1999 Z302
 

Hello all,

I am happy to say that I am a new owner of a 1999 Mariah Z302 that I brought home after a 2100 mile non-stop road trip to NY this past weekend.

I have been searching for either a Z302 or a Z300 for the past several months and came across a deal that could not be passed up. With other 1998-2000 models selling from the mid 30's to the high 40's this ad for a 1999 Z302 for 19,995 really caught my eye. Boat was listed on Yachtworld and was being sold at a marina in Huntington, NY and the description said it needed some work. I called and found out the details and agreed upon $16,500 sight unseen and the next day sent out my deposit to hold the boat. Two weeks later road trip and here I am now with a boat that even though needs some attention the overall condition is in great condition. I plan on swapping out the 7.4L with either a 502 Magnum or a 496 Mag HO. I have found several good candidates for around the 10k area and when all is said and done I will probably have a total of 28k in her.

I will keep everyone here posted on my process and will probably need some question answered along the way.

Take care,
Boatcrazy

she looks beautiful,

welcome to the club
cant wait to see the finished product

Wow, what a steal! Keep us updated with the progress, and if you've got any questions, feel free to ask. We're all here to help. :)

Thanks for the welcome.

There are a few things I am going to need to fix and or replace and I have no idea where to start looking for those items.

*Both bow docking lights need to be replaced. Cases are fine just bad bulbs. Original Supplier?

*Rear seat hinges missing and I think they were the type that folded forward before opening. Just need to find out original supplier and or dimensions

*Dash gauge lights not working and I assume it may have something to do with the dimmer switch. Any ideas?

*Interior lights not working at all. I hope just a bad connection.

*GPS unit non functional but I will probably replace with more current unit. Any ideas?

*Cockpit & Bow covers missing. May have to go to local canvas shop to replace.
Any ideas?

*I am interested in getting the camper canvas for the boat but due to the fact that the original company is no longer in business I may have to have it made locally. There is a Z302 being sold at a marina close to my home that has the camper option from Mariah on the boat and I may try to get in touch with the owner and see if he will let me make a template out of it as to have a shop duplicate it? Anybody else interested?


I was able to retreive the three ring binder manual from the owner so that has a great wiring schematic and other useful bits of information. I will scan the manual in to allow other club members to view if needed.

I'll try and answer everything as best as I can.

Original Supplier of Docking Lights Barnegat Marine Lights

I believe the rear seat hinges were made in-house at Mariah.

Dash gauge lights, start with the dimmer switch, and go from there. You've got the manual, so use the schematics and start tracing it all down. There are bulbs in the individual gauges, but I doubt all of the would burn out unless your boat was submerged or something.

Interior lights, check for corrosion on the contact points. For some reason, many of the connections on the Mariah's are known to corrode with the slightest amount of moisture. Pull the connectors apart, sand the contacts down and reconnect. That seems to work on the majority of the electrical issues people have had here.

GPS, I probably would replace it if you plan to use it for a chartplotter or navigation. I'm assuming you've got the Lowrance Globalmap model that came stock? It's outdated by about 8 years. The new units use GPS+ WAAS, which is accurate to about 9ft.

I had my cockpit cover redone this year from the local canvas shop. They did an amazing job, and custom made it on the spot. However I'll advise you to order your top during the off-season, as pricing is much more reasonable then. Canvas places are struggling for business in the winter, so prices are much lower.

We have all the owners manual material and much more included in the contributors section of the site. You'll find everything from brochures to schematics and service manuals. Click the "Donate" button for more info. You won't be disappointed.

Welcome aboard Boatcrazy! It looks like you have your hands full with the repairs but it also sounds like you got a great deal on the boat. As for your Mariah needs you have come to the right place! Lots of knowledge here, a little silliness at times but most of all there is always someone here who is willing to help you out. As Chris says, becoming a contributing member is always worthwhile!

Thank you everyone for your replies and information. I plan on spending most of my Labor Day weekend working on the Mariah and putting the buffer to it's hull. So far things are looking better everyday and think I have located the engine that I would like to have power her. A Mercruiser 502 Magnum totally rebuilt with all new parts and accessories and comes with a year warranty.

I have enclosed a few more pictures and will keep them coming along the process.

Have a great weekend.

Steve

Nice Mariah
 

Steve-

Nice wheels on the Suburban or Yukon - what are they?

Also the trailer looks different... did you take your own trailer to pick up the boat?

Keep us posted on the project... I have a bunch of surprises for our Z240 in store for the winter and will post pics...

Brent

Brent,

Thanks for the compliments. The wheels are 24" Giovanna Abruzzo that I purchased slightly used (4000k miles) from a guy off Ebay that was going through a divorce.

Yes, I did tow my trailer from Florida to New York to bring the boat home. They had a Prestige trailer that came with the boat that was originally for a Z280 but I did not want to take the chance of it not making the 1100 mile trip home just to turn around and sell it because I already had a new triple axle aluminum trailer. If anybody needs a nice trailer for a Z280 the original owners may sell it for a great price.

Things are going very well with the boat. I have totally buffed the entire hull with 3M Finesse It III 1500 Compound and it shines like new. Lots of work but well worth the time and effort.

Fixed the bow compartments so now they drain into the bilge and not in the cabin. Also drilled small holes into the Todd pedestal table bases so they to will drain into the bilge. I purchased new stainless cup holders that have a drain nipple attached and will be installing those this weekend and will attach aquarium hoses to allow those to drain as well.

I removed the cabin floor to clean out underneath it and found alot of misc hardware that should of not been there?? I also cleared out the drain passage to make sure everything drains properly.

Removed the factory TV/VCR and stereo to get ready to install 17"-19" LCD with Pioneer Mobile DVD/CD Player, 4 new Infinity 6 1/2" speakers and a Infinity powered subwoofer.

I took out all the cushions and upholstery and took them to my local marine shop to have them recoverd in matching tan marine interior vinyl.

Removed rear center seat section and upper section to get ready to pull motor this weekend and check things over. I have cleaned the entire engine compartment with simple green and it is looking like new again and plan on cleaning up all the wiring with wire ties (my speciality) and making all the wires the correct length to get rid of some uneccessary loops.

I have located some good deals on replacement engines and am not sure if I should go with a newly rebuilt 502 Mag (415hp) or a low hour 496HO (425hp) take out? Same price and a both a ready to bolt up and go.

I have go through and fixed most all the electrical problems other than the dash gauge dimmer switch. The lights work if I connect them directly to 12v so I may just have a bad dimmer?


Well that it for now but plan on spending more time this upcoming weekend and will keep you all informed.

Boatcrazy Steve

Steve, sounds like you've been busy! Personally, I think I'd go with the 496. It's a newer technology engine, could possibly still be under the Mercruiser warranty, and it's always a general rule, always buy the biggest and most powerful engine you can. However, if there's a price difference over $1k, I'd pick the cheaper one, as you're only talking about 10hp, which equates to maybe 1mph top speed gain.

One of the members on here, Doug (moondance100) repowered with a 502, he can probably chime in with some more info.

Wow Steve, you are putting me to shame with your efficiency; I am inspired!

Cannot wait to hear the funny stories about what was under the floor....

Hit us with a link for the stainless cupholders with nipples; I could be talked into that.

Post some pics when you get time. Thanks,

Brent

Ditto for the SS cupholders c/w nipples! I think Dudders was looking for them also.

Boatcrazy, that sounds like you'll have a busy fall and winter ahead of you! I got a crash course on big block replacement this past year when I repowered my cracked 7.4L with an 8.2L. The 8.1 and 8.2 aren't the same engine. If your 7.4 had rectangular intake ports, the 8.2 will be a direct bolt in replacement. If you go with the 8.1, you'll have to look at different manifolds and other issues.

I bought a brand new GM 502 for about $5500 frieght included from

http://www.1800runsnew.com/gm12.htm


My 502 bolted right in where the 454 was....6 more pounds and tons more torque!!

Good luck!!

Thanks for the info Moondance. Did you keep your 7.4L accessories and bolt them on? I think my 7.4L has the small oval port heads so I do not think my intake and fuel injection system will bolt up. I am probably going to just sell my 7.4L outright and just replace the entire engine. Still have to think that one over before I make that plunge on either a 502 Magnum or the 496 Mag Ho.

Mikeyt, Bdbyrnes & Dudders,
Here's the link to where I purchased my SS cupholders. They look much better in person.
https://www.surplusunlimited.com/Mer...Category_Code=

I plan on removing the engine this weekend if I can come up with a way to lift it higher than the boat on the trailer. My neighbors cherry picker just will not lift it high enough. I then plan on cleaning up the wiring in the engine compartment while the engine is removed and moving some things around. I am going to try to plumb all the water feed lines to a single tank somewhere in the boat. My boat had a large plastic tank for the transom shower and two little soft bladders for the cabin and cockpit faucets???? Does not make sense but oh well.

I will post pictures of the rear seat removed with the engine in as well as the engine out. I will also post pictures of the cabin floor removed and the goodies I found below it. I have also been downloading alot of pictures of Mariah Z300's and Z302's online over the past year and could post them here if possible.

Take care,
Steve

WOW :eek:
Boat crazy is so appropriate a name :D
Thanks for the link to the stainless cup holders, My nice Aussie beer will be very cold (and cool looking) sitting in them thanks very much.
If you are ever in my neighbourhood come on by and spend some time on my boat, my list is no where near as extensive as yours!! :D
Welcome to the site, of course by now you are fully aware of how awesome and passionate all of these Mariah owners are - just wish we had some of the older ones here for me to look at buying - I have a feeling the originals are 10 times better than the post '02 models.

Dudders,

I hope the cup holders work out for you. I have put together a few other boat projects in the past. A 1979 21' Checkmate Entertainer bow rider that I purchased for $300 and sunk around $15k into not including my labor. I also purcased and am currently using a 1999 Donzi Z235 Sport deck boat that was a repo and have put alot of time customizing it by adding 8 Infinity 6x9's, 3 12" Subwoofers in a custom starboard/fiberglass enclosure amongst many other modifications.

I came across this Z300 on EBay if anybody is looking for one. I think it will probably sell for around 30k or maybe lower according to the listing.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...MEWA:IT&ih=004

Steve

yep, the 502 justed bolted in. The only issue I had was the the new engines have no provisions for a mechanical fuel pump ( would have been same had a repowered with a new 454), so I had to put an electric fuel pump in it.

I had to have to carb rebuilt (weber 4bbl), other than that, it ran perfectly the day I left the boat shop.

Welcome and you scored!
 

Wow, Nice boat!!! I want to see more pics! Welcome to the group.