to tower or not to tower

Mike, is that boat in the diaries? Is it one of those red boats with the white stripe that they had at Seaworld in 2000?

Did I read right? Karens boat?

Bruce,

Lake George is a bit too far away to make any plans for me yet, heck who knows where I will be next week?

Thinking the boat you are referring to is the 2001 Ski Nautique with a 393 Stroker, there is one in the Diaries. Slayers is the 99' Super Air V-Drive with a Python, same motor as Barefoot Eddie has in the 90' Barefoot Nautique that was at Lake George.

Slayer,

When I was finalizing the order on my 99' asked what the upcharge would be to go to the Python, IIRC it was $5k or $6k, that was additional from the GT-40 which was already an upcharge, hence we stuck with the GT-40!!

Quinner.   I think it was $8500 msrp after the GT-40. I did not buy mine new. Someone else took the ding on that one. I got mine in 2005,with ~135 hours.

Billy, you are killin me. I will call you when I fire her up the first time in the Spring. That sweet rumble will make it hard for us to really talk, but you will get the picture.   ;^ )

M

   ^^^^^^^ WORD ! ^^^^^^^^^^^

That stereo cranks!

   Mike

i think you should go with the tower. before you get one don't forget that it wont fit in your garage and if you keep it at your marina they charge more for dry storage if you have a tower because they have to put it at the top.

Lots of mixed opinions here!!!
For now I think I just keep using the extended pylon.

Kapla....

Good points Joe!

Really think a common misconception is "if it has a tower it is a Wakeboard Boat". Of course the tower will enhance the Wakeboarding experience however it really goes beyond that as far as functionality.

The only negative aspects of a tower in my eyes is weight, which does affect the slalom wake, and depending on your setup the height constraints although many towers when folded are only slightly higher than the top of the windshield frame.

quinner wrote: The only negative aspects of a tower in my eyes is weight, which does affect the slalom wake, and depending on your setup the height constraints although many towers when folded are only slightly higher than the top of the windshield frame.

I agree with this, there are however some people who wouldn't be caught dead on a boat with a tower, kinda like a skiers vs snowboarders kinda scenario.. no cross sport love...

I dont pull the parasail from the tower, the upward pull is not exactly what it was designed for, its bolted down fairly securly and I doubt it would be a problem but the strength of the tower comes both from the front legs being in tension and the back legs being in compression, its a little different when being pulled up at 45-50 degrees. Plus iI have this irrational fear the threaded pins in the back legs would come lose and with the upward pull all heck would break loose. No advantage to the tower pull really, the extra 4 feet of height dont make a bit of difference on takeoff since you cant actually keep that much rope out of the water, (the person is well off the ground before the rope all clears the water). Once under way you can use the back seat with the pylon if you want.

For straight rediculous pulling strength I would say the stock pylon (not an extended pylon), in particular on boats with engine cradles that support the pylon, is a clear winner. I doubt you can do much serious damage to one of these boats by putting an unbreakable cable attached to an immovable object on the pylon and pulling away. Try the same stunt with a tower and something will give.

That being said the tower is pretty solid for most non-rediculous tasks. I climb on and jump off the thing all the time with no real flex, and I am heavier than most. It will sway some underway but I have pushed it pretty hard without worries. While pulling I have yet to hear or see it strain, certainly nothing near the experience of an extended pylon with a good size boarder on it.