[mee]

...but hopefully not for too long. Friends of our family have a late 90's Shabah 182. Very nice boat! Been on it a couple times now. Eventually I'll be looking for something to accomodate our 8 family members plus room for at least 4 extra, so 12 total. From what I've been reading on this forum and across the net, that puts me into a Jubilee, and most likely a 24 footer. That might extend the time frame a bit. Thanks to all who have posted pics of your boats!!! A guy can dream! Got my eye on something similar to the 2001 yellow and white Jubilee in the gallery. Very nice!!!

[WetWilly]

Ahoy mee and welcome to the club! What's great about this club is that you don't have to own a Mariah, recognizing the quality, workmanship and value of a Mariah is where it starts.

As for your rather large crew, it does sound like the Jubilee will fit the bill but I advise trying to find one with the largest motor available for that particular year (The brochure states the 7.4L was available for 2001) as 8 - 12 passengers is a lot of weight to get moving, especially if you plan to do any water sports like Wake-boarding, Skiing or Tubing.

Good luck and we look forward to welcoming you as a new Mariah owner in the near future

WetWilly

[garyg]

Mee I have a2000 Z 272 Shabah Open Bow 7.4 MPI Bravo 111 . I have had as many as 14 adults and kids on board and we had plenty of room and lots of power to pull a 3 person Hotdog.We love all the room and my wife loves the boat handles and says its easy to back in the water. I have pctures of our Z 272 in the gallery (Gary G Z272 ) Gary G

[mee]

Originally Posted by garyg

Mee I have a2000 Z 272 Shabah Open Bow 7.4 MPI Bravo 111 . I have had as many as 14 adults and kids on board and we had plenty of room and lots of power to pull a 3 person Hotdog.We love all the room and my wife loves the boat handles and says its easy to back in the water. I have pctures of our Z 272 in the gallery (Gary G Z272 ) Gary G

Gary, I had seen a couple of the Z272's online and thought they would fit the bill, but I wasn't sure if they were really that much bigger or just a standard Shabah with a couple more features. How many people can you sit in the bow section of your boat? Is it significantly larger than a SHabah 182 bow section? I'm glad to hear that you actually managed to fit 14 and pulled a water toy. What kind of fuel consumption rate do you notice at cruising speed? Seems that a 7.4 would eat the gas pretty quick. Also, what does the MPI stand for? MultiPortInjection?

[garyg]

Mee When were on vacation with my wifes family at Paris Landing ( Ky. Lake) I had lots of teenagers and smaller kids.I rember having 7 kids in the bow one time. There was 3 teenagers on each side and smaller kid in front and they seemed to have plenty of room.They were average size kids.We boated every day at least 6 or 7 hours plus and I averaged about 30 gallons of gas a day which I thought was great for what we were doing,tubing and skiing.Yes MPI does stand for Mupi-Port-Injection. I have a Bravo 111 which is great for power,fuel consumption and steering. My Z272 came with GPS,power stearing,depth finder,Tack,radio,cd (6 speakers ),marine band radio,Bennet power trim tabs,power seats that the seat parts drops down so you can stand up,power hatch,Halon Fire system,snap out carpet ,a head(for the girls) plus lots off storage. I love the Tri-Axel Trailer handles this boat very well and trailers well ( Captains choice exhaust)

[mee]

Originally Posted by garyg

Mee When were on vacation with my wifes family at Paris Landing ( Ky. Lake) I had lots of teenagers and smaller kids.I rember having 7 kids in the bow one time. There was 3 teenagers on each side and smaller kid in front and they seemed to have plenty of room.They were average size kids.We boated every day at least 6 or 7 hours plus and I averaged about 30 gallons of gas a day which I thought was great for what we were doing,tubing and skiing.Yes MPI does stand for Mupi-Port-Injection. I have a Bravo 111 which is great for power,fuel consumption and steering. My Z272 came with GPS,power stearing,depth finder,Tack,radio,cd (6 speakers ),marine band radio,Bennet power trim tabs,power seats that the seat parts drops down so you can stand up,power hatch,Halon Fire system,snap out carpet ,a head(for the girls) plus lots off storage. I love the Tri-Axel Trailer handles this boat very well and towes well

Gary, thanks for all the info. It sounds like (and looks like, from your gallery) you have the perfect boat for an active family. What a beautiful boat!!! I love the enclosure for the aft deck, especially with the wrap around bench. That would be nice for quiet evenings on the water.

Does the Bravo III transfer power from the engine to the prop more efficiently than say a II or I? I have been looking at the longer Shabah's that are for sale on the net and one of the 25 footers is listed with a 7.4 and Bravo I. Any idea what the best combination of engine/outdrive is for 25' and 27' Shabahs? Maybe someone else could weight in on this.

[ShabahZ280]

The bravo 3 dual prop system has a better holeshot, and has better low speed maneuverability than a single prop bravo 1. However due to the complexity of the the bravo 3, it's more expensive should anything need to be repaired or replaced. I think total replacement cost for a brand new bravo 3 runs about $12-13k, vs. the bravo 1, which runs about $4-5k.

Most Mariah's with the V8 engine packages came equipped with Bravo 3's. Mine was originally, but the drive got stolen just before I purchased it, and it was replaced by a Bravo 1. I wasn't very happy when I found that out...

[garyg]

Mee I found on line new and rebuild Bravo 3 $ 6,000. and under plus installaiion. If you get a large Mariah 25ft or a Z 272 I would go with a 7.4 MPI Bravo 3 you wouldn't be sorry. We love are Z 272. My wife likes the way it handles and how easy it is back and unload and load the boat as that is her job I drive it off and when we load it up to go I drive the Z on the trailer and she hooks the boat to the trailer,putd on the saftey chain and out of the water we go.This is my 2 Cents worth .Hope you fine what will suit your needs.My opinion there is nothing my family likes better than sharing boating with there friends and family. Gary G