New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Hey guys! I just traded in my first bayliner capri 3.0l for a 1998 mariah shabah ( i dont know the exact model but its an 18' bowrider, its wraped for the winter)the salesman didnt have a lot of knowledge on that year of mariah. The merc service tech seemed to know a lot.
Its had a re power from the original 4.3l to a newer 5.7l merc with the twin prop bravo 3.
If theres a way to post pictures i can.
I've done some research of that year, and it seems like the mariah's have an excellent hull that utilises douglas fir incapsulated with a strong fiberglass?
The boat is in immaculate shape, i fell in love with it and was a spontanious buy, it has 240 hrs on the meter and 95 or so on the new motor.

Any info regarding that years hull construction would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks again.

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Its all spelled out in the brochures that are available on this site for the use of contributing members.

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...10098c87c0.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...6ee24a6a0e.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...8269ff9b9b.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...a1cdbcc12c.jpg




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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

5.7L with a bravoIII
That's a hell of an upgrade for a 180 shabah :wink_thumbup:
Got any pictures of the motor install?

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Not as of yet.. Old owner did re power, but ive met the merc mechanic who did it.
Im going to get some pictures of the motor soon. Some guys have told me its pushing the limit a bit, then some have said the 4.3 that was in it previously its a 60 hp upgrade. They say that motor is 260 hp but who knows what your getting at the prop, and ive never been in a boat with more than the 3.0..
Im not sure if but ive read this model mariah weighs in at 2200 lbs , with a 4.3.
Does mariah's strickly use mercruiser for theyre inboards?




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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

That's a great looking boat. Congrats!
:wink_thumbup:

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

No, they offered Volvo's as well, in addition to Mercruiser D-Tronic Diesels, and also Yamaha and OMC for a limited amount of time in the early days.

I'd limit the wide open throttle runs with that engine & drive combo. The boat was only structurally built to handle a max of 210HP with the V6. So just take it easy, otherwise there could be some serious issues arising if this was just a simple engine & drive swap, and not a full on structural reinforcement with the stringers, transom, etc...

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Thanks for that. I will ask if reinforcement was added.


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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

I jumped into the buy really. There was a glastron, a ton of bayliners, and a crownline, but tucked behind the crownline was the mariah, you don't see many here and ive read up on them so after a brief look over, spoke with the old owner.. I took it.
The one thing that stood out was the upper unit on the bravo 3 has a "4.3l" sticker on it.
Should i be leery of the ratio in the outdrive?
What is the common gear ratio for the bravo 3 with the 5.7?
Really the boat to me is a rare find here so if i have to do some work on it i wont be upset. Just need a good ( and trustworthy) mechanic for a second opinion. The one i spoke to at the dealer was very proud of his work on that boat. But i never asked if hull reinforcement was done, i was just to happy to have found it. Haha! Guess we'll see.


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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Bravo upper is a bravo upper. I'm sure they propped it to run how they wanted for gearing. If mechanic is that happy with it and he is reputable, it's probably good. My 221 with same setup has 3 blade 24's. Gearing I'm sure is different and my boat has 3600 dry weight. For the record, it's a 45 mph boat off Niagara :yes_grin:

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

The best speed I've seen out of my 180/4.3L is 53mph (GPS)
That was running very light with a tall prop...
What I will say is that at that speed the boat started to feel loose. And by that I mean it didn't have much running service in contact with the water, and had a tendency to wonder!
I have been known to drive my boat quite hard and have even asked the question (on here)
Would it be possible to fit a V8 in a 180?
It comes as an option on the 20' Boats and a 350mag/bravoIII would be my choice as well :yes_grin:

I'm in no way a hater of what's been done here, but I think the best advice I could offer would be, be aware of the creature under you, learn it's ways and watch crossing wakes as with the extra weight in the back you could end up swapping ends!

I look forward to seeing more about this boat and good luck :wink_thumbup:

http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/v...d-1%20copy.jpg

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Awsome boat!!!!! Looks great! What consists of a "tall prop" 14" 21p?
If it wasnt already winterized i be going for a burn right about now. Haha. Good show!
Another member had recommended i get the trans



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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

I was running a 22' Viper that day :p

In all honesty to tall for the setup, but hey what you gon'a do......lol

I run a 3 blade Apollo 19'x14 3/4 as my regular prop I also quite like my 20' 4 blade trophy :wink_thumbup:

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

That photo is of Andy racing to the local pub.... :yes_grin:

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Haha propped for speed to make last call!!!! Giver buddy!


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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

To the first pub Mike. ;)

http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/v...93708559_n.jpg

Always time for a second pub if you're quick :yes_grin:

http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/v...525_122808.jpg

http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/v...525_124253.jpg

Then there's the race home to beat the tide!!!

http://i681.photobucket.com/albums/v...32155210_n.jpg

As you can see my boat doesn't like to get wet.......lol

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Wow where is that???


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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

I'm in the UK :rolling_laugh:

On the south coast.
The Solent, it's a stretch of water between the mainland and the isle of wight :wink_thumbup:

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Andy maybe you can answer this, in the video " the mariah difference" it shows them manufacturing the hulls. Poeple have told me mariah's dont use wood stringers, but they did, high quality Douglas fir. Which most companies used a treated wood. Then they used a higher resin to glue ratio to "capsulate" everything.
If they did away with wood hull stringer design, what year was it?


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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Hunter, my 97 221 talari has wood bones. There is pics of it in my projects post. Sure yours will be pretty close. I haven't posted final pics from this winter because I was too ashamed of how the port seat turned out so I'm going back to 2 captains chairs this winter. Anyway, I'm sure yours is wood too, don't believe original mariah ever changed that. The glass around stringers was broke to hell but I used smiths cpes on EVERYTHING. Sorry I'll quit rambling.

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Its good! Information helps people and what to look for, whether it be it good or bad. how did you first notice? Was it isolated to a specific area? (Bow/stern)


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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...aeff080a62.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...9b0b32e32a.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...c2865ed0e6.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...463065c32b.jpg

Andy b did you do the swap yet? Lmao


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Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

Check out pics andy, us here in canada are coming out of hibernation, switching the whiskey switch off and cold beer on! Lol

Re: New owner! Need some info from the pro's!
 

I just got a notice you replied to my post. Snail mail. Anyway, the corner of a piece of decking was warped n pushing carpet up behind captains seat. Pulled floor n found the rest.