Yet another possible Mariah owner! 01 212Z

Muggi · 06-04-2014, 02:37 PM

Hey everyone, great forum you all have here!

I'm new to the boating game. I'm looking for a bowrider around 20ft for wakeboarding and general lake fun. I went and looked at a couple boats around the lake I've just purchased property near, one of the boats for sale is a 2001 212Z. Some (limited) details:

5.7 Merc, carb
interior looks great
exterior was VERY faded. A good buffing brought it back to deep color, but this has me fearing the boat was A. salt water (current marina doesn't know) or B. sat for years unused in the sun.

The boat has a NJ registration, so again, has me thinking salt water. I was also curious about the stringers...anyone know if '01 would be wood or full fiberglass?

They're asking $11,895.00 with a tandem trailer. Good deal? What questions should I be asking?

Thanks!

***ColoradoDiablo*** · 06-04-2014, 02:46 PM

First , Welcome to MOC!

I would suggest taking a look at this STICKY for info on buying a Mariah.

Muggi · 06-04-2014, 03:27 PM

Ooops, my bad!

I'll read that immediately, gonna leave the post up just in case anyone has specific advice

Thanks!

***ColoradoDiablo*** · 06-04-2014, 03:42 PM

No big deal , just good info in that thread.
Might I suggest a search also?
Lots of info here at MOC.

***ShabahZ280*** · 06-04-2014, 07:08 PM

'01 has the fiberglass stringer system, however it's only for the Z series. (It was an option for the standard series). However, this doesn't mean the boat's entirely wood free. If you look around enough, you'll find it. But, Mariah used XL CCA marine grade plywood, which is pretty good stuff, so I wouldn't worry about it.

The exterior fading could have just been oxidation from lack of a good waxing, and not salt.

Don't be off-put by salt water use. Sure, it has it's downsides, but if it's taken care of properly and flushed after use, you should have nothing to worry about. My Z280 came from saltwater, and it was actually equipped with a "fresh flush" port for the engine that allowed the previous owner to flush the engine out after each use with fresh water. Also, just because this boat you're looking at is from NJ doesn't mean it was full saltwater. My first Mariah (Z250) was purchased in Baltimore, on the Chesapeake bay. The bay is saltwater, but the harbor where the boat was stored was fresh. Bringing the boat back to the freshwater marina would flush the majority of the salt out every time it was used.

Any marine service shop should be able to tell you if the boat's been used in saltwater by taking a few parts off and looking for evidence of internal corrosion. The only real things I noticed on both of mine was that the paint on some engine pieces would flake off, and that there was sometimes evidence of salt on things like the vents, exposed metal, and down in the bottom of the bilge. Again, if it was properly taken care of, you shouldn't have any worries about a saltwater boat. It just takes a little bit more cleaning to get her looking good again!

Muggi · 06-05-2014, 03:13 PM

Quick update if anyone is interested...I'm waiting to hear back on a 1998 Four Winns 220 which is marked at $8000.00 without trailer, but it's wood stringers and has wood damage on the floor...eek.

As much as the Four Winns would be fun (5.7 Penta, duoprop)...the look and attitude of the Mariah is eating at my brain. It's just so PRETTY. It's more money than I wanted to spend, but I'm getting scared it's gonna get snatched up! The marina won't budge at all on the cost, all they'll offer is $250 in store credit (WOOOOO)