new sx18
 

I am looking for a new bowrider for family cruising up to 7 adults.
compairing sx18 with 190HP with crownline / stingray / etc.
Prefer the look of Mariah but have had some negative feedback from some dealers.
Look forward to any comments to help my decision.

'mayal' and 'dudders' both have that particular model although mayal is still waiting for his to arrive down under. Have a look at some of Dudder's posts for some insight to his boat. The Stingray should be 1-2mph faster (same size/engine etc) due to its hull design but the Mariah should have more comfortable ride. How does the Crownline compare price wise? By 'negative feedback from some dealers' do you mean comments made by the competition? If so, that would be a salesman talking.....

Gidday Shilo,
My wife and I love our SX18, we take 4 - 6 adults on it often with no problemo at all. The other day we had 4 adults on board and hit 51mph. That is plenty fast enough for me. When we use the biscuits we get onto plane really fast and has no worries with the weight behind it. We have the 190hp V6 Mercruiser with a 4 blade SS prop so hole shot is great.
Without biscuits we get onto plane in 3 seconds easy - I installed the trim tabs (with thanks to MikeyT) which makes life real easy particularly when going slowly - no chining now.
We had our boat moored beside a bayliner the other day, same size same colour scheme and age, and I tell you ours had a bunch of better features than that boat.
The other guy was really impressed with the extra little features ours had that his didnt.
I agree with MikeyT that if the sales men are bagging these boats then its just salesmen talk.
You really need to take a few for a blat on the lake or river and make up your own mind. But value for money I would certainly buy another Mariah particularly before a Bayliner.
Dont forget the motors will all be the same, so thats a no brainer there. Our dash board layout is definately the best of all of them, the stereo is conveniently hidden away and really easily accessable in it own glove box - I think mine is the Sirius ready one (but we dont have Sirius radio stations in Australia !!). But the sound system is great. The fact that there is a seperate anchor well is also a bonus, saving you trying to find a spot to put your anchor somewhere.
The side floor pockets are great too, we put heaps of stuff in them, I know Tahoe dont have these so again you have to find a spot for stuff that you would want to get your hands on easily.
We had a few minor little problems when we bought ours, but it was second hand so you gotta expect this sometimes. It was all fixed under warranty anyway so no cost to me :p
Good luck with your purchase no matter which way you go.
One other added bonus of buying a Mariah is joining this great forum to get all your answers and have some extra fun.:wink_thumbup:

:rolleyes:The crownline is about 5k more but looks to be in a higher class.The negative feedback has been from opposition salesmen saying the Mariah is not in their brands class.

:wink_thumbup: Thanks dudders for your info. Went back to the dealer yesterday to check out the new 08 models, he had half a dozen in stock with another 15 to come in by xmas.Vynal trim has been upgraded but don't like the new dark brown on all boats. Glove box / radio door seems a bit flimsy?Overall boat looks very impressive.

My internet connection is really really slow today - lots of traffic and very heavy cloud cover so the satellite is struggling to do its job.

The Crownlines are very nice too, the last one I saw didnt have a front seat for the missus to face forward, she didnt like that idea, but yeah overall they are very nice boats, I dont think I remember seeing and anchor well either on the crownlines.
Bloody salesmen that bag the opposition really loose a sale for me. There is no need for it, if their boats were good enough to win you over then they wouldnt have to bag to others.
Good luck with your new boat.
What is the name of the Sydney dealer that you are looking at?

Hey dudders, Your right the Crownlines don't have an anchor well, I don't think any other brands have one either. The dealership is Good Times Marine at Taren Point.:epic_battle:

Sx20
 

We bought a new SX20 in April and it is essentially the same boat, but larger. We have had no problems with the boat other than the hourmeter quit after 2 hours and some loose bolts here and there. The boat runs great, and we used it all summer without issues. It is a great looking boat. It is certainly not a Cobalt, but you are not paying that price either. My opinion after one season is that it is a good built boat in the middle of the price range and is worth the money. We are quite happy with it. We spend a lot of time on the water and I see a lot of boats and it appears to be on par with almost any of them given the money.....

Boxcar

Congratulations on your SX20 Boxcar, there is one for sale at our local dealer,
he is asking (I think) about $57,000 Aussie dollars for it. And yes it is virtually identical to the SX18 of mine except of course a bit bigger. I think its got the V8 motor as well.
Value for money is right up there with them for sure, we certainly get a lot of comments whenever we launch or retrieve (good things about the boat I mean, NOT our pathetic attempts of getting the boat in and out).
Did you check your wiring for the hour meter? Or have you already fixed it?

Sx20
 

The hourmeter itself was bad. The dealer gave me one and I put in in myself to keep from having to leave the boat there.

Our boat also has the 5.0 V8. I gave somewhere in the neighborhood of $27,000 for it. It has met our expectations and it is a beautiful boat. I love the looks of it sitting at the dock while we are loading and unloading.

Boxcar

Shilo
 

Hey dudders, do you have trouble getting your boat in & out? If so why. What type of trailer do you have?

look forward to seeing pictures of your sx20

I dont have any problems now getting the boat in and out, I have problems with just about everything else though:shakehead:
My rear wheel drive car has heaps of power but even so when the tide is out I have to get down to the slippery parts of the slips and that makes it interesting.
XR6ST has the same car (newer though) as mine and same boat, he might be able to chime in here if you are experiencing problems.

hey tony i did forget to say i got traction control on mine:wink_thumbup: which it make it a bit easier when pulling out,:D but if it too slipperly the smoking start until it out of the slime or sand:rolling_laugh:

Yeah that would be an advantage when slippery for sure.
My trailer is single axled and the tyres show that there is weight on it although they are at correct pressure rating. :eek_animated:

my trailer is a brooker and it doesnt show the weight:yes_grin: also has the rollers which also make it easier when putting it back on:wink_thumbup:

:
Hi Shilo, just read your thread and i to got some negitive feed back but found a semi honest oposition salesman. He admited that the SX18 was a quality boat and for the price we got ours he could not match it ($29990). I spent many hours reserching before I commited and could not even match the price and quality second hand. I have not recieved mine yet, It arrived in Sydney today :rolling_laugh:. With the warranty and the fact that it is rare in Aus and will really stand out I would go for it. I know Dudders is happy with his. I will be happy to let know how ours goes in about two weeks. This is our familys first boat and it was with the advice from people on forums like this that we made our decision as well as looking at at all other types of bowriders and nothing in that price range even compares :wink_thumbup:

Congratulations on your purchase Mayal,
The family will have tonnes of fun this xmas. It will be easy for the family to figure out what you want for a xmas present as well.
Post some pics when you can.
All the best.

Hi, I have an SX18 and although she can take 7 people she is more suited to a max of 6 people if on calm waters or 4/5 on the sea. Especially if you are taking a picnic or toys out.
The boat itself is great fun and lovely to drive.

Whoops! new to this, just noticed the date so ignore!

Dont worry Vilanova, Glad that you have joined the site and having fun on your boat. I have had 8 people 5 adults and 3 kids on ours and ran very nicely. 5 sure is better though, giving that extra room. My daughter and her friend love sitting up the front as we cruise slowly, but always opt for the back when he are pushing it. I can still get 50mph with 4-5 on board.
Went for a ride on a Campion 19 footer (Canadian boat) over xmas with a salesman, that was trying to impress me with its handling. I did handle fantastic but quite honestly, no better than my Mariah. Plus he had an asking price of $20,000 more than mine was. So I am really happy with mine and so are the wife and kids (and thats most important).

Of course you have the larger engine, mines only the 3.0l so it is pushing it to pull a skier with a few on board depending on the sea conditions. You do get a lot for your money with Mariah, I paid 18,800 euros for mine at the Barcelona boat show. Thought that was a good price. The only thing for me was the appalling after sales service I received when things went wrong. There were also tiny holes in the rear bench which took nearly 2 years to be replaced, some of the guages never worked properly ans I gave up fighting. The dealer kept blaming Mariah for not supplying things.
I posted another problem yesterday about my starte rmotor getting condensation into it, have you had any problems with yours?
Cheers
Yvette

Sorry to hear of your problems you have had with your dealer. Have you gone direct to Mariah/Seafox?? As far as the qauges are concerned - go direct to the supplier in US - I think its a lifetime guarantee.
I saw your querie on your starter motor, but I am sorry dont have any answers for you. A friend of mine flooded his engine bay just a few weeks ago (his bilge pump didnt kick in automatically). His mechanic said it was a real hassle getting the starter motor out, but needed to be done due to it being immersed in the water and the bushings needed to be cleaned or replaced.
Good luck with it, and keep us up to date on how you go.
Where in Spain are you?