[Joe_D]

All,

Never bought a boat before. Went to a local dealer and was shown the Mariah 19.9. Liked the overall look and feel but honestly Im never had a boat before so Im not sure what is good and what is not. The sales guy said the price was in the 19K range. The capacity says 10 people but Ive read concerns about getting the boat to plane etc... I want to get a boat mainly for cruising around, fishing and maybe some tubing. I have a family of 4 but may want to bring 4 others if possible. Any suggestions? Does anyone that own the R19.9 have any comments on their experience? What about price? Is it easy to get the dealer to come down in price on these boats?

Thanks in advance,

Joe

[2009R19.9]

Joe
I may be a little biased, but we just signed on our R19.9 last weekend. We took it out for a run, about 40 minutes, with both me and my wife trading off driving. It was pretty windy so conditions were a little choppy. I actually was glad for this: any boat seems great when the water's like glass--it's when it gets rough that you find out how a boat rides and handles.
The 19.9 came up on plane like a champ--couldn't have been more than 3 - 5 seconds, even heading into the wind, with three adults on board. Mind you, we went with the 5.0L/225 HP Merc, which pushed the price up, but having had boats in my youth, I don't ever remember complaining that I had too much horsepower
We pushed the boat around to get a feel for stability under speed and in turns, as well as trying to get a feel for best trim/rpm combinations. I was impressed with the ride, both as driver and passenger (sat in the helm seat and on the back bench as a "passenger"). We also idled in the middle of the lake to see how well it "sat" in a moderate chop--again, for being a hair under 20', it seemed very solid, not like it was getting pitched around.
I'll post more impressions in the next couple of weeks as long as the weather cooperates (still a little chilly here northwest of Chicago).
Andy

[bailcam]

We just put a down payment on a new R19.9 yesterday with the upgrades. We should have it within 2 weeks. During our test with another R19.9 we were thoroughly impressed with the ride and design of the boat. We went with the 4.3L engine as the 5.0 was way out of our price range. The only reason we didn't buy the boat we tested was it was red and we wanted yellow or black (we went with yellow). Also, the test boat was a 2009 and the ordered boat will be a 2010. I'll be sure to post back once we have the boat and start enjoying it!

[dudders]

Boating world gave it a very good write up. Did you go for the 4.3 carburettor or fuel injected motor?
SeaFox were very excited about their release of them this year (or was it last year?), anyway, I know they made quite a big deal of it at their boat shows they attended.
Great time to be buying a new boat - all summer and autumn to enjoy it. Have fun.

Heres the link to the write up.

Click Here

[bailcam]

Thanks dudders, I saw that review...nice write-up. We went with the 4.3L carburetor version. The 4.3L fuel injector took the boat out of our price range. We were surprised that we would be getting a 2010 model since the 2009s are still out but they are actually building our boat as we speak. The Mariah's here are manufactured in Monks Corner, SC which is just a few miles down the road from me. Nothing is changing on the 2010 models compared to the 2009 according to our dealer here. Anyway, thanks for the info. I'll post a personal review once we get the boat and get it out on the water.