[Straightline]

New to the forum and hope to be a 1998 Mariah Jubilee 204 owner soon. A question about hull building techniques.

I just watched a Mariah promotional video on YouTube from 1997. They said that the stringers are made of pressure treated Douglas fir and covered with fiberglass. I thought boat manufacturers quit using wood even from this era.

Is using wood in the construction something to be concerned about in a 20 year old boat?

Thanks in advance.
Straightline

[mikeyt]

No....

[Straightline]

Originally Posted by mikeyt

No....

So now I just watched another Mariah promotional video from 1998 and it says they don't use any wood in the hull. They talk about the floor, stringers and hull intigrated into one structural piece "since there's no wood used there's no chance for rot", the video says.

So which is it? How do you know which system was used?

Thanks,

[mikeyt]

'97 - '98 were the years they started the change over to the no - wood hulls. Plenty of pre 97 Mariahs out there with no hull issues and i dont recall anyone on this site having to replace stringers. If you were buying an 80's or 90's Bayliner (or something similar) then i would suggest you look for rot.

[TN_Diablo]

Our 2001 Diablo has more than a bit of wood in it. It's obvious in the engine compartment that the transom and the main floor are wood. So are the sundeck and seat bases. The stringers appear to be encased in fiberglass so I can't say. If taken care of I think it's a non issue. The only thing I've read about is the place where the fiberglass floor in the bow seating area overlaps the wood deck of the main section but maybe this boat doesn't have that? The brochure I have for 2000-2001 talk about how the wood they use is stronger and more rigid than the foam core stuff others were using. So I assume your boat is similar since it's in that brochure.

Personally we rode in a few boats before purchasing ours and the Mariah seemed more solid and absorbed hard hits on wakes better than similar small boats without wood in the construction. Maybe it's heavier and came propped less aggressive than other 18-19 footers. It was certainly of better build quality and amenities than most others.

[Straightline]

Interesting since a Mariah video I watched said they changed to a process completely without wood in 1998.

I did not purchase the 1998 Jubilee 204. I felt it wasn't taken care of very well for the price they were asking so I let it go. It books at about $8700. The vinyl and gel coat are in very good condition, and if it works, has a pretty good stereo system. If anyone is interested, it's on consignment at Albers Marine 620 347-8853 in Arma, KS. I offered $7500 AS IS and it was rejected. Just the things that I could see that needed fixed/replaced, I estimated at $600-1000. I ended up offering $9000 with the condition that it would need to pass a vigorous inspection by the dealer and anything that didn't work would have to be repaired for my offer to be valid. The owner came back with $9500 AS IS. If the owner doesn't have confidence for it to be inspected, neither do I. I walked away and never looked back.