[DrMatthewDunn]

Bellingham, WA - Lake Whatcom. 14 miles of deep freshwater and frequently not a boat in site. After 5 boatless years the dock looked lonely.

Chance brought a 96 Shabah 180 my way. Although the snow & rain have kept her on the trailer, the test drive was enough to make me wish summer would arrive tomorrow. After having put the usual list of basic 2008 bowriders through the paces, the Shabah was a revelation. The boat sale guy - 'Jason' at the Everett Olympic Boat Center - who was just fantastic - was, I'm afraid, disappointed at the low price they'd set, once we had the boat up on plane.

I've read the tip about Smart Tabs and will pursue that. Any other folks driving mid-90's 180 Shabahs, please share what you know. (See my post on covers for an attempt to improve that particular issue.)

[WetWilly]

Hello DrMatthewDunn,

Your in luck, we just happen to have a member who has so much knowledge on Smart Tabs he falls over sometime cause his head is so big and he just so happens to own the same year and model, are you listening Mikeyt??

So you should have an answer very soon.

Good luck,
WetWilly

[Z 202]

Originally Posted by DrMatthewDunn

Any other folks driving mid-90's 180 Shabahs, please share what you know. (See my post on covers for an attempt to improve that particular issue.)

Welcome. I'm in at 20' and lots of power. Couldn't agree more with your diagnoses. I'll remember my test ride on Lake Ontario for the rest of my life.

[mikeyt]

I looked after the "Doc" there Willy

I really like my boat. Yes, at times i wish it was a 20 footer but for where we use it amongst the islands on Georgian Bay it is excellent. Even when i pull into the docks at Pointe au Baril other boaters comment on what a nice looking boat it is.
That 4.3LX with the Alpha one outdrive is an excellent combo and will do anything you want it to without draining your wallet like the big block boys suffer from. There are a few things you can do to 'improve' performance if you want to spend a little money. The Smart tabs are very good start (as i suggested elsewhere) and i'm assuming yours has the standard aluminum 14.25" x 21pitch 3 blade prop? If so, buy a SS prop and consider going to a 4 blade - 20 pitch. It will give some extra punch out of the hole and a little extra mid range kick. At most you will lose 1-2mph off your top end. You should hit 50mph with the stock prop and 49mph with the SS 4 blade. I dont run at WOT for more that short distances anyway so i'm not missing anything. Even a SS standard size prop will give a slight performance improvement. Install a new set of plugs and change the fluids if it hasn't been done since last year too. I use Shell mid-range gas in mine and i did find a slight performance improvement with hi-test but it wasn't worth the difference in cost at the marina gas pump. The boat is already pre-wired for extra speakers etc if you like your tunes and is also pre-wired for docking lights if you want to install a pair. If you have any other specific questions ask away. There are a few of us with the same boat here.

[ShabahZ250]

Welcome to the board DrMatthewDunn! Congrats on the new boat, hope you find the site helpful. We're all a friendly bunch!

[bdbyrnes]

Welcome to the board - I grew up at the 'top of the hill' - just a mile from the lake and spent many weekends on the lake. Please post some pictures when you have them.

Brent