Another Wakeplate question

[venetrex]

Yesterday i finally broke down and did the drilling for my 2007 x2 wakeplate. Something that is a little strage to me is that even when the plate is fully retracted it still interfers slighlty with the lines of the hull. Meaning that at no time a boat with the plate is EVER like one without. Has anyone else noticed this. I noticed this on many photos of x2's with the wakeplate. This could be corrected if the bracket extension was made longer. Am I overthinking this?

[Age Fighter]

I noticed this too -- The hull is rounded slightly and the plate is flat -- so the plate will not line up perfectly with the hull on the X-2 like it does some other boats. Having said that, all reviews are that the wake plate does help the X-2 greatly.

[smsbrett]

I have heard the same things.

[rgardjr1]

Yesterday i finally broke down and did the drilling for my 200 x2 wakeplate.

Don't forget pictures of this project ...

[ahhudgins]

Are you installing the plate to enhance the wake, or correct a problem? I was surprised to read many posts about other people having porpoising problems with newer Mastercrafts. I'm going to try a motor alignment on my 95 Maristar 200VRS when I can get it on the water in a few weeks. If that doesn't help, I will go with a trim tab installation. Are the wake plates and trim tabs the same thing?

[venetrex]

Interesting thing, the plate is screwed to the bottom part of the transom, but the upper bracker has a giant hdpe backer plate in there. I like everything thru bolted so I made a custom plate out of stainless steel for the plate hinge that is thru bolted with nylon lock nuts. It was a real pain having my wife turn the screwdriver while I held the nuts, and then going back and torquing each one down. 1 /2 screw is all it takes for the bottom. For the top because of the backer plate I needed 3 inch screws to make it through. I just used washers on those. Photos to come, but for now time to go to work.

[BigWilson]

I ordered the MC wakeplate and just received most of the parts yesterday. Did not come with any directions or hardware to mount. Did yours come with these things? If anyone has any directions could you email them to me and point me in the right direction for parts? Was hoping to install today. Thanks!

jww

[venetrex]

The direction I have are very lousy, but send me your email address and I will forward them too you. I had to reverse some wiring on mine for whatever reason, the control box for 2007 is no longer made.

[BigWilson]

The direction I have are very lousy, but send me your email address and I will forward them too you. I had to reverse some wiring on mine for whatever reason, the control box for 2007 is no longer made.

Thanks so much! wilson.jamie@bellsouth.net. Thanks for your help! I guess the most nerve racking part was figuring out where to drill holes? I can image you measured about 100 times before you drilled??? Hopefully the directions aren't much different for an X-15.

Took her out today...I cannot put up with the porpoising anymore

thanks again!
jww

[BigWilson]

Thanks so much! wilson.jamie@bellsouth.net. Thanks for your help! I guess the most nerve racking part was figuring out where to drill holes? I can image you measured about 100 times before you drilled??? Hopefully the directions aren't much different for an X-15.

Took her out today...I cannot put up with the porpoising anymore

thanks again!
jww


sorry no dot....wilsonjamie@bellsouth.net

[BigWilson]

Thanks so much! wilson.jamie@bellsouth.net. Thanks for your help! I guess the most nerve racking part was figuring out where to drill holes? I can image you measured about 100 times before you drilled??? Hopefully the directions aren't much different for an X-15.

Took her out today...I cannot put up with the porpoising anymore

thanks again!
jww


sorry no dot.... wilsonjamie@bellsouth.net

[BigWilson]

Yesterday i finally broke down and did the drilling for my 2007 x2 wakeplate. Something that is a little strage to me is that even when the plate is fully retracted it still interfers slighlty with the lines of the hull. Meaning that at no time a boat with the plate is EVER like one without. Has anyone else noticed this. I noticed this on many photos of x2's with the wakeplate. This could be corrected if the bracket extension was made longer. Am I overthinking this?

(Sorry to post this on more than one thread)
Nervous on where to mount the cylinder (top) bracket. If I mount too high I wont get much benefit from the tab as it will have to travel farther if you know what I mean. How far does the actuator cylinder travel when deployed??? I was told it only travels 2 inches when deployed. Anyone have experience with this? Also don't want to mount too low as it may not fully retract as the trim is tab is raised... Gonna try again to install weekend.

jww

[venetrex]

My instructions, I believe, said to mount 2 inches above the recess in the transom. I made custom bracket extensions that went 1-1/2" longer than the originals out of billet aluminum and now have some upper travel that I never had before. I think this was a simple easy mod. Waiting for my buddy with stock bracket to see if there is indeed an improvement.
But you are not screwed if you mount it a bit too low. However make sure if you raise it to check for swim platform clearance. There is also a wire under the dash labeled tabs that plugs into some of the harnesses you recieved.

[BigWilson]

I need someone's opinion on this. I was holding my new wake plate
assembly up to the transom on my 2007 X-15 to mark where to drill
holes etc. I ran into a slight problem and curious if there is an easy
fix. Frustrated because I was prepared to install today and tomorrow!

:confused: I have attached pictures to explain.

When I hold the trim tab assembly up (as where directions say 1/2"
from bottom of hull) it makes the top bracket(for cylinder/actuator)
interfere with the swim platform. The first thought that comes to
mind is to notch out part of swim platform but did want to have to
do it if there is an alternative. Please let me know if you have a
solution...I'm sure you do.

Thanks!

[venetrex]

That mounts lower at the top, only a few inches above the recess. 1 inch according to my directions.

[BigWilson]

Well I called about every MC dealership/service dept in America! Turns out the install on the X-15 requires a small notch out below swim platform...not a big deal and cant see from above. Its on and I tested it out while out of the water. Hope to give a test run tomorrow evening.

Below are the pictures with it all the way down/deployed. Is this as far as it is supposed to go down when deployed????? I used to have a center console fishing boat that had these and it seemed like they went down further...but cant remember. Just hoping I didn't miss something. Thanks for all the help those of you I spoke to on the phone and on here. Please give me your feedback. Thanks!
jww

[venetrex]

Nice job, that's actually more than you'll ever need to deploy it, looks just like my x2

[cdawake]

what is your boat sitting on in those pics? that looks like a pretty ghetto setup

[hkallestad]

Just curious, is that plate for a bigger wake(wakeboarding) or a smaller one(skiing)? I will lift the stern of the boat?

[BigWilson]

CDAWAKE, That's funny...they are cleaning/maintenace racks outside of the dry storage marina where I keep my boat.

hkallestad, I installed to help with porpoising at higher speeds and to help keep bow down/planing. Some say you can craft wake with it or flatten wake for skiing...remains to be seen.

[ahhudgins]

Nice job, that's actually more than you'll ever need to deploy it, looks just like my x2


I am VERY curious as to how much trim will be needed to stop the porpoising. My guess is very little. A temporary 3/16" hook on my transom was all that was needed to fix my problem, but after watching eveyone else install the wake plates, I believe this will be my next project.

[kentcunningham]

BigWilson - If you don't mind me asking, what does a set up like that sell for these days? My X9 porpoises at any speed above 35 MPH even on glass water, and it drive me a little nuts.

<rant> Isn't Mastercraft known for their hull design? </rant>

KC

[kentcunningham]

P.S. Just curious for those of you porpoising at higher speeds....what prop are you running? I suspect that the 3 blades with higher rake might be worse for this.

[BigWilson]

I tested out today. works very well. To fix the porpoising it didnt take much...I only had to put tab half way. Really helps plane faster. Im very happy now with the purchase. I didnt really focus on the wake much.

Kentcunningham, I paid $1200 for the set up. Saved about $600-900 doing myself. Call Mastercraft factory in Vonore, Tenn. They will give you a complete parts list for your particular boat.

The prop I am running is four blade(you can see a little of it on the pictures above)...whatever came on the boat.
jww

[Age Fighter]

BigWilson - If you don't mind me asking, what does a set up like that sell for these days? My X9 porpoises at any speed above 35 MPH even on glass water, and it drive me a little nuts.

<rant> Isn't Mastercraft known for their hull design? </rant>

KC

I ran a 3 and a 4 on my X-9, and really noticed mostly a difference in sound at slow speeds. No real noticeable diff in performance, wake, porpoising, etc.

My boat did not porpoise all the time, and when it did I could usually just shift a person forward a tad or put a splash in the forward ballast.

[kentcunningham]

Hmmm....$1200 is really not too bad. I will be anxious to get your feedback on the difference it makes. Thanks!

[kentcunningham]

Update - ACME Props hooked me up with a four blade with a little less pitch and the problem is solved. They were awesome about it too and gave me a nice discount for reporting back the necesary performance, weight, speed, WOT etc back to them which would show the differences on this specific boat model between two of their props for future buyers. Great service from these guys I must say. They called me back by 9:00am on Monday after I asked a question on their webpage on Sunday evening too. You don't see service like that much anymore!

For the record, the old prop was great for surfing, but the boat began to bouce at any speed above 34MPH, and was a bit of an issue when skiing on anything other than glass water (ahhh-glass). So here was the switch:

Old Prop: ACME 475, Pitch-12.625, cup.080, 3 blade
Top speed 54 MPH @ 4600 RPM WOT

New prop: ACME 209, Pitch 12.50, cup.080, 4 blade
Top speed 50MPH @ 4500 RPM WOT

Engine: 5.7L TBI EFI Vortec
Boat: 2002 X9

Indmar/MC says that the max WOT range is 4400 - 4800 RPM, so I am a happy camper.

Thanks!