diy pylon....

[toyotaspeed90]

So I'm just curious if anyone has made their own version of an Insane Pylon? I can't forsee spending anywhere near $500 for their product when it appears that it can be made for less than $50....

looks really simple to create.. and since I have an older bayliner I'm a little skiddish to build a wakeboard tower on it because of the stressing issue (yeah, I could use heim joints but making this pylon is much much simpler)

 

[deejaycee_2000]

Re: diy pylon....

A Bayliner in South Africa is concidered as one of the nicest and fancy boats .....

 

[toyotaspeed90]

Re: diy pylon....

well I don't live there... and there are definitely much much nicer boats around here.....

in any case, i could reinfoce the deck/hull myself (have quite a bit of experience with fiberglass/carbon fiber) but I still think it would be much easier and cheaper to build a simple pylon....

when I get paid again i'll put up another post of the work done.....

planning on using 2" conduit... comes as a 10' piece... I will cut it down to 2 lengths.... a 4' starter and a 6' secondary..... i'll be using a 1 7/8" with 3/4" shank trailer ball at the top for the rope loop and have already purchased 2 (my store only had 2 on hand... will get a 3rd when another comes in) 16' tie down straps with 6,000lb break strengths..... the pole will mount into a perpendicular mount which will have a shaft to fit the conduit over/into it (haven't decided which way to go with that yet....depends on what I find for size, price, and strength).

i'm expecting less than $50 overall or so

 

[hal2814]

Re: diy pylon....

I'm not familiar with an "Insane" pylon but I am currently running a 7' DIY pylon. I'd avoid conduit. It's not as strong as you may think. I used a floor jack.* I just got an 8' jack and used a holesaw to build a large wooden base for it using some pressure treated 4'x6' I had lying around. Then the pole goes in the wooden base and I use ratchet straps to tie the pole to the two lift rings in the rear and the nose up front. And the ski rope goes in an eye bolt that I bolted onto the top of the jack. A little drilling is required (and chiseling if you use the hole saw on a 4'x6' like I did) but I didn't need to make any permanent modifications to the boat.

* A floor jack is NOT an automotive jack. You can get them at home improvement stores. They're metal poles with a baseplate at each end. Then there's an adjustable leg on the pole to let you can use to raise and lower the total height properly. The pole itelf is all you are concerned with. Floor jacks are used for things like foundation work, basement remodeling, sagging floors, etc. They cost about $25 for the 8' ones. If you get a 2-piece jack, most of your holes are even already drilled for you.

 

[xrdan]

Re: diy pylon....

I made one from a 7' piece of chain link fence post with 4 eyebolts drilled through and welded on top. The base is 3/4" plywood. A cable runs to the front and is connected to a strap (seatbelt material) that runs through the bow eye. Tie down straps connect to the aft cleats. Takes 2 minutes to set up and works great. About $30 invested.

 

[FLWakeRider]

Re: diy pylon....

I know this post is old, but does anyone have any Screenshots of their DIY Pylons? Just looking to see what they look like, placement, and hardware used.

 

[smitty1258]

Re: diy pylon....

I know this post is old, but does anyone have any Screenshots of their DIY Pylons? Just looking to see what they look like, placement, and hardware used.

http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=31787

 

[mcgonegalm]

Re: diy pylon....

Here's my version of a wakeboard/kneeboard pylon.
I almost bought the insanity pylon but decided to try making one first. I decided not to go with a tower because of the expense(mostly) and the hesitation to drill holes in the boat.
I work at a machine shop and had access to most of the materials I used.
I modeled the design after the insanity pylon with a few little variances.
I basically took an aluminum pole, cut it in half, made a connecting piece, and put a head on the top.
-For the base I used a 6" x 24" piece of steel with an aluminum rod connector screwed into it and wrapped the whole thing with a piece of an exercise mat velcroed together.
-I had to machine the piece that connects the 2 halves out of aluminum.
-The head of the pole was machined out of some really hard plastic. I liked the look of the plastic but may have to machine something out of aluminum if it doesn't hold up.
- I used a ratcheting strap in front and 2 cambuckle straps in the rear. The ratcheting strap attaches to a lifting strap wrapped around the bow and the 2 cambuckle straps attach to the rear cleats. For padding on the straps I broke down and ordered the pads from the insanity pylon website.

One last thing I should mention is that while everything seems sturdy and secure, I have not yet rode behind my contraption. Hopefully that will change by this weekend. All I have been able to do for testing is hook up my ski rope and tug on it while running back and forth in the yard.
All in all even if I have to do a little modding of my design it still has been a fun spring project as I wait for the weather to warm up here in Michigan.

I'll make sure to give a little update with how things go with the pylon and my diy wakeboard racks after this weekend.

Fingers crossed!!!

 

[SeanT]

Re: diy pylon....

How did it turn out?

 

[SeanT]

Re: diy pylon....

And by the way, I found your PVC board racks in another thread. Great idea, I think I'm going to build a couple. How are yours working out? Also, where did you get the foam padding?

 

[mcgonegalm]

Re: diy pylon....

So far the pylon has been working great. I've been kneeboarding and wakeboarding on it a dozen times and haven't had any problems. The padding on the straps is from insanity pylons. I had a few other ideas like using a foam noodle but it just didn't look as good and I got tired/lazy at trying to figure something else out.

The board racks have been the best idea I've had for the boat so far. They have worked really well and I definitely appreciate not having to step/stumble over the boards on the boat floor. The only problem I've had is that the posts on my boat lift are too narrow to get the boat on the lift with a wakeboard hanging off the side. This isn't really a problem with the racks but is just a little annoying. Even a tower with board racks wouldn't fit. My wife and I have been surprised at how stable the racks were even in rough water and both the kneeboard and wakeboard don't move at all when they're strapped in.
I may have gone a little overboard with the padding on the racks but I thought they looked a little cleaner with the extra padding. Most of it was foam insulation that you would put on the pipes in your house, but where the board touches the rack I used a cut up exercise mat that I glued to the rack. I know it's not the most elegant solution but it works for now and I'm keeping my eye out for something else that I could get cheap.

 

[bigpoppakdog]

Re: diy pylon....

And by the way, I found your PVC board racks in another thread. Great idea, I think I'm going to build a couple. How are yours working out? Also, where did you get the foam padding?

where is this thread?

 

[SeanT]

Re: diy pylon....

where is this thread?

Here it is - direct link to page 2 where there's pics of the PVC racks I like. I was digging deep into the Wakeboarding forum the other day and found it. There's some other really cool ones that someone was making, they just slide on to existing knuckles.

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=297098&page=2

 

[mcgonegalm]

Re: diy pylon....

I like the racks that fit on the cleats but I decided to make my own because of the position of my cleats. The side cleats are too far forward and with a board hanging off of them it would impair my vision too much. With the racks I made I can at least position them wherever I want on the side of the boat. Also I didn't want to drill any holes into the boat and add more cleats.

 

[SeanT]

Re: diy pylon....

I agree with you - my cleat positions are not convenient for stuff like that. Plus, I doubt the cleat-mount racks float...

 

[smitty1258]

Re: diy pylon....

 

[smitty1258]

Re: diy pylon....

 

[smitty1258]

Re: diy pylon....

Ive had a few PM's about the parts I used. I did keep the receipt to scan and post, but its misplaced somewhere.

Everything I bought was from lowes except for the wood, and the 1 blue rachet strap.


Floor Jack $~60
4 Eye Bolts $~15 ( If I were to build this again id use 3, 1 front, 1 top back for tow rope and 1 about 4 inches below the tow rope eye bolt and connect the 2 rear ratchet straps to just that one eyebolt)
1 Carabiner $~4 type piece to attach ski rope to eye bolt.
1 Pipe mount $~9 found in plumbing has 4 holes for bolts fits inside the floor jack PERFECTLY! Dont be afraid to test in store.
1 Pin $~2 with latch to attach 1st section of floor jack to base.
4 pack of red ratchet straps $~12 (only need 2) BONUS!

Cut a piece of wood to fit wherever you want the base to sit. I used 3/4" plywood. Mount the pipe mount to the base with 4 bolts. Drill a hole large enough in the pipe mount for the pin to slide through, do the same with the 1st section of floor jack. If you have help it will be much easier to set 1 section of floor jack onto the base, and drill through both at the same time. Then connect your top part of the floor jack with the included bolts. Then strap it up Your done.

Setup takes me about 5 mins, tear down takes me about 2 mins. I plan to get a bow strap somewhere, sometime. But Ive been running it down the front of the bow now for a month, and everything works fine that way.

I also bought some pool noodles, cut a slit in them, and put them around the rear straps, because sometimes when the wind catches the strap just right, it vibrates like crazy. Pool noodles fixed that and actually made it look better.

 

[Wakesilver]

Re: diy pylon....

Very nice, thanks for posting the pics!

 

[bigpoppakdog]

Re: diy pylon....

I did the same style on my old boat 2 years ago. Damn near identical. I had a tri-hull with a flat front, so the one tow strap worked great. I found the nylon coated cables with the single strap wrapping around the bow to be easier to set up and more stable. youtube.com/bigpoppakdog

I noticed you turned your floor jack upside down. Which I liked. Do you have any troubles with the front strap slipping around the nose of the boat?

It's pretty neat to see the same pylon built.