X2 on the Sea, what maintenance is required?

[j3r3m7]

Ok, here's the first first for the new forum and something I'm very keen to know about...

What maintenance schedule do you need for a Mastercraft X-2 that spends most of it's life running on salt water? How often do you need to drag the boat out and clean... do you need more servicing etc?

[tea boy]

I would say the same as any other boat, apart from the X2 bling. Where ever ther's aluminium and stainless in contact with each other watch out.

Mine spent a few hours on the sea as a demo, and this did cause a few problems with the tower and the stainless fittings. All sorted under the waranty now. Closed water cooling for the engine, will also help the engine, and a few cans of WD40 and wax oil..

[saltwater_cowboy]

Yep closed cooling if the engine is new or has run mostly in fresh water before hand.

If the boat has already clocked up 100+ hours exclusively in salt then some internal corrosion will have already started and you have to weigh up the cost of the conversion against how long you keep the boat. I've never run closed cooling because I've never had a boat new enough. It would take 25 years plus to rust a block out even on a boat left in the sea all year. I always flush after every use and the internal corrosion is minimal.

There are two types of closed cooling. One which cools just the block and saltwater passes through the whole exhaust manifold and one which cools both the block and the manifold (but not the risers).

The most common is the first as the size of the heat exchanger required is smaller and more suited to tournament boats.

If this is what you have/get then you need to remember your exhausts are only going to last 6-8 years before they need replacing at a cost of £800-£1000. With the full cooling you will still have to replace the risers at a cost of £400 or so.

Regular flushing of the engine with fresh water will dramatically extend the life of the exhausts so is well worth it on a trailered boat.

If it spends it time moored then its worth looking at galvonic anodes on the drive train to prevent corrosion. I think MC now offer these. Also worth having it antifouled. This will stop it getting a hairy arse which looks bad and hurts speed and fuel economy.

Lashings of wd40 will pay off. Buy it in the 5L bottle and spray on just about anything metallic. It will look greasy and make dirt stick to it but will keep rust at bay. Pay extra attention to items low down in the bilge (starter motor, electrics, engine mounts) as these are the fastest things to start rusting.

The only other thing to watch out for is your trailer. If its not galv'ed it won't last long and even if it is keep an eye on the coupling, brakes, bearings, lights, jockey wheel etc.

Don't let it put you off though, just spend a few quid extra and a bit more time on maintenance.

[Beautiful Freak]

I use an X2 more or less exclusively on the sea and have the closed cooling plus an anode (through MC) on the drivetrain. I haven't bothered with antifoul and just pull it out on the trailer for a thorough clean every month. I also spray grease/ WD40 everything metal that comes into contact with salt water after every trip (including all the points in the engine bay mentioned), plus give the hull and topsides a hose down and hose out the bilge every now and then. Only other thing is a bit of discipline on the water to try and keep the salt out of the boat (it drains through the engine covers very nicley if you get your friends lounging on them straight after coming out of the water with a full wetsuit).

No problems after 2 seasons so that seems to do the trick. A few rusty screws in places but nothing serious.

[Leo]

I hear that wakeboard boats are awful in choppy conditions, such as the sea. How true is this? apparently they get swamped really easy.

[saltwater_cowboy]

its all common sense as far as getting swamped. Don't drive head on into big rollers and you won't take sh1t loads of water over the bow.

Yes wakeboard boats don't handle the chop as well as a deep vee sports boat but if driven carefully they will allow you to get along and then find a flat area to ride.

Most of the later wakeboats (xstar, X2, air nautique etc) are far far better in the chop than the early 90s ski boats because manufacturers have been adding more freeboard on their boats since about 96.