About wakeboard towers |
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Captain Nick
Senior Member Joined: December-01-2013 Location: Batavia, IL Status: Offline Points: 129 |
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Posted: June-22-2016 at 11:24pm |
I was wondering about your opinion on wakeboard towers? I personally don't like the way they look on a boat. It takes away the boats look. Plus having to fold down the tower when going under a short bridge. Figuring out a way to put the full cover on the boat. I figure to if I should wakeboard I'll use the wakeboard pylon instead. Removes easily and looks better as well. When not wakeboarding I could remove the wakeboard pylon from the boat.
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Live life to the fullest!
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Orlando76
Grand Poobah Joined: May-21-2013 Location: Mount Dora, FL Status: Offline Points: 3108 |
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They're hideous.
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1976 Ski Nautique 351 Escort 1993 Ski Nautique purple and black 351 HO PCM |
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DayTony
Gold Member Joined: June-30-2013 Location: Salem MA Status: Offline Points: 832 |
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i believe it's a function over form thing, In boatbuilding form does not always follow function, and for good reason.
I have to agree when we are talking about the older boats, its in keeping with the sleek lines, to be able to remove the pylon and stow it. As for the newer boats like G23 and G25s i personally think from certain angles they share the same build lines as a pontoon boat so game on if you want to install a water slide or diving board onto those. I have a pylon and a boom, The extra storage of the tower (board racks) would be nice sometimes, but probably less of a convenience than it would be an annoyance for me, I only wish that I had such storage when I have a full load of people and everyone insists on using a different wakeboard. (no one i pull, nor myself are any good enough for that to make any bit of difference haha) |
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1988 Barefoot nautique-454
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tryathlete
Platinum Member Joined: April-19-2013 Location: Lake Villa, IL Status: Offline Points: 1797 |
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To each his own. I think certain wakeboard towers look hideous and others compliment the look of the boat. I have always liked the FCT1 gen 3 on the 2005 era 210 and 220 to the point that I made one fit on my 96 SS. I like the high row point and storage ability as well as the ability to use the handles on the side for docking convenience.
I sure would not want one on a SN or Mustang. |
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Toertel
Gold Member Joined: August-26-2013 Location: Atlanta Status: Offline Points: 775 |
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Do I like the looks of a tower, NO
Would I like one to mount the super fligh high for footing YES |
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1994 Sport Nautique
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quinner
Grand Poobah Joined: October-12-2005 Location: Unknown Status: Offline Points: 5828 |
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Considering I own an inboard specifically because I use it per it's intended purpose, as a towboat, the high tow point a tower provides makes great sense. Only pull from the pylon for intermediate to advances slalom skiers, For trick skiing I pull from the top of the factory extended pylon, everything else get's pulled from the tower, wakeboard, kneeboard, hydrofoil, barefoot and for teaching or novice skiers, the high point does make a difference you can feel. My bimini, which is up 90% of the time is also tower mounted and does not have straps and makes no noise while underway. If storage is an issue you can keep ski's, boards, etc. on the tower as well. When pulling from the tower you have 3 additional seats since you can use the back seat.
With the good comes the bad, covering will probably take twice as long, folding is pretty simple to fit in your garage or under your lift canopy unless like mine, the bimini needs to come down to fold and cleaning off the bugs if you do any towing among them. I don't consider looks an issue with factory, new dimension or some off brands, would I put a monster tower on anything, absolutely not with the exception of maybe Orlando76's boat, lol. Like Tony said, it's a function over form thing, and for me the form is really not an issue, ymmv. |
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RammerJammer
Groupie Joined: June-02-2015 Location: VA Status: Offline Points: 73 |
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I would never consider owning a towboat without a tower. Once you've skied/boarded with one it's difficult to go back. The integrated bimini also helps keep the sun off the kids and you don't even think about it being there.
I love looking at the tastefully appointed, original, non-towered boats on this site but I'll take my Monster tower any day. |
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1991 Nautique Excel, PCM 351, Pro-Tec ignition
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DayTony
Gold Member Joined: June-30-2013 Location: Salem MA Status: Offline Points: 832 |
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I have researched many tower styles for the 80s sn and bfn and i still; as much as i would like cant find one that "I think" looks good to me, but like toertel said that super fly sure would be cool. and if I ever advance enough that i feel i need a super fly and find a tower that compliments it enough I will probably go that route, because i consider my boat a tool and when it doesn't do what i want I get a new tool or modify one.
So for now i stick with the pylon which is kind of best of both worlds because you get the high tow point and ability to be stock. |
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1988 Barefoot nautique-454
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Trader144
Groupie Joined: September-24-2015 Location: North Carolina Status: Offline Points: 55 |
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I have an 88 sn 2001 and would like a towerless wakeboard rack that I can mount on the side of my boat using a tube that looks much like a fishing pole holder that sits inside the fiberglass side.
Basically I install the tube in the fiberglass side top near the driver and the wakeboard rack slides in, allowing the boards to hang over the water and not in the boat. Or an alternative would be a rack attached to a ski boom. Another alternative would be to install a pylon where the interior ski racks are and attach the wakeboard rack to it. In any manner the key is to get the boards to hang over the water and be removable when docking. Anyone seen anything like this? I have seen the tub handle mount but would prefer something much less obvious. David |
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DayTony
Gold Member Joined: June-30-2013 Location: Salem MA Status: Offline Points: 832 |
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what about the swim platform? throw a rack out there?
I almost always dock on my port side unless i have the boom on, just backs better to that side. So if you mounted behind driver seat I don't see why it would need to be removed a lot for docking. This isn't that bad of an idea but it would have to be done with taste. But talk about putting a rod holder on that boat and you'll get some people upset haha. I might take your idea and run with it because I also hate having boards stowed beside the engine hatch all the time. plus I've usually got the boom on the floor too. I would say a nice flange mounted to the floor that would accept a small tube like 2-3" DIA. then a support mounted to the rail that would keep for/aft movement to minimum would be acceptable. |
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1988 Barefoot nautique-454
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Trader144
Groupie Joined: September-24-2015 Location: North Carolina Status: Offline Points: 55 |
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I would like to keep the swim platform clear of racking
So maybe replacing the ski rack with a type of pylon and a pylon wakeboard rack is the way to go. Would require less design. |
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dchris17
Gold Member Joined: May-28-2005 Location: Weatherford, TX Status: Offline Points: 573 |
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I have always felt guilty about putting a tower on my 74 Mustang 17, partly because the guys who say they don't look right on the older boats are right and partly because I didn't like putting holes in my old boat.
The problem is, wakeboarding on a pylon sucks. I did it for two seasons and it's not nearly as rigid as wakeboarding on a tower. Once you get to the point where you can jump wake to wake you will not be satisfied wakeboarding behind a pylon. For me, wakeboarding is one of the main reasons I own a boat. And that means putting a tower on my 74 Mustang. Which means I feel a bit embarrassed sometimes. But it also means the boat is fun and valuable to my family. Without that, my particular boat would have been chopped up the marina it was abandoned at when I found it. Holes can be fixed. The guys on here might groan a little when they see a tower on an old boat (if that's what you have), but if you can live with that (they will still help you!) and you want to board, go for it. |
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hal2814
Groupie Joined: June-20-2016 Location: Bedford, TX Status: Offline Points: 76 |
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My 83 Ski Nautique is beautiful. There was no tower that made it look better. But it's the 2001 hull. It's a wakeboarding beast and that's part of why I bought it. Some towers are really flashy and out there from a design perspective. I intentionally looked for one that detracted from the boat as little as possible. I really hated drilling holes in my beautiful boat but on days when I'm out there with 4 adults and a boat full of gear, I don't regret installing the tower and board racks one bit. Like someone above mentioned, form over function. And the Nautique is still pretty sharp looking even with the anachronistic tower sitting on top of it.
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Trader144
Groupie Joined: September-24-2015 Location: North Carolina Status: Offline Points: 55 |
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I am now thinking that I will go with a stainless steel bar (or chrome) that snakes up the interior side of the boat where the current interior ski holders are and ends with a horizontal bar out over the edge of the boat that I will attach the wakeboard rack to. The snaked bar will tie into the existing ski rack holes.
The reason I am not going with the fishing pole holder drilled into the side of the boat is due to the weight and bouncing of the boards. Although I also dock on my divers side, I still am thinking to put the rack there because the holes are already there and people are already prevented from walking through due to the drivers seat. Any other thoughts would be appreciated. |
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Trader144
Groupie Joined: September-24-2015 Location: North Carolina Status: Offline Points: 55 |
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If I were to go with a tower (and I really like them on the newer boats) I would probably hire a graphic designer to create one that looks good for my style of boat - just my preference.
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