New Dimension FCT

[ButterRide]

I'm about to pull the trigger on a New Dimension tower for my 97 SS, and wanted to get feedback before I place the order. First off I'm hoping someone else has experience using this tower in their Super Sport, and can tell me how well the hull is holding up by the front legs, as the guy at New Dimension mentioned the feet could be very close to the cup holders. I guess this is due to correct craft not holding tight tolerances for cup holder location on the older super sports. I was told they include some matting and resin for building up the area under the hull... I'd rather not do that so curious if anyone has had good luck without any additional glass work. My last tower was a Monster on a late 80's SN 2001, the install was simple and worked great, but I like the FCT style.

Another question, do the factory FCT racks fit well on the NDT oval tubes? Thanks

[nyryan2001]

I installed a ND tower on my Yamaha... Very sturdy and solid towers, those folks know what they are doing.

you absokutely want backing on the inside of those mounts or you will induce gel cracks from flex and stress.

A mixed wad of resin, fiberglass matting, then a custom shaped aluminum plate pressing all that flat on the inside of that hull to distribute the force over the largest area possible.

and most importantly... You must be a master at chamfering the through hull holes for the mount bolts... So absolutely NO weight and NO contact happens between bolts and exterior gel coat. All the weight is on the fiberglass. Else you'll have cracks everywhere.

[ButterRide]

Thanks for the feedback... I didn't have to use any glass with the Monster install and never had any cracking. Maybe the newer boats have thinner decks and gunnels?

[nyryan2001]

You got lucky... Also depends on the specific mounting location. Thick fiberglass and bends/reinforcements nearby help to make it a strong mount location.

thinner fiberglass and long stretches of flatter, an/or not very "bendy" or not reinforced (intersections of other fiberglass panels) sections of fiberglass tend to allow more flex in those sections.

a 200lb guy getting drug up from a standstill, is probrably 300+lbs of total force required. Then you bring in physics... Those mounts and mount locations are at a mechanical disadvantage because that tower 4-5ft above acts as a pry bar or a breaker bar of the force on those locations. Even that weight distributed over 4 mounts is probrably is the range of 300lbs+ x 4 due to the the tower tow point being so far away from the mounts.

its not that difficult. Use cardboard to fab out what your 1/2" aluminum backer plates need to look like. ~4"x6" range or larger will work, try to capture a large flat section where your mounts will go with those plates. Send those cardboard patterns to the guys at ND and they will cut and drill them for you.

ask them to send you fiberglass and resign...small handful mixed wad under each backer plate.

if you care about this boat long term, and want to keep it for years, this is something to ensure you get right. Aftermarket towers are very hard to get right because of the wiggle, flex and force they put on non-reinforced sections of fiberglass and gel.

[ButterRide]

So are you saying that the NDT does not come with backer panels? The monster had rubber pad topside and bottom side between the foot and backer panel. I weigh 240 and very familiar with moment arm calc, but again never a sign of cracks, flexing, or loosening mounts on my last boat. Definitely want to do this right, which sounds like reinforcing the mounting areas. Thanks again!

[nyryan2001]

They might... You'd need to ask them, it was nearly 10yrs ago for me. I had ~3/8" thick aluminum backer plates on mine, and used a wad of that fiberglass resin mix to contour the void between the flat plates and the slightly curved gunnels in the mount locations.

Ive also seen it done with a more compliant material like 1/2" marine treated plywood, using wide diameter washers in the underneath to spread the force more evenly over the bending plywood.

[ButterRide]

Sounds good... thanks again!