Top speed mariah 180 se
 

i just finished the paperwork on trading in my bayliner capri for mint 1998 mriah shabah 180 se. It has had a re power from its original 4.3l merc to a 5.7l 260 hp 350 (vortech) it has the bravo 3 duo prop set up.
Being the end of the season, im just getting it winterized and wraped until mext summer.

The dealer said she'll do 60 mph @ 4600 wot.
Im aware that there are hundreds of variables involved but just for giggles, what are some of rhe shabah owners getting for top speeds on their mariahs? And how do the 180's handle with that much motor in the back end? It is equipped with smart tabs. I had posted pictures in the gallery but only one made it.

Thanks for any replies!

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

I dont think anyone else here has been silly enough to put 260 hp on the tail of their 180 but i do remember reading a thread over at one of the other forums regarding that conversion. Added about 140 lbs to the boat, caused some chine walking at speed and I'm not sure what strength arms you have on your Smart Tabs (I'm assuming you have 60#) you may have to change out those arms for 80# ones....... and then there's the minor issue of insurance / liability and being in compliance with the coast guard tag... if that's important to you.

The one thing you did get right though was dumping that dammed Bayliner in favour of a Mariah.

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Haha! Tell me about it. That bayliner was nothing but issues for the season. 1st season ive owned a larger in board, but love boating. So the owner of the new dealer i delt with has a realtive who was the original owner of this mariah. He's the one who did the re power. He babied that boat. Its immaculate. He says the boat performs very well,
Thanks for the pointer on the smart tabs ive read and am still learning, there is a lot to know. Ive heard the older mariah's are the boats to own, nack then the hulls where lifetime warranty,
What is chine walking?
The original motor was the 4.3l
Thanks again for the info.

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Ive heard that that era ( the old mariah company) built some of the best quality boats even better than most built today. Is that true?

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...520083b983.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...6cb63f0450.jpghttp://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/09...70581f2310.jpg

Im just on this tap talk trying ro figure out how to post picture :\


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Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Yes. Hulls were a bit heavier than most & the boat was well constructed. If looked after they make excellent used boats.

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Thanks mikeyt, i haven't water tested it yet, do you think the 5.7l merc in this size mariah is too much?
Ive been told the hull's are more than capable of handling the power upgrade, the previous owner says its amazing, older fella, with lots of money. Haha!


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Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

I think the boat can handle it, but the thought of going 60mph in my 18 footer makes my butt pucker. You haven't water tested it yet???

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Haha! No i have not. Its a city dealer. We don't have a 4 season cabin and being busy with work its all closed up for the winter ( canadian winters lol!) so the mariah has been winterized and stored. The old owner new the owner of the dealer, it was sold as new and had one owner. 231 hrs on the meter.
Im just going by what he told me, seems far fetched a bit, but i don't know of many boats that have that size merc, so i cant compare. Our lake is smaller, however the power would be nice to have if travelling through the lake of the woods in kenora ont. was more curious on handleing, the bravo 3 drive is way bigger than the alpha one i had before!!! Lol




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Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

So, we won't know how it runs until the ice thaws next July?

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

No no, only the middle of may.... Haha! But i will post back to this thread on first launch!
Definitly


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Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

How did they fit a V8 in there? Is that a Bravo 3 with a duo prop??? You've got to take this out of mothballs and post a video..

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

To answer your question, chinewalking is the rocking motion when the hull comes out of the water at high speeds. The boat rocks back and forth on the edges of the hull. Wouldn't expect a Bayliner owner to know that. Lol

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Bravo 3 duo prop yes. I believe the dealer has it shrink wrapped now but i need to stop in there and pick up my old trailer license plate.. If it isn't, ill take a video and some pics of the motor. I looked at it, and met the old merc mechanic who did the re power originally, he was very proud of it and seemed to genuinely care about his quality of work.
They had to notch out, where the front of the motor is maybe and inch.
Ill have to bring a phillips driver to take off the piece of carpeted wood overtop of the motor to get a better look.
I thought mostly bass boats did that chinewalking?

Ill take some photos and post later, did your order a v-8 yet? Lol


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Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Just about any boat can chine-walk when its going too fast or at the limits of the hull design/ If you haven't experienced it to date, you're in for a treat....

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Mike or paul, you guys seem to know a lot about boating and a well seasoned in preventative maintenance. Mike, ive looked for the "how to" and " contributing member" on this tap talk for mobile phones. I don't have a laptop or desktop.
Is it a good practice to wet sand and polish hull every season? Or just wet sand if theres blemishes? And polish regardless?
In my old boat, my bilge was always damp, just from condensation and rain etc, is there aftermarket vents one can install so when the boats moving airflow goes through and dries it up?
And lastly, is it possible to still find the manufacture year on a mercruiser by the serial number.
Sorry for being a pain in the ass, but there is a lot to know...
If and when you have a min.
Thanks.


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Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

I got a 03 sx 19 with a 5.7 she will do between 50 and 55 mph.

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Is it pitched for hole shot?


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Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Yes 4 blade 19 pitch stainless steel

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

My boat is stored inside so I may wax it once a year and it still looks like new. Not brave enough to wet sand anything although I've got a couple of spots that could use it.

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Can you loose control easily during chine walking? Or does it just teeter back and forth. Does your boat do it now mike?


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Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

Mine doesn't chine walk but i used to have a 14 ft Grew with a 115 hp Evinrude on the tail. It was waaay too much motor on that boat and at anything over 45mph it would chine walk something awful. Scared the bejesus out of me a couple of times and I'm not that easily scared.

Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

19 pitch? Dear lord! Maybe it's pitched like that to keep you out of the high end. Mikeyt and I lived similar childhoods. I had a 16ft with a 140hp. Sometimes the only thing left in the water was 6" of boat and the motor. SCARY stuff.

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Re: Top speed mariah 180 se
 

http://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...0b394c81a8.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...6c0dd9f756.jpghttp://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/2016...e9ef95bf7f.jpg

Ill post a video soon paul. But theres a few pictures. Motors a bit dusty. For someone whos only owned a 3.0l before, the run up was a bit humbling.
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