to tower or not to tower

I have gone through stages with towers. When I first seen them I thought they looked like scaffolding. Then the wish bone Titan towers came out & I thought they looked good. Now I like the look of FCT towers & think the wishbone looks very dated. I wonder if they will become a fashion item that boat manufacturer's will use to help sell their newer models like Malibu have?

The storage option of boards on towers are a plus but with a bit of thought and ingenuity pole racks & bimini racks can provide a lot of storage. We can fit 4 wake boards & 2 knee boards on our combination. I like the fact that we can put our setup up & down completely in a few minutes. We always tow with a travel cover so this is important. I have almost ruled out ever fitting a tower.

Storing boats with towers is also a problem when I had the 87 with monster tower I managed to put a dent in my carport barge panel.(dont ask)

There is a site at PN that would love to have this thread.
Thirty posts about whether to trash a boat with a tower is a little much guys.
Lets talk about something other than towers , woofers of other bling that the PN drool over. Sorry this aint the site for that BLING.

I, along with Joe, am going to respectfully disagree with Doc on this one.
This is my bling boat.

We let new boats in too Billy, I mean we can't kick brother Reid out just because he is riding around in a 2009 SN these days can we. As for mine, she used to go but I had to take out the engine to make room for the amplifiers for the speakers and the power supplies for the led lights.

Geez Doc, my boat came straight from the CC factory with a tower and will one day fall within the classic category, they have been putting towers on their boats for over ten years now, at what age does one consider a boat to be a classic? And also, guess who invented, holds the patent and collects royalties on every "Tower" sold??

Sebastian, to answer a few of your questions, most towers will fold down to where it's highest point is only about 7 feet off the ground while on the trailer, your existing bimini may not work with a tower so it's possible that would need to be replaced, the boats cover would need to be modified to go around the tower legs, towing with a tower is not a problem assuming you avoid any low bridges, if done at night you will be cleaning bugs off it however. I have had extended pylons and towers on various boats and in my opinion the tower does not seem as affected be a side pull, that however could all be in my head. We pull just about everything except slalom and trick from the tower, it adds great function, provides additional storage and of course is a great place to hang those monster loud speakers!

It's a tough call, if that was my boat I might stick with the extended pylon however if your heart is set on a tower you should definitely go for it!

Geezuss Quinner,   

Ummm, speakers anyone? Nice, dude.

M

Mike it may say CorrectCraft, but have you ever noticed how small the lettering is compared to the rest of the logo.
It is like they have become ashamed of their heritage.Nautiques is what they want to be known by.
Kinda funny that as they have moved away from their roots, the tree slowly looses it's leaves. Maybe Death is a short season away.
The handwriting is on the wall, if drastic measures are not taken they to will go .Outsource them too, will be the corporate answer.Air Nautique's built in China.
Not gonna affect my OLD BOAT, I gotta hustle to find needed parts for her. You guys just pick up the phone and make a parts order.What happens when no one answers the phone ?????Boat dr

someone is rubbing off on that guy lol, so there really is a problem with the economy? you get bumped up to the category of "brass nuts" the order is 1.marshmellow nuts 2 wood nuts 3. tin nuts 4. brass nuts 5 steel nuts and finally 6. titanium nuts lol

i see my boats as workhorses and the tower just improves upon what they already do better than any other boat...pull.
i like new things, especially when they get old...i stole that from a high milage motor oil commercial...

Well I am not much of a wakeboarder so it goes without saying I don't really like the look of the towers. However, it's your boat, don't worry about impressing a bunch of guys over the web just to keep it original.

One could argue that engine modifications don't preserve the originality of boats either. What's the difference between "bling" on top of the boat, and "bling" under the engine cover?

This is no way knocking on you or your boat Doc...from the pics it's a piece of artwork, outside and inside the engine cover.

Basically this was just my way of saying, "To each his own". I don't ask anyone else what types of food I should buy at the grocery store...because I have my own taste.

Billy's nuts per Eric:

eric lavine wrote: someone is rubbing off on that guy lol, so there really is a problem with the economy? you get bumped up to the category of "brass nuts" the order is 1.marshmellow nuts 2 wood nuts 3. tin nuts 4. brass nuts 5 steel nuts and finally 6. titanium nuts lol

Bumped up to Titanium!!


90545A041

Titanium Hex Nut 3/4"-10 Thread Size, 1-1/8" Width, 41/64" Height

$28.04 Each

8122pbrainard wrote: Titanium Hex Nut 3/4"-10 Thread Size, 1-1/8" Width, 41/64" Height

Harder than steel but a little on the small side.. jk

That next sound is me ducking

Disclaimer:

Not trying to pi$$ ya off Boat Doc, or anyone else who modifies their engines for that matter. I'm just trying to play devil's advocate against your point of view...guess I'm just bored or something.

But I definitely think it's sweet watching a modified inboard launch out of the water with lots of "GO". I think it was JoeinNY's video that I've seen which is an awesome holeshot video.

boat dr wrote: The difference being that bling on the top is for "SHOW ONLY"

Well actually, depending on what "Bling" you are referring, there is more function then looks IMO. The function a Tower adds is pretty awesome really, it creates additional lift which greatly enhances your ability to get "Air" or do "Tricks" on any board or a hydrofoil, the additional lift while barefooting is great as well, when teaching new skiers or pulling very novice recreational skiers the lift is also a help, additionally it allows passengers to sit in the back seat for those times when it's not the hard core ski or foot runs where you want a minimal wake/passenger load.

As far as the "Speaker" bling, what can I say, there is nothing cooler then rippin a foot run across the lake with Van Halen or Kid Rock along for the ride.

As far as CC goes, my guess is they are in it for the long haul, there is no question we are in some tough times, so many I have talked to, including my own business, are down quite a bit, shortened work weeks, etc. let's all hope for better times ahead.

Really don't think CC has forgotten about the skier either, Wakeboarding is huge and the demand for that style boat has been much greater then the straight inboard "classic" 196/206 style ski boat. Had CC only produced the 196/206 over the past 10yrs they would have been on a 2 day work work long before now.

BTW Doc, the "Bling" on your boat is 2nd to none and very cool!

Great comment above "To Each His Own" !!

The motor in Karens boat was not built for top end speed. These old boats were very unstable above 55 mph. Mine is included in this statement.
The stroker was built as a direct result of owning and "flying" a 26 foot parasail.If you want to see what kinda' pull your boat has,make a pass with that tied to your stern.
Even tho the HP is higher thanmost 351, I was after the "TORQUE" 400 plus pounds of twist.Currently I am running a 12x15 OJ LEDGEND. If Reid brings me his loaner we will see if she can pull a 12x16. The BS stops where the prop hits the water.....Boat dr