removing ski pylon and resale

Will taking my ski pylon out of my 1990 SunSport dramatically hurt my resale value in a couple of years when I am ready to upgrade. I put a tower on it and now I want to get rid of the pylon to open up some floor space. It looks like the pylon is designed to just slide out of a sleeve under the floor but I think it is bent from several years of using an slip over style extended pylon and it isnt budging so it would have to be a permanent removal.

The boat is set-up for wakeboarding so I figure I should still be able to sell it to somebody looking for their first wake boat on a budget but I just want to make sure I am not limiting myself before I cut it out.

Here is the only picture I could find with the pylon in it.

do you have to cut it out? I know in my old Sport I could just unbolt it from underneath.

I would not cut it out. I think you can probably unbolt it. I took mine out and when I put my new floor in I will NOT cut a hole for it. I dont need it but if someone does all they will need is a hole saw and a good aim to put it back in.

I think the combination of some rust and a little bit of bend in the pylon has locked mine into place. I removed the 4 bolts from the sleeve under the floor but the thing wont budge an inch. It acts like it is welded in there.

I was thinking I could use a grinder and just cut it off flush to the floor and then come up with some sort of trim piece to cover the hole but I agree with you guys that might be a little too drastic/permanent.

A buddy of mine suggested heating the sleeve to expand it while cooling the pylon so I will have to try that. I have no idea how I am going to heat it under the floor though. Putting a torch underneeth a plywood/fiberglass floor right next to an engine and gas fumes seems like a REALLY bad idea.

If your talking about the backwards lean of the pylon that is how they were. If it is bent yu should still be able to get it out with some good penetrating oil (pb blaster) and a BFH ( Big f'ing hammer) or if you have a T on it tap it out and put something long thru the hole to try and spin with. If you do not care to much and just want it gone cut the puppy off but it would be nice to have the option to put back in for resale.

removing the pylon is not going to hurt your resale value as much as the hole in your carpet that the battery is going to make.

haha, the battery is in a battery box and has since found a new home so I think I will be alright with the carpet.

Is pb blaster the type of oil? I sprayed as much WD-40 as I could down there to no avail. Previous owner cut the T off instead of tapping it out so that is wedged in there too. haha. It looks like I might just have to live with stepping over the pylon for now.

we took one out of an inboard... Then we take a plastic cup holder and stuck it in the hole. The best thing about it was, when the guy was ready to sell he included it and said its their if you want, you just need to remove the cupholder and bolt it in! VOILA! Problem solved!

I just ripped the carpet out of my nautique. I plan on refiberglassing the floor with the pole out. I figure if I resell, the pole will always be there. But how many people are going to buy an 1983 nautque with tower and automatic ballast and still want to use the ski pole?

I removed mine on my 1999 Supra Launch. It was stuck like yours. I took the eight cross member bolts out and dropped it down. I cut the pole off flush and putt the cross member back. A sawzall was the choice of tool.

What did you cover the hole with? I want to remove one as well, and haven't thought of a good way to cover the hole yet.

PB Blaster is a penetrating oil like WD-40 but is way better than WD-40.

I will give the PB Blaster a try and if that doesnt work I think I will drop it down and cut it like Aaron did. I usually have sacs on either side of the engine so I walk on the engine cover to get around but that pylon is right in the way so it needs to go. Thanks for the replies.

PB Blaster, aka Panther Piss, is awesome!

I cut out a round plate of aluminum. If you put a metal plate down make sure you cover it with some Gator Grip or some thing of that nature. I found out the hard way that after 3-4 hours in the sun that plate gets VERY HOT.

You said you loosened the FOUR bolts. I think there should be FOUR more bolts holding it in. Four at the top and four at the bottom for a total of eight bolts. It's worth a look before cutting it out.

Jman

I just tried to take mine out today. Spent 30 minutes just removing the bolts. I tried pulling it out and it is stuck. I am going to try again when I have the floor cut out. Panther piss!!!