Ultrex 52 inch shaft and cover fitment on Z520C

[n_texas_basser]

Question for you guys that have the Ultrex 52" shaft... I've been told the cover will not fit on it after swapping your Fortrex 45" shaft out on Z520C. Are you having the same experience? My cover is tight as it is with my 45" Fortrex. Thoughts? Can you send it back to Ranger for them to replace the cover patch in that area to make it larger? I suspect not. Thanks.

[snodogg]

My Z521C was built/delivered with a 52" fortrex. After switching cover no longer fits (correctly). Connie Hill told me to sell my cover and just order a new one vs. the expense of having it altered.

[Capw]

Pull the front pedestal out, put in a shorter shaft (I used a shorter wood shaft). The cover will fit better.

[Jeff Hahn]

Or, you could take it to a local canvas shop and have them do the modifications to accommodate your new TM.

[n_texas_basser]

My Z521C was built/delivered with a 52" fortrex. After switching cover no longer fits (correctly). Connie Hill told me to sell my cover and just order a new one vs. the expense of having it altered.

I'm surprised of hearing that, when my motor was being repaired at a boat shop, they ripped the cover, I called and spoke to Connie with the expectation to pay for the repair and bill the boat shop. They repaired the cover and it looked like new. It's probably a capacity thing, otherwise, they could make good money altering the covers for all the folks upgrading. I can't justify $1,500 though, after a $2,000 investment in the TM. I may not even get it now unless I can find someone that can do it other than Ranger, however, I'm not to confident I will find someone that can do it, not messing up the soft lining on the underside and matching the same material, etc..

[snodogg]

I thought the same thing, having a local shop do an alteration, but haven't had time to research that. Also, my cover is a "seats in", and even with leaving seats out, it doesn't fit. I can still use it to cover the boat overnight and such, but wouldn't leave it on for towing.

[sugelle]

I'm surprised of hearing that, when my motor was being repaired at a boat shop, they ripped the cover, I called and spoke to Connie with the expectation to pay for the repair and bill the boat shop. They repaired the cover and it looked like new. It's probably a capacity thing, otherwise, they could make good money altering the covers for all the folks upgrading. I can't justify $1,500 though, after a $2,000 investment in the TM. I may not even get it now unless I can find someone that can do it other than Ranger, however, I'm not to confident I will find someone that can do it, not messing up the soft lining on the underside and matching the same material, etc..

I'm sure you can find a local tarp or custom cover shop that can modify it. In the past I had repairs on my covers done by a shop that makes tarps for truckers. They were able to color match the materials, etc. When I upgraded to Ultrex, I stayed with 45" shaft like my Fortrex.....but cover was still very tight. Ended up biting the bullet and ordering new cover though because my old one was very faded and had been repaired/patched a few times.

[Sirius Rich]

Long story made short, I took my boat to Toledo Fiberglass ( http://toledofiberglass.com/ ) to have cosmetic work done while my boat storage was being rebuilt from Harvey. I needed a place to store my boat as my HOA will not allow boats at home. Toledo Fiberglass had a local contact that altered my cover to fit with my new Ultrex that replaced my Fortrex that replaced my Maxxum. Basically, they added 4+/- inches in width for about 6 feet in length to my existing cover and rerouting the pull strap through the added 4 inches. My cover now fits tighter than the day I picked up my boat. Not only did Toledo Fiberglass repair all the scratches on my hull, they changed out my control board in my Ultrex foot control under warranty and at no cost. The cover alteration was $200 and I think very reasonable compared to a new cover.

[dean c]

Long story made short, I took my boat to Toledo Fiberglass ( http://toledofiberglass.com/ ) to have cosmetic work done while my boat storage was being rebuilt from Harvey. I needed a place to store my boat as my HOA will not allow boats at home. Toledo Fiberglass had a local contact that altered my cover to fit with my new Ultrex that replaced my Fortrex that replaced my Maxxum. Basically, they added 4+/- inches in width for about 6 feet in length to my existing cover and rerouting the pull strap through the added 4 inches. My cover now fits tighter than the day I picked up my boat. Not only did Toledo Fiberglass repair all the scratches on my hull, they changed out my control board in my Ultrex foot control under warranty and at no cost. The cover alteration was $200 and I think very reasonable compared to a new cover.

Good info Rich!