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There's no doubt you'd be getting something decent with this boat. Mariah's are "Equipped like no other boat in the World". As for the waiting for a "Z", that's completely up to you. I searched the web for almost a year before I found mine. It doesn't have everything I wanted, but it's the absolute closest I could find. While it doesn't have the selectable exhaust, I realized I'd hardly ever use it anyway except when trying to attract attention. Many of the local marinas have noise laws, so having a selectable system is nice. But, like I said, I have the underwater exhaust, and it's perfectly fine. I can carry on conversations with passengers while underway. It really boils down to what are your plans with the boat, socializing, racing, and watersports, or just cruising, entertaining and spending quality time on the water? Some of the Z options are things you'll never think of until you need it. Like the Keyless ignition, the SOS flashing lights and the window defroster. All my boating friends refer to my boat as "The Cadillac" compared to everything else.
The general rule of boating is to buy the biggest engine offered, as you'll always want it after the fact. So you've already got that one covered! And you'll find out after a while that running it at wide open is fun, but you don't have to do it all the time. Especially when it's time to fill up the tank. :) But knowing the power is there and it will go if you need it to is a comforting feeling. I drive mine around 30-35, just a notch above cruising speed. It's pretty fuel efficient and gets me places in decent time. Really, if you like the boat, and it's within your budget, go with your gut feeling. |
The seller of this boat wont contact me anymore, so back to shopping for me!
I cant seem to find any with this engine, what are the thoughts on the 454 and the 350? I was told the 350 was easier to work on and better on fuel due to the fuel injection, but less power. |
It would depend a lot on what size boat you are considering.
If you are staying above 24', you'll probably want to go with the 7.4L (454). If you are going with a smaller boat the 5.7L (350) is plenty of power. |
I am pretty set on the Z250. We love the floorplan. There is one pretty close here I can probably get for 26k, its a 2000 one owner with the 350. Only missing option is the switchable exhaust.
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Oh, one more thing. Is the maintainence really that bad on a yellow boat? My wife really likes the yellow Z250 :shakehead:
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The 454 is a great engine for this boat. It's a torque monster, so it'll get it up to plane in no time. Mine is Multi-Port Injected, so it's more "fuel efficient". Really it all depends on how you drive. If you're running wide open or pulling skiers, tubes or boarders, you can burn through a tank of gas in probably a day. But you'll learn very quickly where the boat performs best and you'll get very comfortable with that speed. I really only open mine up a few times during the season.
The 5.7L is a good motor too, I'd urge you to see if you could take the 2000 one for a test drive, and see how you like it. Once I get mine in the water, I'll be more than willing to let you test mine if you'd be up for a trip to Cincinnati, or I'll let you know when I have my boat up in Sandusky on Lake Erie and you could test it out there! And just for reference sake, I believe the 2000's offered the following Mercruiser engines. 5.7L 350, 7.4L MPI, 454 Mag, the 502, and 502 Mag. In 2001, they released the 6.2L and the 8.1L 496 engines, which are supposedly more fuel efficient and make great replacement engines due to the lower weight and similar HP figures. |
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Well, in 01, Mariah used those engines instead of the big block 454 and 502's. Supposedly the 6.2L was the rumored to be Mercruiser's replacement for the 454, and has mixed reviews. It offers 10 more HP than the 454 MPI, and weighs quite a bit less. The 496 replaced the 502.
I wasn't speaking of "swapping out" the engine in there, that'd be a ton of work. I have researched costs and the work associated with swapping powerplants, just in case my engine decides to quit, and it's definitely not cheap. You'd probably be better to wait and find exactly what you want. Although if swapping is something you'd consider doing, you could talk to Doug, (moondance100), he swapped in a 502 into his 240 Talari. ps- I saw a yellow Z250 here in town locally that looked exactly like mine, indy decals on the side and everything. It didn't look bad at all, but it did attract quite a bit of attention. Not sure if that's what you're into, It's kind of hard to "blend in" with the other boats with a yellow and black boat! But if you keep it clean, and wax it a few times a year with some good quality Meguiars products, it'll look like brand new for years. |
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