2000 X-star Zero Flex Flyer ?'s

Have a buddy who is looking into this particular boat. He's found a couple near by. They are all optioned very similar. Looking for some input on the older style MC Zero Flex towers on those boats. I remember hearing alot of those caused stress cracks and weren't very reliable or sturdy. Anybody got any input on that. Also read that it swayed and rattled alot with tower speakers up there. I really can't say whether I know that for fact...because I have no experience first hand.....That's why I am here Also how easy is it too fold down/remove?

He and I both know the tower changed in 2001.......The 2000 are definately in his price range, but the 01 are just a bit out. The 01's he's found have similar hours and are optioned close to the same so really the only difference would be the tower and some extra $$ in his pocket to add some things like lights and speakers. think it's worth the 3k more for the newer style tower? or is the original Zero Flex tower gonna be ok? The boats he's looked at have no stress cracks around the feet...so I would think if it was gonna happen it would have already. boat is now 6yrs old. Again just looking for some advice and info
Would love to hear some wakeworlder's experiences and advice as we both are not too familiar with this boat's tower. We know what kind of performance and wake it has so just want to be sure on the tower that we aren't going to need to put a new one on in a year or 2.


Oh yeah....think NADA value is good deal or are these boats in such demand like the SANs of those years that people are paying over NADA

We have the Zero flex tower from 2002 on our boat and it has been great. Im not sure how the tower is on the 2000's but if it is true i think the extra money for a tower that will last is worth more than some lights and tower speakers which could come in time. Just make sure to periodically replace the rubber pieces that go between the tower mounts and the fiberglass of the boat where the tower bolts to the boat when you have the boat serviced. They wear out really easy and cause the tower to shake a lil bit. B

We have the Zero flex tower from 2002 on our boat and it has been great. Im not sure how the tower is on the 2000's but if it is true i think the extra money for a tower that will last is worth more than some lights and tower speakers which could come in time. Just make sure to periodically replace the rubber pieces that go between the tower mounts and the fiberglass of the boat where the tower bolts to the boat when you have the boat serviced. They wear out really easy and cause the tower to shake a lil bit.

I have a 2000 X-Star with 4 speakers up top and it's all good. When you go over some good rollers it does rattle a little, but I would think that would happen with any tower. I'll say it's not nearly as good looking and the 01's. The tower is really easy to fold down. I fold it down every time I use it to put it in and out of the the hoist. I've also heard about the cracking, but mine is still solid.

sorry about the two posts guys... dont know what happened...

DH. is the tower on your boat mounted to where you could possibly put a new tower on after if you wanted to? Just wondering...

Billy I’m not really sure, but that’s a good question. I don’t know what the dimensions are with the two towers. I would think they might because the hull didn’t change at all, but I don’t know about the tower specs.

Billy

I have an 00 Xstar with 4 speakers and lights and its fine. Like DH said it may rattle a bit on some hard hits, but nothing out of the ordinary.

As far as the mounting the 01 style, I did look into this a bit a while back. The front legs of the new tower should line up okay but for the rear legs you'll need to patch some holes and do a little gelcoat work. I decided to scrap the idea. I definitley dont think its worth the extra money.

Thaks for the input guys....Sounds like it will work fine and be solid. He's not planning on going crazy with light sand speakers.....justa simple 6 light boar and a pair of NVS's. Guess the new towers would be much better, but this will still do the trick so no need to really upgrade as a result of the tower unless later down the road he wants to add some new style or it breaks.

Thaks a ton

I have a 2001 Zero Flex and it's been great. I fold it up and down nearly every time we go out. I also hang a 48lbs tower speakerbox off of it and board in saltwater. Over 500hrs and no issues yet!

FYI, to shine the tower up real good, get some 1500grit sandpaper and wet-sand the tower. It will come out squeaky clean and shiney. Also does wonders for the ozidation on the joints. Makes it real purdie!

I've got the 1999 with the old style zero flex tower. I'd honestly prefer a newer one, but it wouldn't be worth the money. It is a fairly solid tower and does it's job well.

The downsides are it's looks and how it folds down and mounts. It will take two people to fold it down unless you have a system like me. The problem is that when you pull the pins on the front legs, the tower will fall if it is not supported. When it is on the trailer, I use a rope to attach the winch strap to the tow point of the tower. I then pull the pins and gently lower the tower to get it in my garage. It also will not easily fit into a seven foot garage folded down. I can't even think of backing it in with the trailer attached to the car. I have to disconnect the trailer from the car, lower the jack all the way, then lift up the tower a little bit to get the front legs a little lower. I also had to remove all the trim from my garage header for it to clear. If you plan on keeping it inside, measure the hieght of the folded tower with the trailer hooked up to the truck to make sure it will fit. The last problem I have is how it mounts on the side of the boat. The mounts stick out rather far and can be a pain when tying up to other boats and when loading the boat on the trailer at a shallow ramp (the mounts will smash into the trailer guide poles unless you drive on perfectly centered. As far as looks go, I think it is one of the uglier towers out there, but I prefer function over form anyway.

Your friend may be overlooking an even bigger issue between the 00 and 01. The 01 has a 3 piece deck and the 00 has a one piece which i also believe is opened via electric motor. I would check into it a little more if i were him.

I"d prefer the triple hatch vs the single as well as the newer tower

(Message edited by hookedonboardin on February 22, 2007)

yeah the single hatch vs the 3 hatch is nice. But not required. HE is ude to a single hatch anyways on his d-drive that he's coming from. The Electric hatch was swapped out for gas shocks and have a lock built in so no need to worry about the motor burning out. He's going this wekend to check out the boats the01 and 00 so he'll be making his final decision after getting in both. Cleanliness and how well it was maintained probably will out weigh the options so I"m sure it will boil down to which is cleaner and has less wear

Thaks again guys

KG - I was curiuos about using the 1500 grit sandpaper to shine up the tower. Does that mess with the brushed finish?

I got a pair of tyrants on my '00. It rattles less than lots of new boats towers do.

chrisssical,
Not that I have experienced. The sanding is so light that it will only really take off the extreme outer layer. It won't grove or gouged the finish of the tower at all.
I really only did it because of the joints. Boarding in saltwater, the joints will oxidize much faster than in freshwater. They were looking hazy so I gave them a sanding and now they look great.

I've had both, a 99 with the old tower and an 01 with the newer. I liked climbing on the 99 and jumping off. The newer tower doesn't quite allow for it as easy...but still did it anyway. That could explain stress cracks...so not the best of ideas. I'd go with the 01, newer interior, tower, triple hatches in the rear...

i had a 2000 Xstar and the only issues we ran into with the tower was the bolt going from the tower to the mount cracking several times. this might have been due to the boat being used in salt water for the first time but it happened numerous times in a summer. just my 2 cents

Currently have an '00 with the old tower. Now going into my 4th summer with the boat. Never had any stress cracks at all. Agree with earlier posts about "aesthetic" appearance, but I still think the tower functions as good or better than some others...new and old.

We have two older style lightweight tower speakers, and when attached, they actually REDUCE the rattles we've experienced in the past going over rollers. No constant rattle ever though.

We ride doubles routinely, and I would think that would place more stress on the tower than just about ANY other activity could, so no problems there.

PROBLEMS: The tower metal and the stainless bolts holding it together are a serious design flaw. We've had to put a helical thread repair on the rear tower mounts twice now. The front attachments use hitch pins, which work great when lubricated well. We don't fold the tower down every time, but detach the front mounts in order to put a custom cover on, and it is easy WITH TWO PEOPLE...keep that in mind.

PROBLEM: the towrope attach point uses a small cylindrical piece of PVC that is intended to allow the towrope to rotate freely as the rider goes from one side to the other. Unfortunately, OUR towpoint forces the rope down onto a weld in the tower, thereby FRAYING the rope pretty badly. There are certainly some EASY solutions to this problem, including fabricating a replacement "sleeve" instead of the PVC one, but we just haven't taken the time/money to do so yet.

Bottom line: Strong tower/ yes, a couple rattles here and there/ take care of the bolts holding the rear mounts/ do not spend the extra money for a replacement tower...better to just buy a newer boat/ tower speakers and lights won't hurt it at all.