1997 Supra Mariah questions

[cole424]

I just bought a 97 supra Mariah I haven't seen any Mariah's newer than 92. I haven't even had it on the water other than test drive. wake was pretty flat but the wake plate was down. I have read a lot that they have an ok wake with weight. my problem is. Where do you put it? There is no room. I need to re do the vinyl on the seats. How do you get the seat backs off the boat? I also found it odd that this boat has a mer crusier 350 in it. didn't most supras have ford motors? Also had questions about lighting. none of the toggles turn any lights on. do you think its the switches or burned out bulbs? Any info on this boat would help a lot! Thanks

[Jetlink]

Bet that you bought a Mariah Boat, not a Supra Mariah.

[bens250ex]

Got any Pics?

[Cusefan78]

Yeah I'm pretty sure you bought a mariah. Easy way to tell. Is the prop under the boat or behind. If you have an out drive it's a mariah which is a runabout. Mariah's at one time were very well built boats.

[cole424]

Yeah I'm pretty sure you bought a mariah. Easy way to tell. Is the prop under the boat or behind. If you have an out drive it's a mariah which is a runabout. Mariah's at one time were very well built boats.

Its definitely a SUPRA Mariah 21'

[cole424]

here is another14036

[Ptownkid]

You sure it's a 1997?

[vvfdfirefighter]

You sure it's a 1997?

It's definitely a 1992 or newer. Has then new style windshield. That mercrusier may have been a cheap eBay purchase when then indimar or PCM motor went.

Sent from my Galaxy Note 2 using Tapatalk

[haugy]

Welcome to the forum. And to answer your question, I have never seen a newer than 94 Mariah. But it sure as heck looks like a Mariah to me. The easiest way to check is to look at the VIN number on the starboard side stern of the boat. Right below the rub-rail. The last two digits, are the year your boat was made.

Just because I haven't seen one doesn't mean they didn't exist. Supra carried the Saltare name for quite some time. In 1998 the Supra Legacy was born, and from my research it was a redesign of the Mariah. Same length, lower freeboard than a Sunsport, and similar layout. So I can easily see that the Mariah name was carried up to 1997. The Comp also got a redesign in 1998.

1998 is when Supra switched from the truly old-school look into their 4th generation line of boats.


To Cole, regarding your questions. Many of the newer boats came with Mercs, which are basically marine fitted Chevy 350's. To add weight you mainly need it in the back of that boat. I used to put 500lbs in the back of my Mariah, too much more and you are getting to a dangerous level.

The seat backs require some trickery to get out. Remove the rear speakers first, then reach in that hole and reach back. You should feel two bolts, one high, one low. Remove the nuts. Then remove the rear storage area in the stern hatch. Once out, you should be able to reach in from the back onto the side where the two bolts were. There should be one more on the side for a total of 3 (at least on my boat there was). There will also be screws coming in from the back storage area straight into the back of the seat. Remove those as well. That should at least get you moving on getting them out. The seat base frames might have to be loosened to get the backs out as they can be wedged into place by them.

As for your lights, get a voltmeter and make sure you are getting power to the bulb. If you have power, then it's just new bulbs. If you don't have power to the bulb point, then your fuses may be blown. Check those as well. Come back with your findings and we'll help ya out with the rest.

[cole424]

Thanks haugy that's a lot of help! I was playing around with lights this afternoon. I will check the vin... If the gel coat looks cloudy can I just high speed buff it out? It's not terrible but I want it to really shine

[ramzak]

To answer your gelcoat question.

watch video below.

http://products.hulaboatcare.com/?page_id=317

[cole424]

Looked at the vin this morning... Last 2 numbers are 97 and also listed as a 97 on the title! What is the best way to get my boat to shine? Just got done with the stereo lastnight. With running amps and would like to put tower lights on in the future would it be wise to have multiple batteries?

[haugy]

Looked at the vin this morning... Last 2 numbers are 97 and also listed as a 97 on the title! What is the best way to get my boat to shine? Just got done with the stereo lastnight. With running amps and would like to put tower lights on in the future would it be wise to have multiple batteries?

Congrats on the 97.

As for the boat to shine, the best thing to do is search in here. Some keywords: Oxidation, wet sanding, polish, etc. Or take up close pictures of what you are wanting to polish up. Not 8 inches away, more like 3-4 feet. But not 20-30 feet away like in the pictures you posted earlier. That will help us take a look at what condition the gelcoat is in. It could just need a really good polishing process, or it may need wetsanding to really bring out the color. My guess is, just from the long distance shots is that it needs a really good polishing up, and it should be good.

As for batteries, most on here will agree with me, amps or not it's best to run two batteries. Being stranded because of a dead battery is not fun. Running two ensures you can get home, and if you do plan on adding amps and a stereo that is more than factory, two batteries is a must. Put a Perko switch in, another battery, and you're ready to go.

[shorty529]

any suggestions on where to find a swim platform for a 1900 supra mariah?