X-45 with 350 h.p. motor experience?

anybody have a late model X-45 with the 5.7L 350 h.p. motor? did it help to re-prop it? I hear that the 380 h.p. 6 L is the smallest you should go with a boat this size...any help would be appreciated.

how are you going to use the boat? If you don't plan to run a bunch of extra weight you are probably ok. It is a border line engine though.

A friend with a good sized family, little kids, like to wakeboard and ski, like to have a big boat to go to havasu. I doubt they will ever fill the ballast full, let alone add extra weight.

I wouldn't do it for a couple reasons. One is that it will definitely be underpowered. If you re-propped to make it work you'll burn a ton of gas. I'd also be concerned with re-sale. That motor is going to be a sore thumb on an otherwise great boat.

I'd go with the 6.0 minimum or go with a smaller boat. The 5.7 will get you by in a x-star if you run it without much extra weight.

I hear a lot of people that run the Xstar with the MCX and 3000#'s and are doing fine. The Xstar is 4200#'s. The X-45 is 4900#'s and with no weight in it should do better than you might think. The only thing that might give you trouble is that the X-45 has a 90 gallon fuel tank. No idea what that is weight wise but that is a lot of gas. Another thing to consider is altitude where you are using the boat. Is havasu very high above sea level?

90 gallons is around 700 pounds

I dont think he is worried about resale, he keeps his stuff for a long time. He says its for a great deal and was contemplating buying it, then paying for a motor swap that would get him a new loaded x-45 cheaper than if he bought it with the bigger motor already in it...

I have about 20 hours behind the wheel of my buddies X45/MCX. We don't run that much weight, although we did have 13 people in it one afternoon. It didn't jump out of the hole but it was not too bad. It has the new prop (stock 2007).

I got a good friend that has an 06 X-45 with the MCX, it doesn't do to bad. He and his wife do a lot of surfing off of it so it does great. But it could use more HP easily. I'd go 8.1L but thats just me. And yes it burns the piss outta gas with the small motor.....

my friend has the 07 x-45 and if you have the ballest full and 8 people or so its a bitch to get it to get up to speed and plane out, so if i were you get the big ass motor, you wont regret it in that boat

By the time you prop it to work with a big crowd of people the top speed will be less than 40 and it'll use a ton of gas. It'd have to be a serious deal to make it worthwhile for me.

yea that thing is a gas hog not to mention again how much work it is to ride behind it bc of how long it takes to get up to speed. big big big engine. besides if your buying an x 45 you should be ok afording the gas.

the satisfaction with the motor depends on your use and altitude in higher elevations more HP is a must, no question. If not in high elevation, then it depends on use. If just cruising around entertaining a few peeps, ok. If loaded up all the time, lots of people, look for a 385 HP.

johnny:
Your buddy may be on to something. IF he can get a great deal on the boat and IF he plans on keeping it for a long time, perhaps buying/building a replacement long block for that motor would be an economical way of buying a great boat! I don't know what the limitations of the MCX are, but putting a stroked long block with good flowing heads (providing someone can recalibrate the ECU correctly) would esentially give him a "hammerhead" motor in his MC.
I have seen 500 cubic inch small block turn out some SERIOUS hp and torque numbers. No reason something similar can't be done in a boat.