Long Day....couple questions

[eighttenr6]

Hey guys/girls...Well finally got a chance to take the new to me boat out, an 06' x-star. Drove a couple hours to Lake Camanche (I live in the bay area) for a day of fun, well went to launch the boat and found out that the full weight of the boat was resting on the boat buddy and the pin wasn't aligned with the hole, is this common?

Anyways used the winch to get the weight off the boat buddy and launched, well didn't even get out of the "no wake zone" when the engine over heat alarm went off, we watched the temp needle rise, gave some throttle...nothing...turned around and saw smoke and coolant come pouring out!! so sat there for a while and had to be towed in...re loaded and packed our stuff thinking the day was over. (had taken it to the Mastercraft dealer to make sure everything was running alright, guess they don't check impellers huh?!?!)

Talked to some people in the parking lot and figured out that it was an water pump impeller. Headed towards home and called a few shops and found one that had the impeller and was willing to install for us. Long story short got back out on the water for a few hours and had a blast, until i jumped in to wakeboard and my girlfriend got my tow rope caught in the prop!!!!! Had to be towed in yet again...ended our day there, i guess these little things have to happen to get everything smoothed out.

Question: Both times we had to be towed in, and both times when loading had no power, so i used the winch and muscled it as far as i could, but was still sitting 1/2"-1" from the boat buddy, is using only the winch strap and transom straps sufficient enough for transport? i didn't seem to have any problems, what is the correct was to load when you have no power? The previous owner seemed to have beaten the sh*t out of the boat buddy, does mastercraft replace them? I'm thinking of not even using the thing. any info would help thanks!

[FrankSchwab]

Take a deep breath. I hate those kinds of days.

Yes, the winch strap and rear tie downs are sufficient; it's the way I always tow. I retract the pin on the boat buddy after I pull the boat out of the water to keep the wear and tear on it to a minimum. I had to replace my last BB because the pin had bent.

The Boat Buddy has a limited life if abused. You'll have to buy a new one if it's in bad shape - less than $100.

Next time, if you can't winch the boat all the way onto the trailer, back the truck up another foot or two. It's a lot easier than trying to muscle the boat up with the winch.

The labor involved in taking the impeller out, inspecting it, and putting it back in is such that you might as well replace it while you're in there. Besides, it could look perfectly fine on inspection, and yet fail quickly. The best bet is to simply replace it every year, because as you found out having one fail just sucks. I would fault the dealer for not recommending that, especially if they didn't know the age of the one in there.

Keeping the rope out from underneath the boat is a learned skill; the fastest (and most foolproof) way to learn it is to run over the rope. I spent four hours under a friends Jet boat in the parking lot at Wahweap marina at Lake Powell trying to get a rope out of the intake so we could start uplake for our week-long camping trip once. My wife was there also, and both of us now are exceptionally focused on where the rope is when it's out of the boat as a result. I think you and your girlfriend now have that little bit of wisdom burned into your brains.

Good luck, and feel free to hang out and ask questions.

/frank

[TMCNo1]

Hey guys/girls...Well finally got a chance to take the new to me boat out, an 06' x-star. Drove a couple hours to Lake Camanche (I live in the bay area) for a day of fun, well went to launch the boat and found out that the full weight of the boat was resting on the boat buddy and the pin wasn't aligned with the hole, is this common?

Anyways used the winch to get the weight off the boat buddy and launched, well didn't even get out of the "no wake zone" when the engine over heat alarm went off, we watched the temp needle rise, gave some throttle...nothing...turned around and saw smoke and coolant come pouring out!! so sat there for a while and had to be towed in...re loaded and packed our stuff thinking the day was over. (had taken it to the Mastercraft dealer to make sure everything was running alright, guess they don't check impellers huh?!?!)




Talked to some people in the parking lot and figured out that it was an water pump impeller. Headed towards home and called a few shops and found one that had the impeller and was willing to install for us. Long story short got back out on the water for a few hours and had a blast, until i jumped in to wakeboard and my girlfriend got my tow rope caught in the prop!!!!! Had to be towed in yet again...ended our day there, i guess these little things have to happen to get everything smoothed out.

Question: Both times we had to be towed in, and both times when loading had no power, so i used the winch and muscled it as far as i could, but was still sitting 1/2"-1" from the boat buddy, is using only the winch strap and transom straps sufficient enough for transport? i didn't seem to have any problems, what is the correct was to load when you have no power? The previous owner seemed to have beaten the sh*t out of the boat buddy, does mastercraft replace them? I'm thinking of not even using the thing. any info would help thanks!


Boat Buddy II can be found at most any MC dealer or here, http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0001975011046a&type=product&cmCat=SEARCH_all&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&Ntk=Product_liberal&QueryText=Boat+Buddy+II&sort=all&_requestid=52355&Go.y=8&_D%3AhasJS=+&N=0&Nty=1&hasJS=true&_DARGS=%2Fcabelas%2Fen%2Fcommon%2Fsearch%2Fsearch-box.jsp.form23&Go.x=22&_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1
and
http://kodiaktrailer.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=1&products_id=142&osCsid=5eef2b6660e36e08707cb7d7cde13b9f

[bobbyB]

until i jumped in to wakeboard and my girlfriend got my tow rope caught in the prop!!!!!

Happened to me once and from there on kept a dive mask on the boat.....makes it much easier to see under the boat to unwrap the rope from around the prop.

2 Tips:
1-Key comes out of the ingnition before you go under there!!!!
2-Try to turn the prop backwards by hand and alot of what is wrapped up will undo itself.

[Jim@BAWS]

Keeping the rope out from underneath the boat is a learned skill; the fastest (and most foolproof) way to learn it is to run over the rope. I spent four hours under a friends Jet boat in the parking lot at Wahweap marina at Lake Powell trying to get a rope out of the intake so we could start uplake for our week-long camping trip once. My wife was there also, and both of us now are exceptionally focused on where the rope is when it's out of the boat as a result. I think you and your girlfriend now have that little bit of wisdom burned into your brains


For all of you out there....PWC JETSKI WAVERUNNER or what ever Jet boat you have

Pull the plugs out of the motor. The rope will come out ALOT easier

Jim@BAWS

[kkkeating]

I agree about the quickest way to learn not to run over the rope is to run over it! Nothing like the sound of the engine clunking to dead stop, wondering what’s going on, and turning around to see a taunt rope from the tower down to underneath the boat. That and then trying to gnaw thru a ½ rope cause there’s nothing else on the boat to use. It’s also the quickest way to ensure you have a complete tool box with cutters and a sharp knife on board for the next trip.

[shepherd]

You used your teeth?

[TX.X-30 fan]

Knife on the boat and a good set of lungs, 1st year others driving did it twice and I was aquaman for about 30/45 min. both times. Spinning the prop does help too.

[André]

[COLOR="Red"]


For all of you out there....PWC JETSKI WAVERUNNER or what ever Jet boat you have

Pull the plugs out of the hull.

Jim@BAWS

I prefer this version...:D

[btriantos]

on the trailering part, my X30 did the same thing, but the problem went away after I started spraying the bunks with Liquid Rollers.

[TX.X-30 fan]

on the trailering part, my X30 did the same thing, but the problem went away after I started spraying the bunks with Liquid Rollers.


I think I'll pass but thanks anyway..... :D




49821

[btriantos]

I think I'll pass but thanks anyway..... :D




49821


Yeah, on that... I still never release the winch hook until I get her floating, but it made a world of difference loading the trailer....again, securing winch hook before pulling out. I know it defeats teh purpose of the Boat Buddy, but.....just call me paranoid

[TX.X-30 fan]

I don't unhook that strap till she floats, I'm with you I strap on the way out . Never trusted or liked the boating buddy thing. Great for smaller lighter boats but not the damn heavy wakeboats the thing is way to flimsy.

[btriantos]

I don't unhook that strap till she floats, I'm with you I strap on the way out . Never trusted or liked the boating buddy thing. Great for smaller lighter boats but not the damn heavy wakeboats the thing is way to flimsy.

Agreed! too much weight...too much money riding on a brain fart

[helton333]

I have never run over a rope - until this year - done it twice. I never use the 'F' Word, but man, what a perfect word for that. In fact, underneath the F word in the dictionary should be a tow line wrapped around the prop - mine got prop and rudder, which made it a little easier to cut - yes, I keep a knife on board. From now on, you decide to let go of the handle when I am tooling around you - you won't be on my boat again for a long, long time.

[btriantos]

Question: Both times we had to be towed in, and both times when loading had no power, so i used the winch and muscled it as far as i could, but was still sitting 1/2"-1" from the boat buddy, is using only the winch strap and transom straps sufficient enough for transport? i didn't seem to have any problems, what is the correct was to load when you have no power? The previous owner seemed to have beaten the sh*t out of the boat buddy, does mastercraft replace them? I'm thinking of not even using the thing. any info would help thanks!

This will change your tongue weight if it not all the way loaded on the trailer. You can try getting the trailer deeper to get it all the way up or spray your bunks with liquid rollers. MC does not replace the boat buddy, it's ~$100 you have to spend on your own. They can be a really nice convienence fro getting out of the water quickly with minimal/no crew support (coming in under power). Tow vehicle driver stays in truck, you stay in boat.

Did you get your MC at NorCal? I'm in Livermore and picked mine up there.

[eighttenr6]

btriantos- no, i picked it up used but did take it there for a dealer check, had a few minor issues but said it was good to go...guess the didn't impellers or the fresh water filter plug...because along with a bad impeller the boat was filling up with water since there was no plug on what i guess they call a fresh water filter...