Mariah Talari 180

1994 Mariah Talari 180 Open Bow with matching Heritage trailerI bought my Mariah in 2008 and it was love at first sight. I was a self-employed bachelor at the time, so I took her out on the water a couple of times a week. I had no idea how much my life was going to change not even two years later.I met the woman of my dreams, and took her out on the Mariah for our first date on Lake Michigan. We had a nice picnic and enjoyed the skyline and gentle rocking of the waves, and lo and behold, that night she told me that I was off the market.Three months later, she was pregnant, and because we were living downtown and needed to move, it came down to boat or baby.So, almost needless to say, boating was no longer on the radar. I was still hopeful that one day she'd spontaneously say "I know I have morning sickness, but let's hit the lake" or "Hey, I think our daughter doesn't need her naps today, let's take the Mariah out" but it never happened. Each season I had it winterized, summerized, and checked out from top to bottom by the good folks at Berwyn Marine until they lost their lease and went out of business. Three years ago, we were moving again and didn't have a choice but to sell the Mariah to a local guy. He took it to his lake house in Wisconsin, but when we moved back last year I had an itch that needed scratching. I asked him if he still had the Mariah and if so, if he'd consider selling it back to me. Serendipitously, he had just bought a much bigger boat because his teenagers were always wanting friends to join them, and was about to put the Mariah on the market. I bought it back for the same price I sold it for. He had the local marina do a couple of repairs on the shift linkage and replace the bilge pump, but it was otherwise just as I had sold it to him. I was delighted to have her back. I haven't switched the Wisconsin title over to Illinois yet, but I'll get that into the mail. If you buy the boat, I'll get you a copy of the original Wisconsin title, a copy of the submitted Illinois title application, and a bill of sale. When the State of Illinois sends me the new title, I'll mail it to you or drop it off, depending on whether you're nearby or not. You'll also get a title for the trailer.Anyway, unfortunately the timing wasn't meant to be, and we found out that we had another baby on the way. So now with three little kids, my dear Mariah just doesn't get the attention she deserves. I asked my wife if she'd be OK with selling the beautiful and quick little boat that helped seal the deal between the two of us, and she said that she's willing to hold on to the memories instead of the boat if it makes it easier on us. So here I am, writing this story out on classifieds board, coming to terms that my old girlfriend should be free to see someone else, and that I need to let her go.Some history on Mariah boats is probably of interest. Back in the late 1980's, a fellow by the name of Jimmy Fulks started a boat company with the vision of making the most modern and luxurious boats on the market, while competing against the big players in the marketplace. By the mid 1990s, Mariah had 500 employees working in their Benton, Illinois factory, and with 200 dealers nationwide selling the 5000 boats they produced annually, Mariah quickly became one of the largest independent boat builders in the country. Tough times eventually struck, and Jimmy's small company wasn't able to weather the storm, and in 2001 Mariah went bankrupt. Sea Fox Boats purchased Mariah's assets for boats less than 25 feet long, and have been selling mass-produced copies since then. Some argue that Jimmy's original motto of "Equipped Like No Other Boat in the World" didn't carry through on the Sea Fox lines, but you have nothing to worry about, as the Mariah I'm selling is an original "Jimmy from Benton" Mariah.This is an open bow aka bowrider with a 4.3L V6 Mercruiser and Alpha One stern drive. The engine puts out around 190 HP and can take the boat to 55 MPH, even on Lake Michigan. It has GPS navigation and side sonar scanning (see what's on the bottom in 2D!) thanks to an $900 Humminbird 787c2 system. The stereo is an iPod-compatible Alpine unit, and the speakers have been upgraded nicely as well. The stereo won't work properly with an iPhone 5S, but you can get a new head unit from Crutchfield for about $150 that'll be a fine replacement. Still, it sounds great, even when under way. All of that is powered by a dual-battery system with manual control between off, battery 1, battery 2, or both batteries. Never fear running out of juice while you're out enjoying some tunes and rays. Various powered controls on the boat are navigation lights, anchor light, engine compartment blower, bilge pump (also has an automatic-on), courtesy lighting (lights up the interior of the boat, nice!), horn, and trim control.Seating is extremely comfortable with two captain's chairs, a rear 3-seat bench (with storage under the seats), and three front seats (also with storage). The storage under the frontmost cushion is plastic, and some use it for an ice chest like we did, others for an anchor. There is a roomy ski locker in the floor between the captain's chairs. Additional storage is under the sun deck on each side of the engine (we use it for anchors, fenders and extra PFD's). The curved Taylormade windshield opens in the middle and also on the sides for a cool breeze. There is a swim deck behind the sun deck, and a collapsible fold-up swim ladder on the stern. The vinyl, carpet and stitching are generally in excellent condition except for a one-inch full-through abrasion on one of the gunwale pads that I made through my own stupidity by repeatedly jerking a line abruptly and not realizing that it was snagged under the sun deck. I'm sorry about that. Also included is the cruising canopy, which is similar to a bimini top, except it clips to the windshield and provides a sleek and comfortable hiding spot from rain and harsh sun, even under full throttle. In the photos it's folded up on the floor, but it is normally stored under the sun deck. I left it out to remind myself to tell you about how nice it is. The original canvas cover was showing its age and wear, so I had a seamster at Berwyn Marine make a custom storage cover for it for about $800 from super-premium Top Gun fabric, and because it's nearly impregnable, it features two elevation poles and vents. There are some defects in the pin stripping and rub rail which aren't unexpected considering it's a 21 year old boat, but it's nothing tragic.The trailer is a custom fit, single axle by Heritage. The lighting all works, but one of the rear fixtures is cracked. The wheel bearings are smooth and nicely greased. The hitch takes a 2" ball and accepts a 4-wire system. The original trailer jack was replaced this year because I was an out-of-practice moron and left the jack down when I pulled it out of the lot while taking it in for summerizing. The grip tape on the fenders needs replacement.I have the owner's manual, miscellaneous paper items, and the original vinyl paperwork pouch. I'll also include the lines, anchors, fenders, PFDs, etc. Anything "boat" that I can find is yours.This is a very nice, still stylish, well made, luxurious and clean boat that doesn't look its age. It's been enjoyed by a loving owner who is sad to see it go. It's time for someone else to take it. There's a very active community of Mariah enthusiasts atmariahownersclub.comwho can't wait to meet you.This is a link to a video of starting the engine:http://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/enginestart.movThese are links to high-resolution photos taken a couple of years ago, but it looks pretty much the same today. With three kids aged 4 and under, I hardly get enough time to sleep or take the Mariah out for a cruise, let alone to just take even more pictures of her. You're welcome to come on by and see it yourself.http://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m003.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m004.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m005.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m006.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m007.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/ariah/m008.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m009.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m010.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m011.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m012.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m013.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m014.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m015.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m016.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m017.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m018.jpghttp://proprietarylogic.com/mariah/m019.jpgAs I said, I had it winterized and summerized every season, and even though the battery switch was off, the last winters were brutally cold and the batteries could likely use a good charge or maybe even a replacement. I only took it out once last summer for a really nice four hour cruise back in June, but I don't know if that charged the batteries up sufficiently to let it sit for another these last months unused.So there you have it. Let me know if you have any questions or want to come out and see it. My schedule is pretty flexible in short bursts of time, so just drop me an email and we can go from there.Breaking up is hard to do....