New wakeboard tower!

[pat8839]

Installed my Aerial Airborne wakeboard tower this weekend. Install went pretty good, but I do not know how to run the wires for the light that goes on top. I know the wires will run through the tubes and I have to drill holes for them to exit, but how do you wire around the joints? How do you get the wires from the tower to go inside the boat to where the electrical panel is? (not that I know how to wire it into the panel yet...)

I originally wanted to put the front feet on the horizontal surface in front of the windshield but the walk through window could never be left in the open position as it would hit the front port side leg. So I used side mounts like I have seen on most other installs.

 

[boat1010]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

Why do you want a light on top? The only way I see is having the wires inside the tubes then at the joints bring the wires outside then back in. Lots of luck..

 

[Silverbullet555]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

Are you talking your anchor light or are you adding spot lights?

Decide which side you want the wires to enter the boat on. Drill a hole in the end of the tube a few inches up from the weld. You can drill it on the outside, the front or the back depending on how you want to run your wiring into the loop.

Drill a corresponding holes in the loop which is mounted to the boat and the wire goes in there. If the mounting feet have a hole in the middle of them you could run the wires right into the boat through the leg. If not, drill an exit hole at the base of the loop for the wire to exit the tube and then drill a hole in the boat for the wire to go into the boat. Anywhere the wire is exposed cover it with split loom or a similar material.

I don't have any pics handy, but there should be some on the web. Couple things to consider. If you are folding your tower down for storage, take that into account as to where you run your wires from tube to tube. Also, keep a little extra wire in the system so you have enough. There is nothing worse than having to rerun wires because it is an inch too short or having to add a length to reach.

 

[pat8839]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

Just that anchor light that came with the tower. I figured since I have it I may as well install it.
so just so I am on the same page-there would be wire coming out of the tube at the joint and run externally for a few inches but then going back into the tube once it gets past the joint?
Thanks!

 

[Silverbullet555]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

You got it.

 

[boat1010]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

Just another note to that. You may want to put some speakers up there in the future so take that into consideration when you are making the holes for the wires. Make them big enough to accommodate the extra wires. You can't make them bigger if the wires are ran through the holes.

 

[pat8839]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

That is true, I may add speakers down the line. Any suggestions on hole size?
I know in each hole I should use a gromet, any idea what I could use to glue the gromet in with?

 

[brick75]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

The whole grommet thing is a bit of a pain. First off, I couldn't find any local stores that had the size I needed. I found a couple places online that I could order them from, but decided to give up on that and just put a couple layers of shrink tubing on the wires. I have six wires running through (two speakers and the light) and I believe I did a 3/8" hole. This left just enough room for the wires and tubing. If you end up doing a grommet, you'll probably have to do a 1/2" hole.

Not sure what you mean about glue for the grommet, unless you're talking about the kind that just has the outer lip on one side of it. But if you're going to use this approach, I'd recommend using the kind that holds itself in with the lips on both sides. You just need to be sure that you get the correct measurments for the grommet. There's like 3 or 4 areas you need to have the right measurement on to get it right (inner and outer diameteres, channel width etc.).

 

[pat8839]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

The grommet thing does sound like a pain when you put it that way! I had read something about someone putting a sealant on the grommets so they would not fall out. Have you had any issue with your wires getting cut from the rough edges of the tube where the holes were drilled?

 

[brick75]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

No issues yet, but I've only used it for one summer so far. The shrink tubing basically acts as additional protection like a grommet would. I'm sure over time it will start to wear through, but I'll deal with that when it happens.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

I used something called a cord or cable pull for where my wires enter the boat. It has a nut on the inside and a rubber gasket in it that tightens down on the wire. I did need to do some grinding on the plastic to get it to work.

http://www.StingrayBoats.com/MyStingray/ppost/data/500/My_tower_wiring_front.jpg

In this pic you can see how I wired around the joint.

http://www.StingrayBoats.com/MyStingray/ppost/data/500/My_tower_2_wire_view.jpg

 

[12vMan]

Re: New wakeboard tower!

What I did for the hole size is predetermine the wire I was using based on the amp output and speaker draw requirements. If you plan on running a higher output amp, you'll need heavier gauge wire. Bundle the wire together with the stern light wire to see how big the hole should be. You'll probably be looking at a 1/2" hole then a grommet which will reduce the size to about 3/8". You can buy different colors of shrink tube for the places the wire needs to exit and re-enter the tower and will show. You should also bundle the speaker wire together separate from the stern light wire to cut down on noise interference.