[andreleona]

Hello Everyone! I have almost completed my purchase of a 2000 shabah 218 on Long Island in New York. It has a 5.7 L mercruiser with an alpha 1 drive. about 225 hours of use. trim tabs. full canvas.
My question is even though this boat is almost immaculate, when can I start to anticipate the need for risers and manifolds, boat was rack kept high and dry, rinsed after every use and never bottom painted or left in the water, and always trailered. What are your opinions of the Mariah as a brand and hull? Any inherant problems that would make me consider walking away from this deal? I would
have to replace the brake system on the trailer, as it was removed. thanks, Andre

[mikeyt]

Welcome aboard Andre. You do realize that you are asking a bunch of Mariah enthusiasts whether their boats are any good or not?

[andreleona]

I'm sure there are many multiple boat owners out there, maybe someone who started off with another brand in a smaller model bowrider switched to a Mariah cruiser when they moved up, what made them change brands? Or some one with a large
sea ray or carver cruiser wanted a sport boat Mariah as a dayboat for fun without the twin engine gas consumption of taking the big boat out. does anyone out there want to offer an opinion? There are very few Mariahs in downstate N.Y. That's why I'm curious, I was not being stupid or insulting. OK?

[mikeyt]

'Ok'.... There are no 'inherent' problems with a Mariah boat and it sounds like your boat was well protected from the elements. Any boat that is 10+ yrs old may have some parts wear out but i note that the hours on yours is quite reasonable so if it was well maintained it should be in good condition. I will suggest that you take a few minutes to read this STICKY on buying a used Mariah.

[gahooligan]

Mariahs are awesome boats. Very well built. The design of the original mariahs was so good and better than other boats that it's construction was protected by patents...

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[Hudson River Steve]

As a fellow down state New Yorker I can say that there are quite a few Mariahs....you will start to see them now that you are interested in one. If your boat has been trailered and/or rack stored and the cooling system was flushed after each use then your manifold and risers should last indefinitely. My 1999 Z280 was stored in a slip for it whole life, first in Peoconic Bay out on east Long Island and now in the brackish water of the Hudson. Both manifolds and risers were replaced when I bought the boat in 2010...and I am concorned that I may have to replace them soon...so I would say that in my case they last between 5 and 10 yrs. As for the trailer brakes, I would purchase a stainless steel disc brake kit from Tie Down Engineering. I used them on a previous boat trailer and they were fantastic...never had a day of trouble with them for ~10+yrs.