X-14/X-14v owners & enthusiasts thread

[93Prostar190]

Admiring that 214. Someday....Someday...

Hey man come to Buckeye Bash in a few weeks and you can ski that one ... heck, be nice to me and you can take it home with you. *

Standard disclaimers apply.

[rtw_travel]

Interesting to me as well; especially since my pylon always feels loose! It has never budged at the wrong time, but it feels as if it barely in there sometimes. Does yours really lock into place?

Yes it does - surprizingly easily. Its spring loaded, so you push down and twist a quarter turn and let it back up to lock into place.

Just take the trim ring off the carpet and see if that makes the pylon easier to insert. You might be pleasantly surprised. If it makes no difference, then reinstall the ring. If removing the ring does make it easier, then drill the new holes for the ring and reinstall.

[double_shumba]

There is no comparison between the wakes of the X14/214 and the new Prostar. The new Prostar is world class for slalom wake (almost none down to 24mph), where my 214 still forces you to practice good form and stack as you cross, or else...



You mean like this?

Right. I don't think anyone doubts the prostar has a better wake than the 214. What I was saying was that I don't think the prostar getting bigger and heavier but not having more seats fills the gap that dropping the 214 left. I love my prostar, but it is getting to the point that it does not have enough seats for me. I am just snobby enough about my ski boat that I won't ski behind a v-drive... which leaves the 214 as my best option.

The new prostar is a sweet boat, but it won't do anything for my situation that my current prostar won't. The 214 would. I am super bummed they dropped it.

[GT500 MC]

Interesting to me as well; especially since my pylon always feels loose! It has never budged at the wrong time, but it feels as if it barely in there sometimes. Does yours really lock into place?

Yes locks right into place. And doesn't feel like it can budge a bit. In fact, I tried to pull it out yesterday and simply couldn't. Have it inside storage now drying everything out so I should be able to remove when I go to clean-up and detail next week.

[rtw_travel]

i've raised my platform on our X-14V, and I'm happy with the results.

I bought a 2"x8"x18" piece of teak and ripped it into two pieces of 2"x4". I then cut a slight wedge into the wide side of the 2"x4", so it goes from 1.5" to 2" thick over about 15" of length. So when I installed it, the front of the platform is 1.5" higher than it was before, and the back of the platform is about 2" higher. I replaced the 1" ss mounting screws with 3" ss screws. It seems very solid.

There are two benefits - the platform is now out of the water when at rest, and it is also above the water when surfing. i.e. it doesn't shave the top of the wave. The wave is way better than before. It looks like the end of the platform is still about 1/2" above the water when surfing.

Here's pictures. You can see the slight wedge shape I cut in the 2x4 piece of teak. Yes, I finished the teak before screwing and gluing it into place.

The surfing picture was taken with a very wide angle, so it looks flatter than it really was. The wave was about 3' tall, with about 6-8' of length to play with. This is full stock ballast plus two x 400lb fat sacks and 6 people. About 3/4 tank of gas. One fat sac was under the seat where the ski pylon is, the second sac lay on the floor across the boat just in front of the engine cover. Two people were sitting in the front port side of the boat, three on the port side from the spotters seat going to the back, and one driver.

phot 1 - before lifting
photo 2 - after
photo 3 - wake after. Its the surfer's second try at surfing, and the first time throwing the rope back. ~he's about 200lbs, and is using an inland surfer blue lake V2
photo 4 - the wedge installed

[cdstukey]

i've raised my platform on our X-14V, and I'm happy with the results.

I bought a 2"x8"x18" piece of teak and ripped it into two pieces of 2"x4". I then cut a slight wedge into the wide side of the 2"x4", so it goes from 1.5" to 2" thick over about 15" of length. So when I installed it, the front of the platform is 1.5" higher than it was before, and the back of the platform is about 2" higher. I replaced the 1" ss mounting screws with 3" ss screws. It seems very solid.

There are two benefits - the platform is now out of the water when at rest, and it is also above the water when surfing. i.e. it doesn't shave the top of the wave. The wave is way better than before. It looks like the end of the platform is still about 1/2" above the water when surfing.

Here's pictures. You can see the slight wedge shape I cut in the 2x4 piece of teak. Yes, I finished the teak before screwing and gluing it into place.

The surfing picture was taken with a very wide angle, so it looks flatter than it really was. The wave was about 3' tall, with about 6-8' of length to play with. This is full stock ballast plus two x 400lb fat sacks and 6 people. About 3/4 tank of gas. One fat sac was under the seat where the ski pylon is, the second sac lay on the floor across the boat just in front of the engine cover. Two people were sitting in the front port side of the boat, three on the port side from the spotters seat going to the back, and one driver.

phot 1 - before lifting
photo 2 - after
photo 3 - wake after. Its the surfer's second try at surfing, and the first time throwing the rope back. ~he's about 200lbs, and is using an inland surfer blue lake V2
photo 4 - the wedge installed (sorry for it being sideways)

That looks pretty slick. Nicely done and thanks for the "how to" write up. What kind of glue did you use?

[rtw_travel]

That looks pretty slick. Nicely done and thanks for the "how to" write up. What kind of glue did you use?

I used whatever I had at hand- in this case, two coats of contact cement. It's really the screws through the the mounting plate that hold it together. The screws are #14 x3" stainless steel, with holes pre-drilled for the entire 3".

[FoggyNogginz]

I'm absolutely going to this. Thanks for the great write up! Where did you get the teak??

[rtw_travel]

I'm absolutely going to this. Thanks for the great write up! Where did you get the teak??

Our local specialty wood company. Brace yourself- it'll be the most expensive piece of wood you've ever bought from a lumber store. I spent $80 for a piece that was unfinished 2x8x18" . I'm sure you could find it cheaper, but I needed it immediately to be able to get it finished before our vacation.

[Bwall]

I assumed the 2" aluminum spacer on my X14V was factory, maybe not- I'm not sure?

[rtw_travel]

I assumed the 2" aluminum spacer on my X14V was factory, maybe not- I'm not sure?

That's a great solution, but I'd be disappointed if it was factory installed... Because it means they stopped putting these on later models as neither my '12 or '14 had them.

One advantage is that only aluminum would be in the water, whereas the my teak wedges sit in the water when the boat is in the water. The only thing you couldn't do easily in aluminum is the wedge shape... but I'm not not sure how important it is to do that.

[FoggyNogginz]

Yeah, I don't think that aluminum spacer is factory, but it is definitely a good idea. I'm really impressed at the difference that this adjustment made in the surf wake, because the photos above are much cleaner than my port wave.

RTW - what prop are you running?

Thanks again.

[rtw_travel]

RTW - what prop are you running?

Thanks again.

Stock from the factory...whatever that is. I haven't looked at it.

[corey]

The end of an era, our last X14V is headed home!

[214skier]

The end of an era, our last X14V is headed home!

I am going to say it again---Mastercraft needs a cross-over solution. I am hopeful there is something in the works that will surprise and delight me soon!