[ewcjoro]

All -

I have my eye on a 99 Mariah 212Z Limited Edition and was looking for a few comments/thoughts.

Here is the sellers description:
1999 Mariah 212 Z Bow Rider - This is a great family boat. Powered by a 5.7 L. 260 h.p. (brochure lists 300hp???) Mercruiser with only 184 hours. There is depth indicator, a am/fm stereo with cd player. The stereo system has an amp and sub woofer. Optional equipment includes docking lights, an electric radio antenna, windshield wiper, a stainless steel prop, a transom ice well, tilt steering, Faria engine gauges, and a isolator switch with two batteries. Canvas includes a bimini and full mooring cover. There is a Road Runner tandem axle trailer and the interior is tan.

After a quick review, the following items need immediate attention:
Rear sundeck needs to be recovered;
Windshield wiper arm is missing;
Batteries are inferior (I am an Optima man)

I am planning on a test drive to check the WOT RPM's and warm-starting. After that, a trip to my mechanic for a check of the fluids and compression. Any other suggestions or comments? They are are asking $15,900. I am thinking 14k.

Here are a few pics:

[bpfirrman]

Looks like a good deal. Not sure about the availability of the windshield wipers, it is not uncommon for those to be missing. Trailer is most likely not original to the boat, Mariah's trailers were built by Chariot/Prestige. At least they did paint it to match the boat but I do not see any of the Mariah branding. All and all it looks good though.

[indykoch]

Yeah... looks like a decent deal, especially if you can talk them down to $14k. I like how they put windshield wiper in the ad, but upon inspection it's not there! Trailer isn't original, make sure it was fitted properly.

For reference... I paid $16,500 for mine - exact same year/model except mine's not a Limited Edition, has the 300hp 350 Magnum, and had 247 hours on the clock in Dec. of '06.

[ewcjoro]

Is there anything else that I need to check before I drop the hammer?

I am most concerned about compression and the gimbal!

[ewcjoro]

Indy -

Does your engine hatch have one or two lifting arms?
The boat that I am looking at has a lifting arm on the starboard side of the boat, and a gas strut on the port side of the boat.

Is this correct?

Also, do you have any pictures of your walk-through glass hardware? Specifically, I am looking for the latch to secure the glass when open and when closed.

I may end up being your new best friend if this purchase comes together!

//John

[ShabahZ280]

Looks to be a decent deal! I say go for it! She's a beauty, and even if she needs a few small bit of work, you probably won't find one like this, the full color gelcoats were extremely rare and limited edition models.

[indykoch]

John,

You're definitely doing the right thing... test run yourself, and having a mechanic check it over. Do you happen to have access to the service records? That was the seal on the deal to me. I think you have everything covered.

My engine hatch is the same as you describe. I'm not terribly impressed with this set-up. The hatch is either water logged or just plain heavy and getting "loose" in the hinge area. I attached a picture of it. You can see how it's slightly angled. It's worse on the way up or down. I've tried replacing the gas strut with almost no help.

I've also attached a pic of the windshield hardware. As you can see, mine are broken. I haven't found replacements, but I haven't really looked that much. I forgot to take pictures of when the window is open, but I'm missing something there also. The door has a little "ball" on the end of a short stem that looks like it would "lock" into a fitting. That fitting is gone, so I'm not much help here.

[ewcjoro]

Thanks for the info...yea, I was excited about the power hatch, but seeing it in action was a bit of a let down. Seems that you need two lifting mechanisms or put one in the center, with gas struts on each side...

Will advise on how my negotiations come along...

I imagine that we should hit 4500-4700 RPMs at WOT on this sucker?

[ShabahZ280]

WOT range varies anywhere from 4200-4800RPM's, so don't be disappointed if you're on the lower end. I think my WOT is around 4300 with a 7.4L MPI.

My boat didn't come with a power hatch, seems the previous owner uninstalled it for some reason and put two gas shocks on the sides. After reading all the complaints on here about the electric hatches, I understand why. I was excited when I actually got on a friend's boat that had one, until I hit the button and it took about 2 minutes to raise the hatch. Talk about a let down.

[dieselwiezil]

looks nice. I wish you were closer id come help ya out. My Mariah came from the Austin area. Get the best deal you can get. Good Luck!