My X-30 Tower Install

[dummy]

Long short story or a short long story. Either way. Picked up a used factory Zero Flex tower that was taken off an '04 X-30. It's loaded with trinkets and is for the same hull as my '00 230VRS.


Still have to clean some of the bugs off it from the last time the previous owner towed his boat, but it's got the Mastercraft By Design rope holder, clamp-style racks, rack extensions on one side for slalom skiis, lighted cans and non-lighted cans (both filled with Polk speakers) and rear-facing lights. Not too shabby for craigslist.


Clamp-style board racks


Pull the handle and the clamps lock on the board: no bungees!


Billet extensions for one side rack. They'll be hitting the market place soon but I'm keeping the racks.

[dummy]

I've got a big ol' 700W amp I'll wire in to power the speakers. Looks like I'll be doing some crimping and soldering. Better add a second battery while I'm at it!


Gotta love Mastercraft. Even the knobs are machined!


Tower came with the mounting bolts and insulators, but no backing plates. I'll make my own out of some 1/4-inch T6 aluminum


Here's where the forward foot mounts: I think it's somewhere between the cleat, bimini footman loop, and windshield snap. Or is it farther forward?

[dummy]

And here's what I found when I stuck my head underneath. No obvious reinforcement plates, but what's this glassed-in bump? It's only about 2-inches square and looks to be well-forward of where the mounting bolt would go. No glassed-in plates on the rear.

As an aside, anybody with an X-30 able to maybe snap a photo of the forward and rear reinforcement plates (if any)? Or maybe an "aftermarket" New Dimension tower's plates? I'd also be curious to have a measurement. Maybe how far beyond the terminus of the windshield frame to the center of the rear mounting bolt? Would aid in the installation a bit.

[DemolitionMan]

Nice, that is going to look good.

[rektek]

Hey dummy,
The front tower leg does not go through that plate. It's close however.
I put a nd tower on my 00 210 vrs a few years ago. Strip the tower to bare minimum.
Assemble the legs and get a few guys to hold the rear legs for a test fit. Get some blue tape where the legs land to not scratch the gelcoat. There's no exact spot. I looked a several x10 boats before I installed mine and no 2 boats had the same measurements but all were pretty close.

You will have to install backing plates and the T6 you mentioned is fine of course.
Sand the area where the plates land under the top deck. Get a quart of glass with some hair in it and put some between the plates and the hull. Drill the holes in the plates first.

After you drill the holes through the deck, chamfer the holes on the gel side to prevent spider cracking. I would take some pics but my boat is stored at the lake about a hour away.
Pm if you want I'll shoot you my phone number. The only thing I was really worried was buying a boat cover for a x10 and having it fit my boat.
I used a 1" bit that I picked up from granger. $40 bit that I used on 4 holes....

[Jeff d]

Whoa! Lucky!

Where/how did you get it?

NM, I see where you said Craigslist. Why was the dude selling it?

[Latetowork]

I'll see if I can snag a pic and measurements from mine.

[Latetowork]

Ok here is what it looks like where it bots through.

I'll get measurements in the morning. Too drunk to do it right, and the wife was wondering why I was in the back taking the cover off the boat with a flash light and my phone..... Like I need a reason :p

[FrankSchwab]

For drilling holes, I've had really good luck with step drills. I just drilled a couple of 7/8" holes in mine this weekend using this bit, and it was easy. It leaves a perfectly circular hole, and the next step up does a really good job of moving the edge of the gelcoat back a tiny bit from the hole, and chamfering the edge. This should prevent any cracking.

I tried one hole a few years ago with a twist bit, and had problems with the bit "grabbing" and leaving ragged edges.

/frank

[dummy]

Cool! Thanks guys, especially Latetowork for the photo. That gives me an idea of what to shoot for with the backing plates. I know from my off-road fabrication work that a 90-degree plate means stress cracks. I was gonna go diamond-shape with rounded edges about 50% larger (or as close as I can get) than the tower feet.

I've got an arsenal of drill bits, including the step-bits. I'll do the pilot hole with a 1/4-inch regular bit and then give those a shot, Frank. Thanks for the tip.

I know most guys say it's cake putting one of these things on and, lord knows I've tackled much more difficult stuff on cars and 4x4s. Just feels sketchy drilling into your glass. Plus, I've seen photos and reports of bad tower installs where the feet don't come close to lining up once you unscrew the knobs to drop the tower. Guess I'll strip it naked before install. It's HEAVY with those speakers et. al.

Gonna be a few days 'till I can get the tower on. Boat is kept outdoors for now, so I want to line up an upholstery shop to modify my Mastercraft cover as soon as the tower is on. Also gotta mop up a few other installs on the Jeeps first before I can hit the boat.

I plan on shooting the whole thing and doing a step-by install, so all your tips are appreciated.