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Only the lower right (viewed from behind) mounting hole is re-usable. (I was hoping this one could be reused.)

Two of the new holes could be through drilled with SS nylocks on the backside. (Do you recall which ones were re-usable. Guessing 1 is the Lower right.)

The other two were tapped course thread for the new bolts. Used a sabre saw to open up the drain hole - do be careful about cutting/drilling too deep into the ballast tank. (I was thinking this could/should be done with a 3" circular hole saw. What are your thoughts? Just nervous about cutting fiberglass for the first time in my life.)

It's obvious when you get the old one off. Had to cant mine slightly to starboard to follow the hull which really work well as the handle shaft lined up with the old extension guide. (Makes sense and this is what I will do with mine. Great idea.)

My handle extension was about 1.5 inches to long so cut with a hacksaw and chucked in lathe to cut new threads. (great recommendation as well.)

Now if I could just get on the water to check out my new ETEC 90. (Did the mod to a 90. NICE. I live in the FL Keys so getting on the water is not the issue.... The 9-5 job is.)


I wish I knew if this was / is going to have the effect I am hoping for. My 2006 50HP Suzuki has never had my 1996 X on plane.

P.S. Come visit anytime.

I too have been thinking about adding the 3" hole to my 96X. The main question I have is how much faster could you drain the ballast with the 3" hole? It currently takes me about 12min with the 1.5" running at 4000rpm. For those who have done it - Can I expect about half that time?

If the gate valve size limits the drain speed, a pretty reasonable assumption, doubling the diameter will quadruple the flow rate and thus quarter the drain time....

I have never timed how long it takes to drain the ballast well under way, but it must be less then ten minutes.

I bought a gate valve from Canadian tire for less than $20.00 and after taking the old small valve off I took a can that was the same size in diameter as the new gate valve. I traced a circle, using the can to made sure I could drill the holes for the new valve with out doing damage. Then cut the hole larger with a saber saw, mounted the new valve. And it has been working great. The only problem I ran into to was the new gate valve covers about half the motor well drain. For a picture look in the mods

So if you're changing your gate valves anyway, consider this:

Valterra Part H40BH72 is a 3" gate valve with a 72" remote cable operator, which means you can mount the valve actuator higher up on the transom so you (a) don't have to bend down to open and close it and (b) have an obvious visual indicator of when it's open.

I'm considering swapping out my gate valve with one because I always worry about the gate valve and having something I can just see or even mount on the helm would be awesome. Probably even better than an inherently safe check-valve.

I like the Idea but the best price I can find is $55 + S&H .. hummm without the flexible handle I find them for under $20.. Is that the prices your finding?

mastreb wrote:So if you're changing your gate valves anyway, consider this:

Valterra Part H40BH72 is a 3" gate valve with a 72" remote cable operator, which means you can mount the valve actuator higher up on the transom so you (a) don't have to bend down to open and close it and (b) have an obvious visual indicator of when it's open.

I'm considering swapping out my gate valve with one because I always worry about the gate valve and having something I can just see or even mount on the helm would be awesome. Probably even better than an inherently safe check-valve.

Divecoz wrote:I like the Idea but the best price I can find is $55 + S&H .. hummm without the flexible handle I find them for under $20.. Is that the prices your finding?

Yep, that's the price I bought at. Shipping now. I figure for $54 if it does what I want, it's worth it. Probably one could just adapt a cable actuator with the correct draw to the existing gate valve for less money. Hopefully the 6' cable is long enough to snake into the cable raceway and up to the helm--I'd like to put it at the base of the helm in front, so it's front and center when you operate the boat. If it's not long enough for that, I'll have to figure out where to put it.