1996 Talari 235 Cuddy
 

I just bought my first boat on Ebay today. It is the Talari 235 Cuddy. 1996. After reading a lot of the posts here I am even more excited to go pick it up in a couple of days. I am hoping it will be fun for my family of 7 (5 kids) to get out on.

It will be nice to have this forum to answer any questions that may come up for me as a new boater.

I'm trying to figure out how to upload a few photos into these posts like I have seen in other posts.

thanks aaron

Pics
 

I think I just figured out how to upload some pics of the new boat.

Which I picked up for $11K. I think I did ok. Or at least I hope I did???

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Welcome Aaron, and congrats on the new boat! It sounds like you got a good deal, but to be a fair judge, you'd have to post some more specs, like engine size, hours, and options. The boat looks to be well taken care of, and in good shape! I think you'll find it will entertain your family for years.

This forum will help you a lot, we're all here to help each other, and there's all sorts of resources available to contributing members. Click the "Donate" button to find out more.

Be sure to post some more pics when you get it, we can add it to the Gallery section. Enjoy it!

Specs
 

The following info was provided by the seller. I have attached a few more pics as well.

1996 Mariah Talari 235 Cuddy cabin . It has been very well maintained and only has 244 hrs. It has an Alpha 1 outdrive, powered by a 5.7L 350 chevy engine, brand new stainless steel prop, tilt steering, depth finder, factory snap in carpet, JVC tilt face cd player, built in ice chest, factory mariah full cover, factory blue bemini top, this boat still shines like brand new.

Boat has been stored in a climet controled enviornment since I've owned it.

Cuddy includes small bed up front, 2 lounges on each side, or can be converted to one large sleeping area. Fresh water sink, porta potty, speaker and lights throughout.

Trailer is a Chariot made for this boat with surge brakes.

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All that for 11k? That was a steal!

Where's that envious smiley? ;)

Well done Aaron.....very nice boat!

Camping Enclosure
 

I was also wondering how difficult it would be to find or add on the following 2 items:

1. A Camping Enclosure

2. A wake Tower

Any ideas?

I think one of our Admin guys (MariahMan - Ryan) just added a tower to his boat. Check the thread in the General Chat forum under 'Watersports' for more info.
As for the camping enclosure, any good boat canvas/upholstery shop can handle that job, framing and all.

Yes, you got a great deal for 11k. That boat looks to be immaculate shape, and being stored in a climate controlled environment, the previous owner definitely knew how to take care of it!

You can get a wakeboard tower for the boat, there are many manufacturers who can adapt their models to fit our boats. They are somewhat pricy, but well worth it if you plan to do any watersports. MariahMan (the other admin) has one, and not only does it make the boat look sharp, he's put the tower to good use. He'd be the one to talk to about that.

As far as camper canvas goes, you'll most likely never be able to get an original Mariah camper canvas, so your only options are to have someone custom make one for you. Check with your local canvas shop, they can probably point you in the right direction.

Thanks for the rapid responses and info on the Tower and enclosure as well as the congrats on a good deal. Im quite buzzed up to go and get it.

I have already taken the advice given in the "Watersports" section and checked out Samson sports web site for a wake tower. It looks like a beauty. If I get that done I will be sure to add some more pics with the improvements.

Nice work Aaron - very good looking boat.

You will really like the way it rides on the water I am sure.

monstertower and samson sports are the two wakeboard towers we are debating between. Just to be safe I would buy the tower before having the canvas made. (I know I am likely stating the obvious).

We have a Z240 Talari - '95 so let me know if you have any questions, I'm sure our boats have much in common.

Brent

Brent,

Thanks for heads up on the towers that you are considering.

Those monster towers look pretty nice and the price is sure right.

I can see the dilema. Let me know what you decide and why as I will be having to make the same decisions.

I'm sure your right about having a lot of similarities in our boats. I'll let you know after I get my hands on my boat if I have any questions.

thanks
aaron

If that boat is as good in person as it looks in the pics, you should have used a gun and a mask at 11k.....congrats!!!!!!

Well I picked up my boat the other day and it has been quite the experience.

To start off with I loaded up the wife and 3 youngest kids in my Tundra on Thurs morning and we headed for Denver (8hours). Needless to say the kids were about to explode after that long of a drive.

Upon arrival the boat was in every bit the condition that the pictures had said that it would be. The former owner was a super nice fellow who showed me all the ins and outs of the boat.

We stayed the night Laramie and finished the drive home the next day. Pulling the boat was super smooth but did slow me down especially on the hills.

On the way in town I had it titled and registered and just took the boat out with the family for the first time yesterday. We had a fantastic 4 hour outing. The water was a little rough but I thought that the boat handled extremely well and was remarkably smoothe on the water. The kids loved the cuddy and the whole experience. We pulled them on a 2man tube and they loved it.

I should include that the wife was a little bit apprehensive throughout the entire process of finding and buying a boat, but midway through our outing yesterday she decided that owning a boat was actually pretty cool & that she was particularly sold on our choice of boats. She didn't like having to back the trailor down into the water at the end to pick up the boat. I think that i'll probably have to teach her to drive the boat onto the trailor and I do the backing from now on.

Is it more typical in the boating world for the wife to back the trailor or load the boat?

I have added one item to my boat to do list however and that is to upgrade the sound system. I think the radio/CD/MP3 player is fine, but out on the water there simply wasn't enough power in the sound. I will be rectifying that by adding an amp into the mix and probably upsizing to 6x9 speakers.

So here I finally am, a bona fide boat guy. Didn't think it would ever happen.

Congrats Aaron! There's nothing like a good, older and well taken care of Mariah to get you into the boating experience on the right foot!! :wink_thumbup: Mariah owners really are 'just a little bit different' and proud of their boats .....

Not to bring up an old subject, but if you are still thinking about the tower, you will pretty much get what you pay for in towers. Monster towers are common and pretty good choice, but they are "one size fits all" towers. Samson has you send pictures & measurements and they custom make each tower to fit your boat exactly. This allows you to take advantage of existing geometry to end up with the strongest & most durable setup possible.

Welcome to this fantastic forum Aaron. Convincing the wife would definately be the hardest part of buying and using any boat.
The kids too would have to think that is just so cool Dad having a boat, you will be surprised how many friends they have.
Enjoy your great choice on boats and please post some pics for us all to enjoy.

Aaron, it sounds like you had an outstanding day on the water! Congrats on that! None of us ever seem to get it perfect, but it's so much fun trying to pursue it!

Glad that Mariah was all you hoped it would be, hope it gives you lots of smiles! Before it gets too cold, take the wife out for a sunset cruise. She'll be sold on boating then!

If you want to talk sound systems, I know myself and Indykoch have been through some installations this year and we'd be glad to give you some advice if you want it.

Congrats!

Yes, we'd be glad to help with the upgraded tunes (even if we did go a little overboard (Doug more so than me)!!).

Welcome to boating!! You found a great boat! As for who backs the trailer and who drives the boat... don't know. I'm forced to do them both because my wife can't back a car WITHOUT a trailer, and she doesn't feel comfortable driving the boat yet. We have a slip, so this issue isn't brought up much, but it would be nice to have her assistance.

I am in the same predicament as you Ryan, my wife cant reverse a trailer either.
She is good at telling me when to stop though - now only a second or two AFTER the bump!
One day we had to get some stranger to reverse it in for us because of the wind and current playing havoc for us.
She is only just learning to hold the rope properly!! :shakehead:
Can you get the picture of the dramas I have had.
Can only get better eh?

My wife is downright scary when backing up a trailer....:yikes:

Well, it sounds like i'm not alone with a wife who cant back a trailer.

Fortunately I think we figured out what to do. We went out for the 2nd time today and I did as indykoch does and had my wife wait with the boat at the dock while I backed the boat and then pulled the boat onto the trailer. Went fairly well actually.

I even have the pics to prove it.

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Nice looking boat Aaron, how long did it take for your kids to get the smiles off their faces??
It just doesnt get much better than that does it? :wink_thumbup:

Congrats on the boat. It looks really nice. I have a 96 Z235 Talari and love it to death. Wife says its like a girlfriend. So. Good Luck and have fun.:wink_thumbup:

My kids have definitely been smiling a lot. :)

Well, an undisclosed fact on my part so far is that my oldest daughter is named Mariah, and so all the kids refer to the boat as "Mariahs" boat. Shes in 7th heaven with her name all over the place including the upholstery.

My 5 year old son spent the majority of 3 days straight exploring and hanging out in the boat. :yes_grin:

With family and neighbors oggling, oohing and aaahing over the boat, I guess you could say i've had a bit of a hard time wiping the smile off my own face.:rolling_laugh: