[shilo]

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.

[mikeyt]

'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.....

[dudders]

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
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.

[shilo]

Originally Posted by mikeyt

'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.....

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.

[shilo]

Originally Posted by dudders

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
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.

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.

[dudders]

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?

[shilo]

Originally Posted by dudders

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.

[boxcar]

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

[dudders]

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?

[boxcar]

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