2007 Mariah SX190 vs 2004 Glastron gx185

[wengr]

Considering these two boats. Both seem pretty clean and both show about 100 hours. Both have 4.3 190hp Mercs.
Cons for the Mariah seem to be that the company is no longer in business, and the engine is somewhat dirty. I have seen boats with three to four times the hours where the engines looked nearly clean as new. Yet this one is not. Are some people wiping down all the engine bits?
Cons for the Glastron are VEC? I don't know anything about VEC, or either brand, but I read a lot of negative comments about GT.
I have been trying without any success to find out how much wood is in each boat. Any information concerning wood is appreciated.
Would VEC be a deal breaker? For all I know, the Mariah could use a similar method of construction?
The thing is, the Glastron would likely be a bit cheaper, likely a more appropriate size, cleaner engine bay, and while it's more spartan, I prefer the color scheme. But I am concerned about the level of Glastron bashing I read. Any input appreciated

 

[tpenfield]

Google "VEC Hull" . . . a few boat manufacturers used the VEC process. I think the transoms and bulkheads are still wood. I do not see any specific negatives on the VEC hull for a small boat.

Not sure about the Mariah, but if you can find some brochures online about from that era, it may give some clues.

The internet is more opinion than fact . . . some opinions are based merely on the opinions of others. so, take what you read with a grain of salt (and pepper)

 

[Scott Danforth]

both boat are old enough that brand is less of a concern and condition, maintenance history and condition are more of a priority. did we mention condition.


100 hours on a boat that is coming up on 11 years is only 9 hours of use per year. its worse on the 2004 which indicates less than 7 hours per year.

under-used boats have more problems than the boat that gets 100 hours per year use.

use this link as a guide http://forums.iboats.com/forum/gene...eeding-help-buying-a-boat-a-buyer-s-checklist

look over each boat. if one was stored in a garage and wiped down with a diaper vs one kept under the oak tree in the back yard. I would pay more for the garage kept boat. comes down to condition.

 

[ahicks]

Re: low time. I would take the times you are talking about and assume these boats were trailered for each use. This vs. left in the water for the season on higher time boats to the tune of maybe 50 hrs a season. Maybe I'm nuts, but the low time on these boats wouldn't bother me at all - as long as they checked out well at the time of sale.

As far as the dirty engine, they may have had all of their work done professionally. Those guys are not going to take the time to wipe the engine down when changing the oil or winterizing for instance. You need to ask that be done on the work order they're running off of. Point being, dirty engine vs. clean may mean something, but it may not..... That clean engine could just mean a better or more thorough detailing job was done on it prior to sale.

 

[jkust]

Not a big fan of the VEC cost saving production process. I know the vec's can have a lot of cracking issues. As for Mariah being out of business, I can tell you that my boat manufacturer is still in business but good luck getting any hull related parts after a certain period of time. Boat manufacturers quickly stop making parts for boats unlike cars meaning I wouldn't worry much that they are out of the biz. Engine, drive and related parts are easy to get. As for the clean engine thing, I wonder that as well. My previous boat was an 03 and the engine looked 95% as nice the day I got rid of it as the day I brought it home and I never detailed the engine itself, only the engine bay. Current boat, same thing with maybe a little bit of overspray of some kind of oil on a few components from last year's winterization, engine bay is spotless as I keep it clean but never touched the engine itself. I don't really know what it takes to get a dirty engine to that extent. My beef I suppose with Glastron is they 'look' nice with some attention to the things that would make a first time buyer think they are getting a quality boat. As a first boat, I might go ahead and buy one that was used but likely wouldn't be interested in a Carbed engine given it is 2017 and MPI models are everywhere in that 07 and surrounding years given it came out for 2002 and caught on even in small boats by 07. There are lots of the VEC boats still around and to some extent I think you only hear about the few bad ones not all the good ones.

 

[wengr]

Thanks for all the replies. Yes I would expect that both were primarily trailered. Around here that is pretty much the norm. Both look great, (except for the Mariah engine), and it's pretty obvious to me that there ha been no outside storage. Truth be told, the dirty engine issue with me comes down to a natural tendency to question hours claims. I don't know how easy it is to defeat the hour meter, but I don't just take it as gospel. I like to see very clean, very low/no wear, as an indication of low hours, and then if the hour meter agrees I'm comfortable. And both boats have it - except for that dirtyish engine bay.....

 

[jkust]

Thanks for all the replies. Yes I would expect that both were primarily trailered. Around here that is pretty much the norm. Both look great, (except for the Mariah engine), and it's pretty obvious to me that there ha been no outside storage. Truth be told, the dirty engine issue with me comes down to a natural tendency to question hours claims. I don't know how easy it is to defeat the hour meter, but I don't just take it as gospel. I like to see very clean, very low/no wear, as an indication of low hours, and then if the hour meter agrees I'm comfortable. And both boats have it - except for that dirtyish engine bay.....

All of my boats have had a digital hour meter in the middle of the tachometer. I suppose I could cut the power which would be as easy with the boats that have the old fashioned analog hour meter in the engine bay. If the Engine is the MPI engine and not the carbed engine, there is no defeating the hour meter as the engine stores the actual hours and time spent at each rpm level which can be read by a tech with their scan tool. I like low hours because the rest of the boat is generally less worn as well on an older boat versus a boat that got the hours packed on right away. Of course you could float often and have the engine on very little which turns that formula on its head.