Congrats... I'm
very familiar with that boat, as I have been watching it for the last 4 years and almost bought it two months ago....
As mikeyt mentioned, we have all the manuals you'll need in the contributors section. The Mariah "manual" is pretty useless, and is basically a generic book made for all models that primarily just covers the basics of operation, general boating tips, and rules of the road. They used the same "manual" from 1990 to 2001, and the only thing that changed was the physical size of the book. It's definitely obvious Mariah spent more time concentrating on making boats then making manuals. They used to supply a binder, with the "manual", and then there were separate instruction manuals for the individual systems, (a/c, water, engines, etc) that were made by the manufacturers, and we have them here as well.
For your question of the engines not starting, I know the engines haven't been run for at least 3 years, and this can sometimes cause some issues. There isn't any specific "safety code" that'll keep the engines from starting. There are, however a few things to check.
1) lanyard/"kill switch". make sure this is attached and the switch is functioning properly. If it's not connected properly, or malfunctioning, this will cause the engines to crank, but not fire. Pull the lanyard completely off the switch and reattach it, and make sure it fits right, and is activating the switch.
2) fuel pumps/cool fuel system. If you turn the key into the ON position, (not START) you should be able to hear the fuel pumps pressurize. I don't know how to describe the noise, but you'll definitely know it when you hear it. Have someone open the engine bay and listen, it's a faint noise, and your engine warning alarm system beeps may drown out the sound of the pumps at the helm. If the fuel pumps aren't pressurizing, then you'll need to replace them. I just had to replace mine last year, and since yours is a 2000 also, that'd be one of the first things I'd check.
If you can't figure it out, you may have to take it to a Mercruiser service facility to have diagnostic checks done on the engines. Keep us updated. If you've got any more questions, feel free to ask. We're all here to help.
Just bought Mariah Z308
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