2002 X30 with newer engine

[fvierra27]

Going to look at a 02' X30 that is my brother-in-laws families boat. It has 1300 hours but less then 300 on the new engine which was replaced by reputable MC dealer. It was a fully loaded 8.1L new and was replaced with a 8.1L. I have been in this boat a lot but has been sitting for 2 years on a hydro hoist (covered with a roof).

Problems I know...

1. The steering cable has a missing bolt which is why it has been sitting
2. They had a crazy stereo system installed and always had problems with batteries/charging
3. The prop shaft seal is leaking
4. Needs a new bilge pump

I am mechanically inclined and have no problem fixing the issues.

1. I would plan on fixing the steering cable and just replacing it altogether because I remember it being a little tough the last time we were out on it.
2. Removing the crazy stereo system, including all the wiring, (5 amps 3 subs way to many speakers) and simplifying with 4 cockpit speakers 2 tower speakers and a sub.
3. Dripless shaft seal
4. New bilge pump

The gel coat is old and tired probably a good polish would be enough to look decent. The interior, tho not mint, is nice. Comes with the matching yellow MasterCraft trailer.

What would you guys value this boat at? If I put say, 5k, into it and still be on the plus side of things.

Thanks!! Hopefully I can join the MC team soon!!

[prostar205]

With the hours, the rebuilt engine, original 17 year old interior that will need to replaced soon, gel coat probably needing some attention, I would not pay any more than $25K. Probably closer to lower $20Ks. Good luck.

[gweaver]

Agreed- low 20's. Parts for the steering cable, dripless shaft and bilge pump should run around $500, and if you have a buffer, you can do the gel coat for the cost of a few bottles of compound and wax. Pulling the stereo is just time and patience. The big cost will be the interior, which I'd guess would run 6-7K or more to do all the vinyl and put new foam in. In perfect shape, you might be able to get 30-32K for the boat, maybe as high as 35, but it's still an old boat with an old hull design.

Having said that, with enough weight, these boats can still throw a pretty impressive wake for surfing, if that's your goal.

As far as the stereo goes, I'd suggest leaving it alone until you know for sure you can part with it. If the folks boarding behind you can't hear the music, that's a bit of a downer. I thought my boat would be fine, but my boys say they can't hear a thing while being towed. I think that means I need to upgrade a few things. If yours is plenty loud, I wouldn't mess with it. Maybe disconnect a sub or two, but don't remove things just yet. If you do pull speakers and whatnot, you might be able to sell some stuff to recover some of your costs. Probably won't be much, but you never know.

I have the same boat, same engine, just a year newer, any my family and I absolutely love it. Yeah, it needs new vinyl and carpet, but given the amount of fun we've had on it, the ability to bring a bunch of people with us, and for what we paid, it's been totally worth it.

If you know the boat and it's solid, I'd say go for it.

G

[fvierra27]

Sweeeeeet. Thanks guys. I do have an orbital buffer I use for the vehicles so that’s just time. They said 20k takes it but I wasn’t sure after putting 5-10 into it if it would be worth it. We will deal with the interior like it is now until it gets worse.

Surfing would be the goal for sure with some wake boarding mixed in.

Have either of you done the dripless seal? If so how difficult of a job was it? I haven’t looked yet but that would be the first thing along with the steering cable.

[gweaver]

I haven't done the dripless seal, as I think mine came with it from the factory. Or a previous owner installed one. Either way, if you've ever changed the packing in a stuffing box, it's about the same level of difficulty.



Basically remove the prop, disconnect the drive at the split sleeve, loosen the stuffing box nut and the hose clamps that hold it to the shaft log, slide the prop shaft back. Then remove the stuffing box, slide the dripless seal on, secure it to the shaft log with hose clamps, connect the cooling line to a raw water supply, slide prop shaft back in, reconnect split sleeve, reinstall prop.

Probably a little oversimplified, since you might have to be a contortionist to get to everything- you'll have to get in to the rear lockers and remove the side panels to access the engine/driveline. Honestly, I'd guess the steering cable would be more challenging, since it gets routed under the floor and all. I need to do that as well, and I'm not looking forward to it.

If you want to surf, this boat will do it.


My son is 5 ft tall, and this is a small wake for my boat. I have 1100 in each locker, 400 floor and 750 in the bow. I was running about half full at this point. I don't have photos, but last weekend, I had 1100 port side, 600-ish starboard, center and bow full with another 1200-ish lbs in human ballast along the port side and in the bow, and the wake was probably thigh high on me- a good 3 1/2 ft tall, maybe more. Not too bad for a 17-year old boat. I'd like to add another sack or maybe some lead under the port side seats- another 400 lbs should be pretty nice.

The big block is a beast of a motor too. No problems at all moving that much weight, and, in my opinion, not too thirsty. We can spend all day doing a mix of surfing, tubing, boarding and just running around and use about 1/2 a tank. On a related note, there was a TSB out on the engine- Indmar was recommending filling with 10 quarts of oil instead of 8. LINK The link will download the related TSB.

Welcome to the 8.1 Club!

G

[fvierra27]

Extremely helpful thank you! I’ll post some pics when I get it. Also which prop are you guys using for surfing/boarding?

[gweaver]

My boat came with an OJ 14.75 x 15.5. No idea if that's 'correct' for what I'm doing, but it seems to have plenty of power. I have thought about calling OJ to see if that's what should be on the boat given my usage, but like I said, it does pretty well, and I've got other things I'd rather spend $500 on.

G

[fvierra27]

Just pulled her out of the water today. Will be cleaning it up tomorrow!

[gweaver]

Cool! We're going to need more pictures!
Where on the west coast are you?
G

[Elberoth]

IMO it would be cheaper (and probably easier) to add a second battery than pull out a working stereo system.

If you want to stay with a single battery, you may go with a new amp - most of the current designs work in class D, which is much more energy efficient than the old class AB designs and uses much less electrical power (for same output wattage).

[fvierra27]

Cool! We're going to need more pictures!
Where on the west coast are you?
G

I will try to get some more this week as I clean it up. I am in Morgan Hill. Tried to get her out on our local lake yesterday but they are so worried about zebra muscles, during inspection a DROP came out of one of the ballast tanks. She failed me so I am banned for 5 days . Any tips on completely emptying the ballast tanks?

Just ordered the dripless shaft seal hopefully have it in before Sunday. I already fixed the stereo. Removed one amp and one sub, removed excess wiring, rewired the perko switch/charger, got 3 new batteries (one for "starting" and two on bank two for stereo), and cleaned the interior.

Need to do some carpet cleaning, refinish the teak deck, make new trailer bunks, and install the dripless seal.

[fvierra27]

IMO it would be cheaper (and probably easier) to add a second battery than pull out a working stereo system.

If you want to stay with a single battery, you may go with a new amp - most of the current designs work in class D, which is much more energy efficient than the old class AB designs and uses much less electrical power (for same output wattage).

I ended up removing one sub and one amp and leaving the rest. I did clean up the wiring a bit and have three fresh new batteries. One as a "starting" battery and two for the stereo on a perko switch.

[gweaver]

I've got the same issue with my ballast bags never fully emptying. I've never been banned for water, since I always boat at the same lake. I have thought about pulling my ballast bags and hanging them up to dry. The only other idea I've had is to build a wedge on the floor of my lockers, so that as much water as possible runs back towards the fill/drain port. No idea if that would actually work. I've also thought about putting a little bleach in each bag after getting home, just to kill anything that might be a problem.
I know it's a bit of a trek, but I'm on the other end of the bay in Sonoma County. If you ever head up that way, stop by for a beer and to talk boats if you want.

G

[fvierra27]

I've got the same issue with my ballast bags never fully emptying. I've never been banned for water, since I always boat at the same lake. I have thought about pulling my ballast bags and hanging them up to dry. The only other idea I've had is to build a wedge on the floor of my lockers, so that as much water as possible runs back towards the fill/drain port. No idea if that would actually work. I've also thought about putting a little bleach in each bag after getting home, just to kill anything that might be a problem.
I know it's a bit of a trek, but I'm on the other end of the bay in Sonoma County. If you ever head up that way, stop by for a beer and to talk boats if you want.

G

That sounds good. If I head up I will definitely give you a shout.

This may be to much of a hassle and I understand but would you be able to snap a picture of your steering cable mounting bracket. It's easiest to see port side with the engine cover folded. I am pretty sure mine isn't original and would love to see yours and see if it's mounted directly touching the hull or like a standoff on the studs.

Here is mine and the reason the steering is loose

[gweaver]

Happy to take one, but I'm in Florida on vacation until early August. If you still need a photo, feel free to hit me up next month. Just looking at the end of that bracket, the metal looks torn, like it was broken off. No idea how that could happen, but that's what it looks like.
From an engineering perspective, you're right, that's not a stable design. If the entire bracket sits flush on the bottom of the bilge, it'd work OK, but the better route would be if the bracket was secured to the other two bolts as well. Might remove the existing bracket and have a fab shop copy it while making the base longer, with holes to match the 4-bolt pattern.
Prostar 205, who responded at the top of the thread, might be willing to snap a photo for you. Maybe send him a PM with your request?
G