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When I was told last year that Carver was going to build an entry-level, inboard-powered, flying-bridge cruiser, I wondered. In the 1990's it offered just such a boat, a 32-foot convertible with twin 270-hp gasoline inboards, and in the 1990's it sold a ton of 330 Mariners, a similar design. Both boats succeeded because of Carver's knack for making a small boat feel bigger than it actually was.
But since then Carver has turned its attention away from the entry-level craft on which it built its reputation and focused on ever-larger boats, culminating with the Italianesque 59- and 65-foot Marquis motoryachts. The move is understandable—after all, big boats are where the big money is. The question in my mind was whether the guys who created the Marquis and hired Porsche Design to help polish the look of their boats could still build an entry-level cruiser that could suceed in a brutally competitive market.
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I bet Carver dealers wondered the same thing, too, for as I learned later, they were the ones who pushed for this boat, mostly so they could capture owners of small express boats. They also demanded that this new boat have plenty of standard features and equipment and be competitively priced.
As I approached the quay at Trio Marine Group, Carver's Palm Beach Gardens, Florida dealer, my first impression of Hull No. 3 was positive. It wasn't a bad-looking boat. Flying-bridge boats in this size range often look—and often are—top-heavy, and while no one will mistake the 33 SS for a Marquis, her lines are well-proportioned given the constraints of the package. Carver's trademark elongated side windows help compensate for a short foredeck (the full-length, three-piece sunpad there is only five feet long), despite a waist-high, long bowrail, elevated side decks (to create more cabin space), and 2'4"-high (inside measurement) cockpit bulwarks. Carver designers obviously made the judgment that safety trumps style here, and considering the 33's target audience—young families—it seems like a smart decision.
The quay was slightly lower than the 33's side decks, which have no boarding gates, and the cockpit coaming and standard, PWC-capable (3'2"-deep) swim platform were well below, so I had to hurdle the rail, a feat admittedly unnecessary on a floating dock. Five steps down and I was in the cockpit, seven feet long from sliding saloon door to transom, although the molded-in side deck steps occupy a lot of that. Still, there's room for a few chairs and even a small table. Our boat had the optional Sport Package, which includes an above-deck baitwell forward and to starboard in front of the fixed portion of the door, four rocket-launcher-style rod holders on the flying bridge, four more in the gunwales, a 2'10"Lx1'8"Wx1'2"D fishbox cockpit lights, and reinforcement for a fighting chair and outriggers. There's stowage under the port stair; presumably there is under the starboard one as well, but the baitwell blocks access to it. A 1'10"-wide transom door of half-inch Starboard leads to the platform, while a shower and cabinet for shore connections inhabit the transom. A 2'x2' hatch to port gives access to the area beneath the cockpit sole—even under the fishbox—nd forward up into the engine space.
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