[Barry Faulkner]

I recently purchased a Mariah 180, 1999 mondel Shabah, with a 190 hp mercrusier. the boat is great, we love it however I have a couple of issues that I could use some advice on. 1. It takes a little time to plane off, especially with a few people in the boat can that be affected by changing props? also, my fuel guage willl register full at fill up but drop quickly to empty when I know there is atleast 1/2 a tank remaining. suggestions?

[huntnfish]

Which prop do you have, dia. and pitch? I am running a 4X21 with my 93 Diablo 4.3LX, no problems pulling up skiers or planning. Also have a whale tail on the lower unit.
My gas gauge stays full for most of the day and it goes down quick once it gets to half a tank. Also check to see if your vent may be plugged, sometimes a bug will build a nest in there and plug it.

[Phlorida]

Hey there Barry -

Nice boat....congratulations. 1) I have the same size boat but the 2007 model. My boat wouldn't plane at all and the nose pointed to the sky until I installed a pair of Nauticus SmartTabs. They completely transformed the boat. 2) I had similar issues last year with my fuel gauge. My mechanic cleaned all of the connections during my annual service and the gauge reads accurately now.

Good luck and have fun.

[mikeyt]

Originally Posted by Barry Faulkner

I recently purchased a Mariah 180, 1999 mondel Shabah, with a 190 hp mercrusier. the boat is great, we love it however I have a couple of issues that I could use some advice on. 1. It takes a little time to plane off, especially with a few people in the boat can that be affected by changing props? also, my fuel guage willl register full at fill up but drop quickly to empty when I know there is atleast 1/2 a tank remaining. suggestions?

Hi Barry

Phlorida has pretty much answered your issues. I 'hate' whale tails and would always recommend the Smart Tabs. I suspect you have a 21" pitch prop on your boat from what you are saying but you will need to check it. Remove the prop and the info should be stamped on the inside of the hub.

Do you have any idea what your rpms are at WOT (Wide Open Throttle)? Your 4.3L should be somewhere between 4400-4800 and preferably near the 4800 mark.

[Barry Faulkner]

Originally Posted by mikeyt

Hi Barry

Phlorida has pretty much answered your issues. I 'hate' whale tails and would always recommend the Smart Tabs. I suspect you have a 21" pitch prop on your boat from what you are saying but you will need to check it. Remove the prop and the info should be stamped on the inside of the hub.

Do you have any idea what your rpms are at WOT (Wide Open Throttle)? Your 4.3L should be somewhere between 4400-4800 and preferably near the 4800 mark.

Can you tell me the difference between whale tails and smart tabs? I believe you are correct on the 21' prop. which direction do I go to "get out of the hole" better? down?

[Barry Faulkner]

Can you tell me the difference between whale tails and smart tabs? I believe you are correct on the 21' prop. which direction do I go to "get out of the hole" better? down?

[huntnfish]

Smart tabs attach to the transom and the whale tail (or sting ray hydrofoil) attaches to the lower unit. I prefer the hydrofoil because we beach the boat alot and there could be damage to the tabs from hitting the bottom.
do a search on Google to see pictures of them.

Yes, go down on your prop pitch

[Phlorida]

Barry - I will defer to the more technical folks on the forum but I don't think that i would try a new prop before I tried tabs or the whale tale. Those solutions are cheaper than a prop and are likely to solve the issues that you describe. With my 18 footer and the 3.0l Alpha One I can't imagine a prop change having much effect.

[mikeyt]

I agree with Phlorida at this point. Normally, if you dont want to install the Smart Tabs then a 2" drop in pitch (to 19" assuming you have a 21") will definitely help with the low end 'grunt'. The nice thing about Smart Tabs is that they not only solve that problem but allow you to keep your 21" prop (and its extra top end speed) while also reducing or eliminating low speed wander and they are fairly easy to install. They also self-adjust to the load presented to them so that when you get up to cruising speed they have just a slight affect on the stability of the boat. Plus i've also heard that they will slice your loaf of bread & make coffee for you in the morning....