Ski Tower (Struggle)

MI-nick nice tower! I bought a '78 5 years ago {2:00 am on ebay} I have a friend that has a 79 SN that has been wiped down everyday, and looks like it did 30 years ago, i would slap him if he started cutting holes for a tower... Mine on the other hand, had no pylon when I bought it, had more rot than fiberglass, now has a cut down pylon out of a tige'. and a custom tower on the way, when you buy a boat for $1225 bucks, it doesn't mean a lot, I have had the privilage of using 2008 206's on the ski team. a late 70's early 80's nautique is hands down better for wakeboard and barefoot, and + tower, a great combo.

i just checked the photo in your diary...i change my opinion...keep the '89 the way it is and get a beat up '82 and put a tower on it for the kids...

when you get tired of dealing with the skylon and tripping over boards on your floor go with a custom tower like mine or one from these guys
new dimensions tower

OP here. Wow, what a thread. Thanks to all that took time to respond. Some great advise on some post and others just plain junk. I asked for opinions and that is what I got. Thanks again to all that took the time.

I realize that the 89 SN may not be a classic in some opinions but as far as the look of the older boats I will consider it a classic and I guess thats what counts. It is still almost in showroom condition as far as the interior goes. With the wet sanding and new decals it will once again look brand new. The original question wasnt if he needed it or not to wakeboard but if it looked right and what peoples opinion was. He can do just fine with the short pylon but I was going to use the tower in place of my extended pylon in order to free up floor space by attaching wakeboards to it and possibly one day adding a radio to the boat and using it to attach speakers.

I learned to ski behind a chapparel and was pleasantly surprised by the 89 SN wake when we got it as by this time I was slaloming pretty regular and actually to the point of competiting some. I also liked it for the kneeboard wake as it was large enough at those speeds to do flips off of. And at faster speeds I could cross the wake barefooting. Anyway, to make a long story short I was extremely happy with the performance of the boat and I am still happy to this day, even with all of the new bigger Nautiques out there.

My original question was as to the looks of booms on the older SN and my struggle with adding one to it. I love the looks of the towers on the newer boats but just wasnt sure I liked them on the older boats. I am going to just stick with the extended pylon and stay away from the tower. I know that the boat is meant to be used and that is exactly what we are doing. We will continue to do it also, however we will do it with a pylon and no tower.

Gonna keep it original. Thanks to all that took time to reply.

How long did it take you to copy/paste that Mollywood?

I learned half my kneeboard inverts behind an 18ft Baja outboard. The other half behind an 89SN, and my lightly weighted 90SN. No tower, no skylon.    i did get a skylon after a while, but do not attribute any skills I had to that nor a tower.

I also disagree with worst ski boat in history. I wouldn't trade an 88 2001 for and 88MC ever. Sure, the wake is a little smaller but the 3 event wake is much better along with tracking, ride, and comfort are far superior. 2001's were revolutionary in their day.

emccallum wrote: Very interesting thread. From what I see, most of the 50K plus wakeboarding boats I see are just cruising around blasting music, with wakeboards still on the racks! Most of them cant ski, so they tube or wakeboard! Around here, wakeboarding is more image,than talent. I usually tell the kids to try something that takes effort....skiing. Or as my T-shirt says "If it was easy, they would call it wakeboarding"

I would argue that wake surfing is even more about image than talent.

I think it is very hard to get really good at wake board, skiing,or surfing. They are different, but all very difficult to get really good. But people don't want hard challenges, they want easy.

For many people its tough just to get up on a water ski. Wake boarding is easier and most people will get up on the first day. Surfing is even easier and most people can throw the handle (with the right wake) on the first day. Not surprising surfing is taking off in popularity, just wake boarding did when it came along (poor water conditions have something to do with it as well, but again, that all comes back to what is easy. It's not easy to get up at 5 am for good water). Of course tubing is even easier, and sitting in the boat with a beer and loud music perhaps the easiest.

I don't have a problem with 70 or 100K boats. It's their money, do what they want. I do have a problem when the same people can't afford a house, have to sell the boat the first month they are out of work, etc. Again, not my problem, but it disturbs me.

What does bother me is the lack of common sense, courtesy, and safety which seems prevalent regardless of the price of the boat.

BKH

The point is you don't need a tower to ride a wakeboard.

TX Foilhead wrote: You guys are missing the point, a tower is really a coat rack for your boat. I now I would have many stiches and some really bad looking upholstery if we tried to cram 4 or 5 foils in the boat. With everything off the floor it also make getting to the cooler easier.

I can understand that, at the same time if they are just skiing ad boarding then the bow storage is a nice place for all the gear. We had plenty of space in our 88 for 2 boards and 2 slaloms along with a few skiers, vests, towels and more importantly...the cooler!

PS- Don, thought you might want to see this link, saw in another thread you were looking for original decals to have as replacements.

akabulla wrote: I never said it was required. All I said is you will stay in the sky longer with a higher tow point which I still stand by. I have seen the videos you posted with Scott and they are very impressive. It is a wonder we even have Super Air Nautiques with Towers when we would be just as well off with a POS outboard and wakeboard just as good!

All we are saying is you should not justify needing a tower to pull off the tricks. Yes, a high tow point might get you another .002 seconds in the air if you are just learning, but it will not make drastic improvement in your riding unless you are elite.

If you have a nicely preserved 2001 it's not worth destroying with a tower in my opinion.

Very interesting thread. From what I see, most of the 50K plus wakeboarding boats I see are just cruising around blasting music, with wakeboards still on the racks! Most of them cant ski, so they tube or wakeboard! Around here, wakeboarding is more image,than talent. I usually tell the kids to try something that takes effort....skiing. Or as my T-shirt says "If it was easy, they would call it wakeboarding"

Forget the fish-n-ski. I got a 16ft flat bottom with a 30hp johnson that I do all my moves off of.

Put 2 anchors in the back and 6 gallons of gas..shooooo.

Before I bought my 2001 I owned a Fish-n-Ski and wakeboarded behind it with a just a ski pole for bass boats. Trimmed up the motor and filled the live wells and I was throwing Tantrums, backrolls, front flips and I was in my early 30's doing it. YES, I had to work hard at learning tricks but I know it made me a better boarder. I'll agree that from a Skylon or tower it is easier but not necessary.

storm34 wrote: I love when all the kids on our lake with $70K Xstars come out on saturdays and try inverts when they cant do the basics.

Hey at least they are doing something, most of those boats around here are pulling double tubers...off the tower!