Thread: XP owners

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  1. #1
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    Question XP owners

    Guys, lots of threads on high performance X boats...props, speed....etc... what do you think about starting a thread on xplorer models? We use these boats for different applications, hunting, fishing, fun...etc. Post pics swap ideas. How did we take a good boat and make it a great boat?

  2. Xpress Boats Moderator
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    #2
    Quote Originally Posted by Bryanzzz View Post
    Guys, lots of threads on high performance X boats...props, speed....etc... what do you think about starting a thread on xplorer models? We use these boats for different applications, hunting, fishing, fun...etc. Post pics swap ideas. How did we take a good boat and make it a great boat?
    If you get enough interest and want a sticky at the top,just send me a PM, and we'll get'er done.

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    #3
    I'm an XP owner, I'd certainly be interested in seeing what others are doing with their XP's. Mine is nothing fancy, but would be happy to share any info about it too. They are definitely the stepchild of the Xpress lineup. They do a lot of the work and get no recognition.

  4. Xpress Boats Moderator
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    #4
    Well,you guys are interested and if we put this up at the top in a sticky maybe it will draw a little more interest.

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    #5
    OK guys, show us your Xplorers and modifications. Lowered windshield for better visibility. Bimini top...OK may not look cool but best money I've ever spent...and it feels cool in July and August. Pics are several months old, (included my old H50 DB, sold after 11 years for $1500 less than I paid for it) will post pics of latest modifications when I get a chance...boarding ladder, remounted driver / passenger seats to improve access to under seat storage, friction between seat and backrest, left 1/8 inch clearance between them. Thought about a high dollar jack plate....NOT, cruise at 25, may buy a new deer rifle....HA HA.
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    Last edited by Bryanzzz; 12-10-2014 at 07:11 PM.

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    #6

    2011 XP-180SS with 150 Jet

    Here's mine, love this boat!!!! Biggest thing I did was have the dealer fabricate a removable deck extension. It does a couple of things first it makes close quarters fishing a lot easier with two guys and it give co-angler a place to store his tackle out of the way. And since it's removable if we are going out to float or we want additional space I can just slide it out.

    My setup will run abut 42mph which isn't real fast but it rides really nice. We fish rock rivers of course a lot and the shallow draft is great on these.

    I really didn't care for camo boat but I was sick of cleaning carpet, just about everyone that has gotten in my boat comments on the lining and that you can have muddy feet, blood etc and run by the carwash or garden hose it when you get back.
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    2015 Nitro Z-7
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    #7
    Deck extension great idea, like my floor space but extra storage always welcome. I put a large plastic box (Lowes, Home Depot) for use when needed.

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    #8
    Thinking of putting a jack plate on my XP rig, any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance guys.
    .

  9. Member seapickle's Avatar
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    #9
    dont take this for truth but I was told here on bbc that the HD hulls (non hyperlift) hulls don't do as well with a jackplate since they don't run on a pad. I could be completely off on this but I remember someone telling me that. A small one may not hurt to get your motor height right but I don't think they need all the setback that a pad hull does. Someone will be along soon to support or correct me haha

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    #10
    Thanks Seapickle, I feel the motor could come up 1/2 or so, may try raising to third hole.

    One other thing, read some info on guys having accidents off boarding their rigs at the ramp, while loading. Plan to fab a step for mine...too cheap to buy production boarding step, anyone have any ideas?
    Last edited by Bryanzzz; 12-19-2014 at 05:16 PM.

  11. Xpress Boats Moderator
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    #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Bryanzzz View Post
    Thanks Seapickle, I feel the motor could come up 1/2 or so, may try raising to third hole.

    One other thing, read some info on guys having accidents off boarding their rigs at the ramp, while loading. Plan to fab a step for mine...too cheap to buy production boarding step, anyone have any ideas?
    I agree with what Seapickle said on not getting the performance from a jackplate like the Hyperlift hull does,but if I had an H.D. hull,i'd have a 6'' plate on it.I think you'd see a couple of mph more out of it due to the setback,and getting the prop at the correct height.Plus the added setback always makes the boat ride a little better,like a longer boat will ride.As far as a boarding step,here's what I've done on my project boat's trailer.I got a little diamond plate aluminum,and riveted it to the front of the trailer for a nice ''plateform'' to stand on.


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    #12
    XS, you obviously do good work, did you build this trailer?

  13. Xpress Boats Moderator
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    #13
    Thanks for the complement,but no I didn't build the trailer.I think it would have been about as easy. Here's a link to my thread on my X18 project showing what I've done so far.I've also taken a few months off since I had my heart attack,and now cold weather has hit. http://www.bbcboards.net/xpress-boat...mp-jumper.html

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    #14
    So here's a little write-up on my XP18CC. Nothing major, just a few creature comfrots to make the boat more user friendly.

    Here she is the day I brought her home. Just the basic gear most all XP's come with, with an optioned up 70lb thrust Riptide.


    As you can see, I added rod holder to the sides of the center console, and couple for trolling were added to the vertical portion of the rear deck, and a cooler in front of the CC for seating and drinks and such. You can also see he speakers for the stereo I installed, as well as the Tackle Webz gear nets which are awesome for easy access storage.



    I had to make a new bezel to install the Jensen round stereo where the speedo used to be. The hole was too big so I made the new bezel out of a piece of 3/16" thick phenolic material I had laying around. Used Hammer Finnish Rustoleum spray paint to finish it off, and it's almost indistinguishable from the factory offering (but better quality). After over a year's use, the Jensen is a great little stereo for boats. This one has been rained on more times than I can remember, and still works great!

    It's bad luck to have a boat without a name, and the wife agreed this one fit very well.

    Sometimes the livewell is just to hard to get to when the fish are biting.

    So then came the summer, and night fishing.



    The kiddo loves the new boat!


    So do I!






    I also moved the TM batt's (2) up under the CC to get some weight out of the back of the boat. It helped a lot. Cranking batt is still in the back. After the holidays mine will be going to the local prop guru for a 6" Rpid Jack manual plate and 4 blade prop. Maybe a bimini top this spring. And will be getting a new track accessory system I am working out the details on now. The track system will make things like rod holders, shallow water anchors, lantern holder, cup holder, etc, infinitely moveable along the full length of the gunnels. Still working out a few bugs with the system, but will update this post when I get it all worked out.

  15. Xpress Boats Moderator
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    #15
    Great pics! And nice additions to your rig!

  16. Member seapickle's Avatar
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    #16
    nice pics psycho. it gave me some ideas for my h20b. I like the cargo bag on the leaning seat. keep me updated on the track system. Do you have any write ups on how you did the outboard lights? I did lights on the CC and on the decks. I didn't run wires/lights along the length in the gunnels but you make me want to add more


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    #17
    On the exterior lights. The hardest thing was making the decision to drill holes in the side of my almost brand new boat. I seriously considered not drilling any holes, but would have had to run the wires for the outside lights around the back corners and up over the stern. My view was, that would have made them more apt to get damaged somehow, so I made the decision to drill the holes where the strips ended up at the front of the boat since that area is the highest/driest. I drilled a 1/4" hole about 1/2" away from where the strips end, then installed a rubber grommet, then heat shrink tubed the small wires from the LED strip twice for protection. Once I got them thru the hull, I sealed that all up with 3M black weatherstrip adhesive.

    The strips I used have double stick adhesive on the back, but it is not very stout, and with the textured surface of the underside of the hand rail I knew something else would be needed to keep from having problems with them coming off. So again, I used the 3M black weatherstrip adhesive to affix the strips to the boat. The double stick on the strips would not come off of the strip itself, so I just ran a fine bead of the WS adhesive along the back of the LED strip, then used blue painter's tape to hold the strips in place until the adhesive cured.

    Installing the inner strips was much easier, Same method to attach them to the under side of the rail. I was able to use the small gap between the front deck and gunnel of the boat to route the wires thru, they are invisible unless you look for them, From there it was just a matter of tying them into the wiring I ran for them.
    Warning, the adhesive is very messy. I highly recommend you protect any area you don't want that stuff on with tape before you get started. The black 3m adhesive will also start to skin over pretty quick, so working about 3-4' at a time is recommended. It would also help a LOT to have a second set of hands. i did not, and faced a few challenges managing the roll of LED's while trying to apply the adhesive and affix them to the boat. It wasn't a monumental task, but would have been much easier with a helper.

    Aside from that, is was simple 12v wiring. I bought a cheap extension cord and pulled it thru the below deck wire chase from the console, then used one wire for the hot to the inner led lights, one wire for the hot to the outer led lights, and one wire serves as the ground for all of the strips. Amp draw is pretty slight, so the 14ga wire has plenty of capacity.

    I didn't mention in in my post above, but I also added a second switch panel. It can be seen in my pics above. It has 5 switches, 1 for the outer led's, 1 for the inner led's, 1 for two small blue led strips I have wrapped around my speakers, 1 for the FF/GPS combo unit, and one for the stereo. All fused circuits. The new panel also has a 12v accessory outlet for whatever use.

    The only problem I have found with my set-up is; The inner red strips are actually too bright and are hard on the eyes reflecting off of the light colored deck. I bought a dimmer and installed it to tone them down some, but the dimmer connects to both the hot and ground that drives the strip. Since I use one wire to ground all four strips, but two independent hot circuits to power them, the dimmer freaks out all of the strips. It is just not happy with my wiring scheme. I will end up puling another ground at some point to fix that, but for now I've just removed the dimmer and deal with the overpowering red light.

    My recommendation for anyone wanting to do this is to use 3528 LED strips for the inside. They aren't as bright as the 5050's I used, and draw even less current. This might prevent the need for a dimmer at all (less functioning parts to fail later). But to be on the safe side, instead of using a 3 wire conductor like I did, use a 4 wire conductor so you have a dedicated hot and ground for each circuit (inside vs outside). Home Depot or Lowes both carry SJOOW cord with as many or few conductors as you could want, and the stuff is UV, chemical, and saltwater rated. If you want to go even brighter than I did outside, you can find 5630 strips which are brighter than the 5050's. Personally, i think the 5050's on the outside are plenty bright. But for a few more dollars, why not go all out. Pricing on the 5630 is beginning to come down. What I could find when I did mine was the 5630's were more than 4 times the price of 5050 strips, now they're less than twice the price of 5050's.

    Hope this helps.

    And yes, that gear bag on the leaning post is awesome! Tackle Webz is proud of their product, but it is a quality product. Once I got my hands on them I did not regret spending the money at all. I plan on buying a couple more smaller ones for the gunnels by the rear deck, and am going to experiment with one under the seat on the leaning post (not sure how that will turn out though).

    And aside from all that, I will be installing a recessed tackle storage in the front of the console at some point as well.
    Last edited by PsychoXP18CC; 12-22-2014 at 10:55 AM.

  18. Member seapickle's Avatar
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    #18
    i too ran the wires through the front deck. I didnt realize yours were one long strip. At times i wish i would have added another strip of lights to each side but other times i think they are perfect. They are good enough for what i do so im leaving good enough alone while i dont have any holes.
    Im probably going to pick up one of the tackle webz. The "recessed tackle storage" is interesting.
    A guy i work with used 1" thick marine foam and lined the insides of his rear deck livewell and converted it to an ice chest and said it held ice fine for a day. Im thinking of giving it a try at some point to fee up some space from 2 ice chest
    I also added a 3 bank w/ 12v outlet panel. I wish xpress added these from the factory.

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    #19
    Nice job on lighting, with that out of the way what's your favorite cat fish bait???

    Just finished my fab job of boarding/off boarding steps, read some posts of accidents at the ramp, blood and embarrassment involved.
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    Last edited by Bryanzzz; 12-23-2014 at 04:44 PM.

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    #20
    Added handles to my under seat storage on side console XP, simple mod, handle on port side and center of box.
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