how hard is it to switch towers on a boat. help!!!

[5bison]

I am looking to flip a 99 pro air with an original fct1 tower... I was thinking of putting on a new dementions fct2... How easy is that to do? Do the bolt's lign up? Is it even worth doing? Any help would be great. Thanks

[Tallredrider]

I can't speak to whether or not the bolts will just line up. But if they do, it is pretty easy to just swap them out, as long as you can reach the underside of the gunnels, which sometimes is a bear, depending on the model of boat.

According to Murphy's law, they will not line up. Worst case scenario, you will remove your old tower, then take ithe boat to your favorite fiberglass shop and have them fill the holes in, and then you will have to drill new. That will probably cost you a few hundy. I would be very surprised if you can't get at least 2 of the holes to line up.

[NautiqueJeff]

The FCT-2 is the rare Titan tower (polished). NDT doesn't make that tower or anything like it. I assume you're talking about the Gen 2 FCT1 used on the SAN from 2000 - 2005 (except 2004), right? That's the one that NDT makes.

Either way, your holes will not line up, and you might possibly need to reinforce the deck in the new mounting location.

You might be able to update the look for less money by buying a two-post FCT-5 from NautiqueParts. Remember, we get 10% off for being PN members.

http://www.nautiqueparts.com/fct5towerraworpainted.aspx

FCT1 Gen 1 - 1998-1999
FCT1 Gen 2 - 2000-2003
FCT1 Gen 3 - 2004
FCT1 Gen 2 - 2005
FCT1 Gen 4 - 2006 - 2008

FCT2 - Titan (optional 2007-2008)

FCT3 - Roswell (Beanstalk Towers, still in use on 200 and 200 Sport)

FCT4 - Retro look introduced in 2010

FCT5 - Roswell look introduced in 2011

Diamondback towers - All 2013+ Nautiques except 200 & 200 Sport)

[Brichter14]

Its been done many times in the past. Just put a cup holder or a seadek step pad where the old holes are.

[Miljack]

I had the same boat and did this project with a NDT tower. None of the bolt holes line up, and the rear location will need to be either hidden or glassed/gel-coated to hide the original holes. I also reinforced/glassed the new mounting position (NDT recommends this is their installation procedure.) I installed my tower by myself (with the help of a forklift), and I helped a friend install a NDT tower on his Mastercraft. The MC didn't have a tower on it, so installation was straightforward and only took a few hours. I made my friend drill the holes!
For me, it was worth it because we kept the boat for another 6 seasons, and added board racks, bimini tower etc. which is much easier to do with the NDT towers due to the "standard" size of 1 7/8" dia tubing. I'm not sure if you'll get the return on your investment if you're "flipping" the boat, unless the current tower is damaged in someway. A buyer in that price range may not know or appreciate (ie. pay extra) for the update.

I was able to sell the original tower for $500 to a 2001 CC owner. There are people who can use the FCT1.

[s_kelley2000]

Like Miljack, I made this same conversion on my 99 Super Sport. As others have said nothing lines up. I put an additional cup holder on the passenger side to take care of one set of holes. I added an arm rest of Gator Grip on the driver side. I also added Gator grip steps on the bow to cover those holes. I will eventually get the holes filled but this solution works good for me for now. I am not sure the swap makes sense on the flip but I have no plans to change boats anytime soon and changing towers has made this boat so much better for me. My old tower had been welded at least twice and was quite shaky and sketchy. This new one is rock solid and looks a million times better. Also install was easy. My brother and I banged it out in about 8 hours. We followed the NDT directions and glassed in the backing plates but no other reinforcing was necessary.

[NautiqueJeff]

Another option for your boat would be the Roswell Aviator tower. The two-post design might make the boat look a little bit more modern. NautiqueParts can order this tower for you if you're interested, and you'll get the PN 10% discount.