New member looking to buy 1993 Shabah seeking help!!

not-enuff-toyz · 01-17-2010, 03:04 PM

Hi Everyone!! First of all I'm glad I stumbled across this site - it is great to see a place where brand-loyal enthusiasts come together and help each other out. I've been out of boating since we sold the lake home a few years back but I have the bug and am looking to get back in. I found a gorgeous 1993 Shabah 21' for sale that I really like. Not sure of the exact model but it does have a closed bow, sport seating and what looks like a lay-down cuddy. It has the 5.7L Merc but best of all(and a requirement for me) is that is has thru-hull w/Silent Choice. It sure has made finding a 21' or less boat in my price range difficult but the sound of a V-8 w/thru hull is intoxicating though I know there will be early mornings and "family" cruises where I'll want the option of going quiet. A marina owner from my old lake heard what I was looking at and said that the original Mariah's had ALOT of problems with stress cracks in the hulls and replacing them under warranty was the reason the company ended up closing down. He was not a Mariah dealer but in fact one of his pontoon customers had an original Mariah that got a new hull under warranty. Is there any merit to this? I've been poking around the forums here but haven't really seen anything that supports that. I REALLY like the Shabah that is for sale and my next step would be a road trip to check it out in person but after hearing about the hulls I wanted to do some homework before proceeding. Thanks in advance to all!!

***mikeyt*** · 01-17-2010, 06:22 PM

The marina owners comments are unfounded (& untrue) as far as i can recall. This club has been in place for 2 1/2 yrs now & i dont recall anyone making comments about serious stress cracks in the original Mariahs. Those boats were built like tanks & could take a lot of abuse before problems began to show. Now i do seem to remember a few complaints of stress cracking in the new Mariahs amongst our members but the new Mariahs are a completely different boat compared to the originals.

As the boat you are looking at is a '93 though, it will be like most other quality boats. If it has been taken good care of & properly maintained it will make a very good re-entry boat for your needs. If it has been abused and not taken care of, i would avoid it at all costs.

Dave · 01-17-2010, 07:05 PM

Hi not-enuff,

We were a dealer for the original Mariah from 1993 until they shutdown in 2001.

We never had problems on any of the earlier hulls of the era you are talking about but the guy who was talking to you about stress cracks was understating the problem that was seen later on.

There were a stack of troubles in the later 90’s when they moved to the fibreglass stringer systems and stopped balsa coring the hulls. I guess we replaced about ten hulls – Mariah either sending over new boats or new hulls for us to swap the deck, engine, interiors and all the rest over.

They weren’t simply stress cracks. The fibreglass stringer system was secured to the hull using a bonding putty which, in blue water/rougher seas use, was breaking away and then cockpit floors started bouncing up and down and the displaced bonding putty was beating holes in the hull from the inside.

There were quite a few excitable meetings with Jimmy - meetings with Jimmy could sometimes be lively!

The problem went away when they started using balsa cored hulls again with the fibreglass stringer system and we saw no more problems on the fibreglass stringer system after that.

I would stress that the problem mainly occurred on boats that were run in rougher water so feedback you get will very much depend on where they were used.

Hope that helps!

Dave

not-enuff-toyz · 01-17-2010, 08:51 PM

Hi Dave! Thanks so much for the informative reply. If I'm reading the information correctly a 1993 model year boat would NOT have suffered from the stringer issue and should be a solid hull(pending inspection for any collision damage, abuse, etc)?
Thanks again, Gary

Dave · 01-17-2010, 09:46 PM

Hi Gary,

I was only mentioning the later stringer issue to put in context comments you had heard..... just so you knew he was kind of right but that it really applied to later boats.

In 1993, and for quite a while after, the boats had a ply stringer systems..... but it was not just any old ply - it was XL pressure treated ply from Greenwood Products - Greenwood Products - Greenwood Forest Products

It was good stuff and was pretty much rot proof - though it could go a bit soft if left immersed in water for a long time.... but we never saw any of them with rot.

So..... the stringer problem applied only to later boats and all the ones we saw from that era were very sound boats..... but.... she's a 17 year old boat and a lot could have happened to her in that time!

If I was buying a 1993 boat I reckon a Mariah hull from that era is a safer bet than most other brands!

Dave

not-enuff-toyz · 01-18-2010, 01:45 AM

Thanks again Dave!! I feel better now and am looking forward to seeing the boat in person and if it looks good then having an inspection done. Regards, Gary.

***mikeyt*** · 01-18-2010, 04:04 PM

Yep, thanks for that info Dave. That was something i wasn't aware of.

***64*thunderbolt*** · 01-18-2010, 10:36 PM

dave, thats what i like about this site, seems like every time i log on i learn something new about Mariah boats, it`s good to know that some of the Mariah owners on this site are the very people that sold them , and others that built them, i`ve been inside and out, under it, no stress cracks, inside the dash, everthing on it seems to be nothing but quality, both parts and workmanship.

Try that with a Bayliner ! thanks, Jackie