Buying a Mariah tomorrow
 

Found a fantastic deal, and even though I have to drive 4+ hours to pick her up (and buy a trailer on the way!) I'm looking forward to it.

2001 212 5.7 Volvo/Penta

Tell us more about the boat Josh. And upload some pics while you're at it!

I'll tell you what I know:

It's a 21' 212
It has the 5.7 Volvo Penta with 800 hours
It's a 2001
The owners are asking $6500 for the boat (no trailer)
The interior upholstry is new this year
The engine has just had a checkout and compression is good
It's been in a dryslip at a marina all it's life.
I will be the second owner
"A couple" of the gauges dont work, but the owner claims it's just corrosion in the connection most likely
It hasnt been used regularly for at least 8 months, but has been recently started and I will be taking it out before I buy it.

http://images.craigslist.org/0101010...94ee00c1da.jpg

http://images.craigslist.org/0101090...49f0000f46.jpg

Well good luck with it, and be sure to post more pics once you bring it home! We'll help you get everything up and running. Everyone here loves to help!

FYI, I drove 11hrs to pick mine up. I live in Cincinnati, OH and bought it from a dealer in Baltimore, MD. Trust me, Mariah's are worth the drive. :)

good lock wuth the boat, mayal drove 30 hours to get his, :smile_thumbup:and they are great boats and well worth it happy boating:)

Thats a good looking boat you got there. I got a 2001 z212 and i love her to death. I drove about 18 hours round trip to get her and i am extremely happy with her. the guages are not a big problem though you can find some of the mariah guages on ebay and through Faria the manufacturer unless you dont mind aftermarket. Just about every boat dealer carries the faria aftermarket guages in stock so you wont have a problem. Keep us all posted on what you do i would love to see the interior. Good luck :wink_thumbup:

Congrats on the boat! Almost sounds like a too good to be true deal. Reason being, i paid almost the same amount (canadian) for my boat and its a 1993 Mariah and 3.0L and 18ft. It sounds like your boat should be double if not triple of what I paid for mine.


But anyways, thats not why I really replied.....

Since everyone was telling how far they drove to get their Mariahs, I figured i would tell my story.

My Mariah was located at the north of our lake. So its about a 1hr and 20min drive from my house to my cottage..... or in canadian measurements around say 120km or so. The boat sat at a local marina that is a 20 minute drive north from my cottage doorstep. :)

Sooooo uhhh yeah ... just thought I would rub that in that I didnt have to drive thousands of KM's OR Miles to get my boat. :D:D

That sounds like a great polling topic. How far did you drive for your mariah? Ok lets set it up whos in charge here.:yes_grin:

Ah sorry, just 15 minutes away from home, including traffic lights!!! :yes_grin:

I bought mine used from my ex-wife...... 'bout an hours drive in each direction.

Thats FAR too close for an EX wife to live Mike.
Besides, wasnt it yours in the first place????
Hope it was a steal.:D

Well, I have it now and it is the real deal. It's not the Z package, just a 212.

It isn't perfect, but it's pretty close to it. The floor has no obvious soft spots, but the drivers seat is a bit wobbly, makes me wonder if the floor there is a bit rotted.

The Tach and the trim indicator dont work, the built-in depth finder is a nice feature. The stereo doesnt work either, but that seems likely to be an easy fix.

The hull is 100% perfect. Not even any rub marks on the keel. The engine seems quite tight as well.

No ripped upholstry, some of it has been redone recently but most appears to be original.

Its suprisingly big... I have another 21' boat and this one feels MUCH larger overall. It says max capacity 10 but that would be standing room only.

Hi JoshuaHynes,

Sounds like you got a nice one there! I don't thing there's a used boat out there without a few issues...and as the hull and I/O seem to be in great shape, everything else is a couple of weekends worth of time. Just think of it as a work in progress.

As for the seat wobbling, if the floor mounts check out solid, see if the wobble is coming from under the seat pedestal where the seat post it goes into the seat track and pivots. Our 240 seats wobbled really bad and I discovered there are plastic bushings on the top of the posts for the seat to turn on and they where pretty worn out!

Our Seat hardware was made by Springfield Marine and after contacting them, I ordered a new pair of bushings ( http://www.springfieldgrp.com/produc...8&subcat1=.htm ) and now the seats are like new.

Good Luck,
WetWilly

Willy's likely right about the seat wobble issue so that should be a simple repair. Volvo's are even more notorious that Merc's for failed trim sensor's so it's not likely the gauge that's the problem. You might choke on your corn flakes though when you price out a new Volvo trim sensor :eek_animated:
The tachs a strange one. They dont usually give problems. Check the connections on the back of the gauge & make sure they're clean cuz most of the time it's simply a bit of corrosion that causes those types of problems. Then also check the setting on the back of the gauge & make sure it's set to 8cyl.

Nah....i've been divorced from her for 25 yrs now. She bought it about 3 yrs ago for $18k from a dealer who brought it up from South Carolina. It had some stupid Nascar stickers all over the boat which i got rid of quickly. She never took care of it, forgot to winterize it the first year she had it & had to spend another $7500 on repairing the engine & replacing the outdrive. She never used it after that. I bought it for $5k from her back in May. It needed a major cleanup, new canvas, a driver's side front window & side screen and a couple of minor electrical repairs. I sunk about $4k into fixing her up & she's as good as new . I figure i finally got the better of her. :wink_thumbup:

i bought my boat cause the ex left me:mad: and need to have fun again oh yeah :yes_grin:who need a wife when you have a mariah:rolling_laugh: oh i brought about half hour away from home:wink_thumbup:

OK, The trim indicator is pretty important to me, how much is that gonna set me back?

And I wasnt really clear on the seat, but the hardware is fine, the wobble is because the bolts/screws/whatever that hold it down are backing out. I'm pretty sure the floor is soft right there at the base of the seat, but it may be good enough to reinforce (as opposed to replace) the floor. Ive replaced the deck in a boat before, and I won't be doing that again if I can avoid it.

The boat seems to be retaining water in the bilge under the deck hatch (you can see standing water through the little drain). Maybe the boat is just sitting poorly on the trailer and isnt draining properly or maybe there is a blockage at a stringer.

So a complete list of things to do on the boat so far to make it perfect:
1. Tachometer
2. Trim indicator
3. Stereo
4. Carpet needs to be glued back on a couple of places (storage areas)
5. Floor may or may not need to be reinforced in spots

Is there any way to glass the floor of a boat that was built with carpet and make it look as good as a boat that was built with a glass floor? I much rather snap-in carpet

Hi JoshuaHynes,

Let’s start with the electrical... I believe mikeyt is dead on about the corrosion! Mariah used nice wiring harnesses throughout their boats from the engine bay to the front. Seeing how you have a couple of gauges and a stereo out, I would suspect there is a connection issue in the wiring due to corrosion in a multi wire connector or at the terminal posts on the gauges or at the I/O. At least that's where I would start. You could try tracing out the signal, power and ground circuits with a meter. Don't forget to check for blown or corroded fuses.

Seat wobble... Mariah used backing plates behind all stress related hardware. I believe if you remove one of the seat post mounting "screws" you'll find it is a machine bolt rather that a "wood" screw and all you might need to do is tighten them up. If the floor is rotted under the seats, there are epoxy products to repair and re-strengthen the wood that you might want to look into.

Here is one such product: http://www.pcepoxy.com/woodepoxy.asp

Standing water...try using a garden hose with a good nozzle and blast the drains and the drain channel in the bilge spraying back towards the front. You might have a little "gunk" built up under the deck. If that doesn’t work, see if your local hardware store carries a thin drain snake and run it through the bilge drain channel.

Lastly, the floor... it is possible to glass over the existing floor and make it look as good as a built glass floor? Yes it is, but it will not be as sound as an all "glass" floor as you will still have exposed wood underneath. The nice part is, it doesn't have to be perfect as the new carpet will recover most of it anyway. Since you’ve done a deck before then I don’t have to tell you about how much work there is in removing everything from the interior and of course, you need to insure the floor is completely dry before you start or you’ll just trap the moisture causing more rot. You could glass the floor with colored resin only or add a thin fiberglass mat over the existing wood first then resin right up to the hull interior. Remember to enlarge the any deck hatch openings to compensate for the thickness of the fiberglass mat and/or resin and extend the resin far enough under the openings to prevent water from traveling into the bottom side of the wood. After that, just add the snaps, new carpet and reassemble the interior and your done. Just make sure you seal up the snap holes and take into account for water drainage and such... Sound simple enough but I believe you know the truth!

Good luck,
WetWilly

Check the connections first, most of the connectors will corrode at some point, as Mariah did not properly seal their connections from the elements. Every now and then, something won't work on mine, whether it be a docking light, courtesy light, or even the stereo. All you need to do is trace down the wire, disconnect it, clean it off and reattach it. 90% of the time, that'll be the issue. Just a slight bit of corrosion that needs to be cleaned.

As far as gauge replacement if you have to replace it, there's a seller on ebay who has the OEM Mariah trim gauges for $19.95. Unfortunately for the Tach, you'll probably have to contact Faria Instruments, they're the original manufacturer. The series Mariah used was called the "Euro Gold". But I believe they added a Mariah logo into the gauge to fancy it up a little bit. You might contact them to see if they still carry these. Who knows!

Keep us updated!

I doubt if the trim gauge is faulty. That problem usually lies in the sensor located on the outdrive. Sometimes you can get lucky by taking the sensor apart & cleaning it then carefully putting it back together. Again, corrosion is the most likely issue.

Concerning the backing plate, if there is one, and Im sure there must be, how do I access it? I mean, if I back all the bolts out will a plate drop to the bilge where I cant reach it? Or is it glassed in place? I am half-tempted to cut access hatches in the floor. I hate not being able to access parts of the bilge.

Hi JoshuaHynes, that's a good question. The Backing Plates appear to be screwed to the bottom of the deck prior to being drilled for the pedestal mounts, as seen from this photo


http://i66.photobucket.com/albums/h2...kingPlates.jpg)


This picture is from the collection “Factory Photos” ShabahZ250 put up here: http://www.mariahownersclub.com/foru...hread.php?t=75


As you can see, you might be able to access them from the ski storeage hatch area. As for finding out is they are truly attached to the bottom of the deck, remove all but one bolt, swing the pedestal base enough to expost a bolt hole opposite of the remaining bolt, reinsert another bolt and tighten only half way. Now loosen the remaining tight bolt halfway as well and see if the plate tries to drop. If it does, you've got two bolts holding it from dropping completely into the bilge.

You know ShabahZ250, if I didn't know better; from some of these pictures, I'd say they were building our Talari...

Oh, before I forget, I want to personally thank you for these pictures as photo # 9 showed me how to remove and repair the exact same piece (color too) that the gentleman is holding in the bow area!

WetWilly

That's what we built this board for. Sharing helpful information! I'm just glad to see it's coming in handy for everybody! :)

Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like the only reason to use wood anywhere in a boat this size is to punish whoever is the owner 10 years later?

:yes_grin: lol. If i still owned my sea ray, I would agree with you! I had to replace a section of the floorboard that covered the gas tank and part of the bilge to the tune of around $500. The price was expensive because of the pressure treated lumber and the labor. A year and a half later, it started getting spongy feeling again, along with about 3 other spots in the cockpit. "Time for an upgrade"... Now I've got a fiberglass cockpit!

I replaced the floor on a boat recently and when I was done I realized that I would have spent the exact same amount if I had used Starboard instead of marine plywood and all that fiberglass. I would have had to support it with additional stringers, but I would never have to worry about rot.

I've never seen a boat with a wood floor that I couldnt find rot if the boat was more than 5 years old. Im really shocked that manufacturers use wood for floors even today.

Congratulations on your new boat and welcome aboard.

Did you know Prince Charles once owned a Mariah? I think it was around 1995 or 96.

We actually have pictures of the boat being delivered to Buckingham Palace towed behind a Rover! It's pretty cool!

It's on page 9 of the Winter 1997 company newsletter. Also shows a Mariah on the River Thames! We have a copy in the Promotional Materials Archive... but you'll need to be a contributor to check it out.

i cant find those pictures:confused:

http://www.mariahownersclub.com/foru...read.php?t=242

page 9

thanks for that just had to see this:wink_thumbup:

Yes,it was that '97 newsletter that we saw, too.

That may have been the one with a letter from me in it in which I told the Mariah people that my husband and I sat in our boat in the garage, when the weather was cold, and had a cocktail while we listened to music. It may have been too cold to be on the water, but that didn't deter us from enjoying our boat no matter what the weather.

And you didn't invite any of us down to enjoy a cocktail too??? Shame on you. ;)

Shame on us! We should have thought of you... sooooo, come on down. We'll have a pitcher of Margaritas waiting for you. We have one of those blenders you can plug into the auxilliary outlet in the boat.

You need to come south, anyway, to extend your boating season. We don't have the big muskies down here that you have up there, however. Or don't you fish? lt would be a shame, living in prime fishing territory.

We like to fish so much that I made a casting platform to put in place of the bow cushion. Works like a charm.

Never to far to get your Mariah
 

Hey Mark. I went on a 5550 km round trip to pick up mine, worth every km. I love my new boat. Towed her 2756 km without a drama :wink_thumbup:

Re: Never to far to get your Mariah
 

I drove 2 hours from Atlanta to Alabama to pick up my '94 Z225... On the way back with the trailer hooked up, my truck started vibrating and I was scared #@$%less. Stopped a couple of times, kicked myself for getting into this boat mess... couldn't find a darn thing wrong...

I thought the boat would fall off and I'd see it bouncing around the freeway. I unhooked the trailer, drove to the next walmart, bought almost all the tiedowns they had and secured anything that could be secured on the trailer and boat...No change - it was vibrating away. By now, anxiety had given way to full blown panic.. First I had parted with hard earned money and now this thing was shaking away...

I thought maybe the guy who sold it to me would take it back for another couple of thousand... Maybe I could sell it to someone else while on my way back... While these thoughts were racing through my head, I crossed the AL-GA border and all of a sudden, everything went quiet.. No vibraton, nothing...

Moral of story: I-20 from 'BAMA is like a dirt road...

Vinnie

Re: Buying a Mariah tomorrow
 

i drove 5 hours to jackson michigan from ontario canada for mine, very pleased..

Re: Buying a Mariah tomorrow
 

Hey Vinnie,I did'nt know Alabama had any paved roads!:rolling_laugh::rolling_laugh:

Re: Buying a Mariah tomorrow
 

The 182 Barchetta we're buying Friday is about 1 hour away from home, and about ten minutes from where our sailboat is slipped :)

Jim