My story
 

Hi Everyone,
I am a new member but not new to Mariah boats. I bought my first Mariah in
1998. It was a new teal 1995 Talari 210 a hold over never sold. It was a beautiful boat with nice lines and bright accents. She was heavy for a 21.5ft boat and road smooth in waves. My family out grew her in 2005 when the kids wanted to start bringing friends on our trips. So I started looking for another boat. I had watched a friend in that 8yrs go from a 22ft, to a 25ft, to a 27ft Mariah, to a 30ft Mariah 302. Not wanting to repeat his course I decided to go straight to a 27ft boat. After taking for granted the quality I had in the Mariah (not one repair needed in 8yrs). I found boats in that length near $80,000 and not near the quality as the old Mariahs. I decided I would rather have an older quality Mariah than a newer boat of less quality. Here in southern IL Mariah was known as
"The Cadillac of boats". I located a 2001 Mariah z275st in Colorado and bought it. I had two Mariahs for a short time and tried to convince my wife we could use the Talari on the small local lake and the z275 on Kentucky Lake, but her logic won out and I sold the Talari (after many pics). It was like seeing an old friend leave when she was pulled away. Funny how we guys get attached to objects. Anyway the z275st is also a great boat.
If you are looking to buy a boat an old Mariah will give great value for the money(I can't speak for the ones newer than 2001).

John W.

Welcome to the board John! Make yourself at home, and be sure to post some pics of that Z275! I'm sure she's a beauty! :)

that is a good story and just wanted to welcome you to the family here. you are right there just isnt another boat that compares to the mariah even though other boat companys charge so much more for there boat they just dont have the class that our mariahs have and the care that was taken in building such a great boat. Its good to have you aboard we all look forward to seeing some pictures of your boat :wink_thumbup: :rolling_laugh:

pics soon
 

I will upload pics as soon as I learn how. I have read forums but never really participated in them, but this one I had to be a part of.

Here are some pics.
 

Just looking at these make me want to go boating. Oh, its 15*f out, I may wait!

Wow, that sure is a pretty boat! and we even share the same taste in decal packages! :) It's interesting to see your pics, especially the comparison shot between your old Talari & the Z275st. I had no idea how deep that hull design was until I saw that! I'm sure you'll enjoy it for many years to come. How did you come across it?

Beautiful boat John!!! Very nice! I also didn't realize how much bigger that would be compared to a 21 footer!

What engine do you have? How does it do skiing and tubing? What kind of top speed do you get?

I LOVE that boat! Keep the pictures coming! I need some therapy over this winter, the pictures seem to help!

Wow that is a beautiful boat. i also share the same taste in the look and the style of your boat . Hear is a picture of my boat aswell :yes_grin:

And now...the rest of the story.
 

We all have beautiful boats! I've never seen an ugly Mariah (boat that is).
When I first started to look to size up, I found a z275st on boattreader.com. I was less than 50 mi away same graphics and a 496mag 375hp. It was late so I called the next day. Of course the guy had just sold it, the buyer had not even picked it up yet. I so from that point no other boat would do. I scanned the net constantly looking for a z275st and every time I found one it was way under powered. 320 hp on a 27' 5,500lb dry wt. boat with a 125gal gas tank is not a disappointment you want to make. So finely a one shows up in Grand Junction CO at a
Marine Max 1,600mi away. I can see by the pics it was not taken care of like I had mine, but it still looked good and it had a 496 HO 452 hp. I paid a mechanic at to survey it for me. He found $2,000 in repairs, the sellers knocked $2,000 off the price and I bought the boat and paid them $600 to meet me halfway. The pic with me in it is me at the hotel after meeting them in Selina KS. I am 5"6" for scale. I had the entire boat wet sanded and polished, gel coat work done, and ordered new graphics and had them replaced. I would not recommend buying a boat off the net without seeing it but I have no regrets. She does 54mph with a rev4 21P prop and hits the rev limiter loaded, I have a 23" mirage plus prop due in tomorrow and I can't wait till spring! Its not how big your boat is or how fast it will go, it's how much fun you have on it that really matters!

John W.

That is one beautiful boat! I am so jelous of the graphics. Beautiful, absolutely beautiful. You'll have to upload some higher resolution pictures to the gallery ASAP!

All right! Another Z275 member!! I thought I was going to be the only one. Your boat looks awesome! I just got mine last fall and only got to take it out 3 times before winter. We couldn't be happier with it. It's a wonderful boat in every way. Everyone thinks it's a brand new boat.