Installing wakeboard tower

[dalton565]

hey guys

im currently searching for wakeboard towers for my boat. Im looking for a tower, 2 racks, and a mirror the best price ive got so far is just over $1000 for the lot the tower is a camellion. it looks good

The problem is installing, the best price i can get to install is $500, i would be willing to try installing myself, has anyone any expeirence installing their own.

My boat is an 18ft campion 545i w/4.3ltr inboard 8ft beam

 

[Jon D]

Re: Installing wakeboard tower

I dont have experience but i watched them install my tower and they had to really secure it strongly and i was surprised how far down they went to secure the tower in the floor. and how access the sturdiest part of the boat . I would suggest if not too familiar with what you want to have done get it professionally done. It was a lot more in depth then i thought they were going to do and i was glad i had it done professionally with warranty

 

[Sea Ray]

Re: Installing wakeboard tower

I have installed a Monster Tower on my own boat (1999 210 Sea Ray Open Bow).

Probably the hardest part for me was figuring out where I wanted to mount it. They are very universal so your options are almost limitless. Make sure you have adequate head room, the windshield door still opens and closes, the bimini top or convertible top will still fit, you have access to the bolts where the mounts will be located, it fits in the boat when folded down and the legs are within the given range suggested by the tower manufacturer.

Sea Ray boats are well built which made my installation easier. The fiberglass is thicker than a lot of boats but I still used a 3M marine grade adhesive and glued reinforcement boards (1/2" thick treated plywood) under the boat where the mounts went. Make these boards as big as you can and round the corners so they aren't cutting in to the fiberglass. I used 1/2" so there would still be some level of flex to the board as to distribute the load out a little better. I thought 3/4" would be too rigid.

Mark all the holes carefully, double - triple check your measurements. The second hardest part was getting the nerve to drill holes in my perfectly good boat . Drill slow and with the drill in reverse, countersink the holes to relieve the stress to reduce the chance for the gel coat cracking.

If you add reinforcements boards underneath, allow a couple of days for the the glue to cure before using it. When you do start using it, keep checking the bolts to make sure they are staying tight. You should tighten them about every 1/2 hour to hour the first time you use it.

All in all it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I guess that all depends on how handy you are and what difficulties your particular boat presents in mounting.

Good luck and feel free to PM me if you would like any more info!!

 

[QSS]

Re: Installing wakeboard tower

i own Queensland Skiboat Sales in Queensland Australia and are a monster tower dealer we fit monster towers to lots of differnt boats. they are quite easy to fit probably the easiest on the market. Yes check and double check your measurments and get it centred properly. we encourage to have them done profesionaly as we cover any warranty issues. in saying that i think we have had 2 warranty issues in the last 8 years of trading. the most important thing is to make sure your hull is reasonably fat around the parts where the feet of the tower are. if your doing it yourself have it slung up in the air bolted together and lower down onto the boat marking the two front legs 1st then go from there. good luck.

 

[dalton565]

Re: Installing wakeboard tower

Superb advice guys as always

i have just ordered all my stuff tower, racks, lights even fat sacks all should be here week after christmas then me and a few friends are going to attempt to install.

Im going to seriously take my time, measure and measure again before drilling. We should be able to build the tower up and susupend it above the boat via ropes to make sure it is located right, then mark and drill. i will take pictures of progress and post the results.



Stay tuned.

 

[dalton565]

Re: Installing wakeboard tower

Good News !

Installed the tower myself, took about 11hours and there was 2 of us. Took our time as it was the first effort.

Check the pictures

http://gallery.highclarity.co.uk/main.php?g2_itemId=29

page 1&2

No real issues, havent tested it out yet, will be a few months before it heats up. So watch this space. Anyone else after advice pm me.