator....

Storage space needs some consideration... I've improved mine vastly by shelving in various lockers, and adding doors etc etc.....

On the positive side, the pilot berths are a real bonus... not many boats of this size in this price range with such good accomodation....

Finally, I'm in Ipswich, if you ever want to come and have a poke around, you are most welcome.. let me know....

 

[ColinS]

Re: Carter 33 - potential buyer - what\'s she like ?

Hi Homa,
It depends what you mean by a blow. I don't normally reef the Genoa until I get greater than 18 knots true average, but the boat is heeling quite a way by then and there is a noticable weather helm. A couple of turns sorts it out makes a more comfortable (upright) ride. Higher wind speeds than that and it is your choice. Because the Main is secondary to the power in the Genoa you can leave it unreefed certainly up to a good force 5. The ride is not too wet going into a sea, as long as you don't try to sail hard on the wind - freeing off by 5-10 degrees makes a drier sail and allows the boat to ride the waves rather than punch into them.
Manouvering, as NAS said, is fairly straightforward - or straight backward. Just a little kick to port before the rudder and keel take over. Quick bursts of power on full lock will almost spin the boat around its keel.