Carver 506 Motor Yacht, a 51 ft Condo With a Sunroof

The Carver 506 bet everything on interior volume

Carver has never been shy about styling, and the Carver 506 Motor Yacht was its boldest statement of the early 2000s. Launched for the 2000 model year and built through 2003, according to HMY's powerboat guide, the 506 took a conventional 51 ft 7 in by 15 ft 4 in aft cabin motor yacht and raised its side decks well above the sheer. That let the saloon run almost to the hull sides, and Carver's own literature called the result a great room combining saloon, galley and dining area.

The looks divided people then and still do. HMY says the huge profile always turns heads, but not always in admiration. Yachting's tester admitted it took him more than a few minutes to warm to the lines, before concluding that Carver had delivered a layout you might expect on a 60 footer. That trade, accepting a tall, busy profile in exchange for a floating condominium, is exactly why people searching for a Carver 506 Motor Yacht for sale tend to be families and liveaboards rather than traditionalists.

Bridge, aft deck and saloon: three climate-controlled levels

The 506 is built around three entertaining levels, all of which can be enclosed and air-conditioned. Up top, a hardtop with a retractable glass sunroof, 82 by 60 inches according to Yachting, spans the bridge and the aft deck. The bridge has a triple-wide helm bench, an L-shaped lounge aft, a double-wide lounge to starboard and a wet bar, and it is fully enclosed so it works as a pilothouse on cold or wet days.

An integral stairway drops to the aft deck, about 118 sq ft with a storage locker and no built-in seating, which leaves room for loose furniture. Wing doors open onto the raised side decks and boarding gates, and a transom door and circular stair lead to a 61 sq ft swim platform. From the aft deck it is only a few steps down into the saloon, which keeps guests on every level within earshot of the helm.

A full-beam great room finished in cherry

Inside, tiered elliptical windows let you see out whether seated or standing. The original standard layout has an UltraLeather L-shaped sofa to port, a love seat and twin recliners to starboard, a round free-standing table with four chairs forward and a galley opposite with wood plank flooring, solid-surface counters, a three-burner electric range, oven, microwave, refrigerator and freezer. Cherry cabinetry was standard, with maple offered as an option. Cabin headroom is 6 ft 5 in.

The master stateroom aft has a queen island berth with an innerspring mattress, cedar-lined hanging lockers, a settee and a split head with the toilet and the shower-tub in separate compartments. Forward, the VIP rivals the master with its own queen island berth and a private head with stall shower. The third stateroom has its own enclosed head; Yachting described it as cramped and best for children, and suggested moving the washer and dryer there from the master. With three heads and three staterooms, HMY rightly says the 506 offers the accommodations of many 60 ft yachts.

How Carver built it: no wood below the waterline

The 506 belonged to the first generation of Carvers built to the company's revised structural design of 2000, which eliminated wood below the waterline. Yachting describes a solid hand-laid bottom of six layers of triaxial and mat reinforcement with a vinylester skin coat against blisters, foam coring in the hull sides above the waterline and balsa in the decks and superstructure. A matrix of transverse frames and continuous longitudinal stringers was molded separately and bonded to the hull, welded aluminum beams carry the plywood saloon sole, and fiberglass liners define the accommodations.

Carver backed the boats with a transferable limited warranty of seven years on structure and five on blistering, long since expired but a sign of the company's confidence at the time. The bulkheads are marine plywood, so look carefully at their tabbing and at any area where water has collected.

From 450 hp Cummins to 675 hp Volvos

The standard engines were twin Cummins 450C diesels. Carver's option sheet adds Cummins QSM11s at 535 or 635 hp, Volvo TAMD74P EDC and Volvo D12 EDC at 675 hp, and Yachting's test boat had the Volvo TAMD74Ps. HMY puts the cruise speed with the 450 hp Cummins at 16 to 18 knots. Fuel is 510 gallons in two welded 5052 aluminum wing tanks, which Yachting considered a little shy for a 50 footer, and Carver claimed a range of about 230 miles at 20 knots.

Machinery access is through a hatch built into the saloon sole and the steps up to the aft deck. Yachting found it a little awkward to lift, but the engine room beneath runs the length of the saloon and access once inside is excellent. Standard equipment included hydraulic steering, trim tabs, an isolation transformer, an inverter and a generator; larger Kohler or Onan sets were required once air conditioning was added to the bridge and aft deck.

Proof as a family liveaboard

Yachting's 2024 Great Loop feature tells the story of Carson and Allison Diltz and their two teenage daughters, who traded a Sealine 42 for a Carver 506 called Crab Shack because the girls wanted their own cabins and Allison wanted a washer and dryer and a bigger galley. They left Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, in 2022, schooled the girls remotely over Starlink, crossed to the Bahamas and were home by summer 2023. It is a good illustration of what the 506 does best: space for a family for months at a time.

Owning a 506 after Carver

Carver closed permanently on July 30, 2021, so there is no factory support. Engines, generators, air conditioning and steering are standard marine components and easy to service, but proprietary parts such as window glass, hardtop and sunroof components and interior fittings must come from used-parts specialists or be fabricated. A sunroof that does not seal or a cracked frameless window can be an expensive fix.

Budget roughly $38,000 to $75,000 a year to keep a 506 in the US, covering a 52 to 55 ft slip, insurance, haul-out and bottom work, engine and generator service and a reserve for canvas, enclosures and air conditioning. Fuel at 16 to 18 knots on two diesels adds considerably on top if you cruise widely; many owners run at displacement speed on the Loop and rivers to stretch range.