2015 X30 - Upgrades/Improvements

[Skyskiguy]

Thanks to Moosehead I am the proud owner of a very well kept 2015 X30 - you've seen photos of his X30 over the past few years. I think this might just be the best looking X30 to ever roll off the assembly line in Vonore, TN! I can't say enough about Moose and his and kindness. He was willing to make the trip from CO to northern ID in May amid this crazy Covid outbreak to meet my wife and me when we drove up from UT for the lake test.
I have taken what was an extremely nice boat and made it my own by applying my MCOCD to correct some things that bothered me - mostly what I viewed as design flaws and personal preferences really.
Below is a list of the major projects:
1. Replaced all OEM rubber Aqua Trac pieces with Gatorstep (props to Mason & crew).
2. Replaced OEM heater with Heatercraft 300 Elite (2x the BTU's, replaced cup holder vents with actual cup holders and added a 2nd Hot Tube in the walkway to the bow).
3. Relocated batteries to rear, port coffin storage - secured to a custom HDPE/carpeted shelf.
4. Relocated pylon storage to area beneath the trash can.
5. Relocated driver's seat heater switch from location at side of driver's seat to switch panel at helm (including patching fiberglass and gelcoat where switch was previously located).
6. Replaced fiberglass swim deck with teak deck from Teak World (props to Tommy & crew).
7. Replaced leaking propeller shaft seal and log (props to Corey @ UWS).
8. Cleaned hazy film off inside of gauge glass - tachometer and 3-in-1 gauge (hazy film made reading the gauges at night very difficult).
9. Installed LED rub rail docking lights (thanks Moose) and OEM "Dock Lights" switch at helm switch panel.
10. Secured folding swim deck brackets to eliminate deck movement.
11. Added a 4th "stop" position to ZFT4 port side rack to allow my Ski Ski rack to lock into a position that allows the use of the over-the-tower cover and also prevents the rack from rubbing the vinyl upholstery (this will likely only make sense to the few of you who have installed a Comptech hydrofoil rack and tow with the ZFT4 collapsed).
12. Modified both ZFT4 racks to eliminate the loose, wobble of the racks (This was one of the first things I noticed when I test drove the boat. My '06 racks could be secured in place with the use of a threaded knob to lock them firmly in place but these ZFT4 racks have no mechanism to tighten - they simply rely on the spring loaded, tapered pin to hold their position).
13. Will be adding a Heatercraft hot water shower when it arrives later this week.
14. Swapped the TDE trailer brake actuator for a UFP XR-84.


If anyone is interested in seeing and/or tackling any of these projects I'm happy to provide more detail and photos.

Thanks again Moose! We are loving the boat and she'll be well taken care of.

[bloup101]

Interested in #12
Tks


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[X25John]

How did you clean the haze from the inside of the gauges? I just had to replace them.

[moosehead]

2015 X30 - Upgrades/Improvements

Nice work Sky! Glad to see she’s in your overly capable wrench hands.

Let’s please see pics of the swim platform? Also interested in the actuator conversion, and how difficult was the OEM decking removal?

Cheers and enjoy.


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[PowerTrip]

Having myself just purchased a beautiful 2014 X-30, i would love more info on your Mods!!

[Weekendpass]

Wow. Lots of great upgrades. How did you accomplish #10? My swim deck bounces all the time. Super annoying.

[bloup101]

Wow. Lots of great upgrades. How did you accomplish #10? My swim deck bounces all the time. Super annoying.

Personally I added about 1/8 of metal grade epoxy in the half circle divot that is exposed when pulling back and down the platform. Then I sanded the epoxy just enough to barely fit the locking pin in. 0 play in the platform. I would need a hammer to tap the locking pin out but I don’t care since I never have to drop the platform anyway.


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[lingunback]

why choose ship rubber fenders

The Marine rubber fenders can be installed by bolts, or shackle with chain, which is decided by the type of fender and installation place. The natural rubber fender can also be supplied with or without the front panel and face pad.
Their innovative design assures high performance, fast and easy moorage, and maximum ship stability even in situations of extreme stress, thanks to the vulcanized steel plates placed on the base and completely covered with rubber.

[Skyskiguy]

Interested in #12
Tks


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To eliminate the rack wobble I disassembled the swivel and drilled a small hole in the top side of the upper swivel arm (#6 in the diagram) in order to push out the ⅝" x 1" SS dowel (part # 13). I had a new ⅝" SS dowel fabricated @ 1 3/16" with a groove machined near one end to accept a couple of ⅝" polyurethane O-rings then reassembled the swivel. The O-rings make contact with the end of the channel in the lower part of the swivel (part # 2), in the fully rotated in & out positions, just slightly before the spring loaded, tapered pin (part # 1) fully seats into the tapered receiver (part # 9) in the upper arm. I then apply a light amount of rotational pressure to the rack, slightly compressing the O-rings and allowing the tapered pin to fully seat. The O-rings provide just enough tension to the tapered pin/seat to keep the rack snug in position - NO MORE WOBBLE when rack is rotated either fully in or out (this mod does not eliminate the wobble for the straight back position but it was the sloppy wobble while under way with the rack rotated out that bothered me).

[Skyskiguy]

How did you clean the haze from the inside of the gauges? I just had to replace them.

With the gauges removed you'll see that the glass is held in place by a thin, aluminum ring which is crimped around the edges of the glass. Using a small, flat screwdriver I was able to very carefully undo the crimped ring, remove the glass, clean the glass, reinstall the glass then very carefully re-crimp the aluminum ring. Use patience and go slowly. This is not something that could be repeated multiple times as the thin aluminum would likely break.

[Skyskiguy]

Nice work Sky! Glad to see she’s in your overly capable wrench hands.

Let’s please see pics of the swim platform? Also interested in the actuator conversion, and how difficult was the OEM decking removal?

Cheers and enjoy.


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The UFP brake actuator conversion was not difficult but requires welding as there is not a prefabricated, retrofit version of the UFP outer member available for the TDE conversion (that I am aware of) as there is for the Reliable brand. The UFP works smooth as butter - night and day difference from the clunky TDE actuator. Call me if your interested in tackling it and I can walk you through it.
Removing the OEM AquaTrac was hit and miss - some piece pulled off relatively easily while others came off in small chunks, leaving lots of sticky residue behind. The pieces on top of the gunnels were the most difficult to get off while the large piece behind the convertible rear seat came of relatively easily. It took some time, elbow grease and Acetone but I think the results using Gatorstep were worth the effort.

[Skyskiguy]

Wow. Lots of great upgrades. How did you accomplish #10? My swim deck bounces all the time. Super annoying.

I replaced the existing bolts and locking pin with the appropriate size shoulder bolts (with 1" shoulders), nylon locking nuts and 2" diameter rubber washers in the gaps between the platform bracket and the transom bracket. It requires a ⅛" thick washer on one side and a 1/16" washer on the other side of each bolt to properly fill the gaps prior to tightening down the nuts (rubber washers can't be seen in the photos). It works great and has completely eliminated the slop. This won't be a viable solution if you need to be able to drop your platform.

[moosehead]

Sky, that is some awesome attention to detail and handiwork. The pins on the racks, solid platform bolts, and the new decking all are tremendous. That OEM stuff seemed hardened and got super hot. The wood platform is icing on it all. You are an artist, sir.

Just got note from Stancraft that they had a delay shipping out that panel as their parts person was sick. They are sending it either today or out Monday. My apologies for the delay on this as I thought it was already to you weeks ago.

Cheers, hope you are enjoying her on the water now that you have her squared to your liking.

[Skyskiguy]

Thanks Moose. No worries on the panel. I was actually wondering about that today as I was cleaning up the boat from our recent Powell trip. We had an awesome houseboat week at the end of Last Chance canyon. Had an entire side canyon all to ours selves with great water and weather (with the exception of a couple of evenings with some crazy winds - as is typical for July/August at Powell). We are thoroughly enjoying the boat. We've put over 50 hours on her since bringing her home.

[Skyskiguy]

Add to the list - cut ballast fill/empty times in half by adding 2 Ballast Puppy pumps. 2600 lbs in 6 minutes. https://teamtalk.mastercraft.com/sho...d.php?t=104465