I've had an '88 Mariah since it was new. I'm and old-school slalom skier but my teenagers are wakeboarders. The Mariah is an excellent open water ski boat but only fair for wakeboarding. I did modify the ski locker to allow a 350 lb. fat sac and that makes a decent wake for wakeboarding. But to get the best shape on the wake we have to shorten the rope to about 50'.

The lower freeboard coupled with the tapered bow makes the Mariah prone to swamping the bow. If you want to wake surf, you cannot get enough of a wake to eliminate the tow rope. Factor the cost of a Perfect Pass system into the price of the boat because without speed control it's very difficult to hold a constant wakeboarding speed.