2007 SV211 issues with dropping tower

[W Bauman]

Has anyone come up with a good system to lower the top half of the tower on a 2007 SV211? I am hoping to figure out how to do this with just one person or find an after market piece of equipment that may help. I am adding a canopy to my hoist and want to reduce the overall height of the canopy by dropping the tower.

[kinger]

+1 looking for same info

[CradGen2]

I use to take a ski rope handle and pull from the bow then lay it on a couple life jackets so it wouldn't hit the fiberglass.

[HS]

Yeah, it's a two man job but when single handed, I used a couple methods.

The first was where I would lift it up and push it to the tip point then pivot around to the front (standing in the bow) "catch" it and lower it down. The second way I would do it was lift it while standing on the forward gunwhale and I could thereby avoid that tricky exchange at the tipping point, but good footing is a must (I did slip once and I was lucky not to have fallen hard -- tower was still in the up position and I held on to it while my damp feet slipped...I held onto the upper tower tube and Tarzan swung down (hard bump).

[SkiTower]

is the tower loaded? i push mine over while standing on the ground, but I don't have any speakers.

[kinger]

Mine has speakers which add to the weight.

[ski4evr]

need an extra teenager? with the pro 80's, there is no way to to it alone. Having the bow filler makes it easier, but no way to reach the high tipping point and balance the tower then lower it safely without some sort of pulley system in the rafters.

[Quinner]

Would imagine you want your canopy high enough you can get in/out without dropping the tower every time, particularly if you have a tower mounted bimini or boards/skis in flight clips as all that would need to be torn down to drop the tower.

[MikeC]

If you have a canopy, is there any way you can rig a pulley to the canopy frame forward and above the tower? You could attach a line to the tower and use the pulley to pull it up and over center. It would have to mounted at the midpoint of the tower up position and the tower down position so you could use it for both raising and lowering the tower. Anything that you could use to support the tower while it's at it's peak, which is the worst part of the process, would work.

I don't have anything above my boat so I rigged up a pole that attaches to the tower and swings as I raise the tower and supports it as it breaks over the peak. It's still tough with one person and speakers installed but it can be done.

[john_keck]

Doesn't really apply to your situation I think, but this is what I did to get mine into the garage. Made it significantly easier when I went to the crane, vs just the pulleys.

[georges]

I've been manhandling the tower for years and wondering what everyone else was doing. I basically walk the tower past the tipping point and curl it down to rest on towels. I've fussed and cussed a few times, but time on the water makes it quickly forgotten. Its starting to get old as my age is starting to catch up with me. Height is my friend, as I typically don't have any assistance.

I'm also working on how to eliminate changing receiver hitches, required for lowering the bow to clear the garage. I've tried about everything, but a bottle jack and drop hitch has become standard equipment. Any ideas?
Thanks