Anyone have experience installing towers??

[BobinIL]

I am thinking about putting a tower on my 97 Sport Nautique. I am still using a flyhigh extended pole. The main thing that worries me with aftermarket towers is will the fiberglass hold up to the stress??? I would hate to put a tower on just to have the gelcoat start spiderweb cracking. Of course I would use a tower as close to OEM as I could get. New Dimension Towers seems to be the vendor for OEM FCT's.

[ers906]

As long as you chamfer the holes you drill in the hole and significantly reinforce the hull under the legs of the tower you should be fine. I used the steel backing plate that was provided with the tower, but I also took several 1/2 inch pieces of plywood, glassed them and used them as extra support under the gunnel. Each where about 18-24" long and as wide as they could be to fit under the gunnel. It is a definitely a two person job to minimize the stress but it is certainly doable. I went with the Samson tower, but have nothing but good things about ND towers

[bscott]

New Dimensions includes steel backing plates and the glass you need to install them in their installation kit. You will not have a problem if you use their kit and follow their instructions.

[BobinIL]

As long as you chamfer the holes you drill in the hole and significantly reinforce the hull under the legs of the tower you should be fine. I used the steel backing plate that was provided with the tower, but I also took several 1/2 inch pieces of plywood, glassed them and used them as extra support under the gunnel. Each where about 18-24" long and as wide as they could be to fit under the gunnel. It is a definitely a two person job to minimize the stress but it is certainly doable. I went with the Samson tower, but have nothing but good things about ND towers

Could you please explain how you chamfered the holes? Did you drill the holes out with the correct size bit then went back with an oversize bit and cut an angle in the hole on the gelcoat side?

[Nautiquehunter]

I drilled the holes in reverse to prevent chipping the gel. Then I used a counter sink tool to chamfer the holes.

[ers906]

I used a dremel with a bit used to grind/sand the glass down at the appropriate angle