Another 2001 tower thread

[joechrom]

I assume there are threads on towers here for the 2001 however I'm unable to find them. So I'm posting up my question to you all regarding towers. I've got a 1988 SN 2001 and I'm thinking about a tower. I'd love to know suggestions or if anyone has any pictures I'm getting tired of taking my extended pylon on and off every time I use my boat, 15 years of doing so and it's getting old. Another requirement I have is that I need an integral Bimini top as part of the tower so I have to drill less holes in the hull. Looking for the best tower for the 2001 that suits my needs.

On another topic I'm also looking for a good fiberglass guy who could make some minor repairs on my boat in the Connecticut area.


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[Blamey]

New dimensions makes a Nautique specific tower that is styled like the 2nd generation Flight Control Tower (original towers on the Super Air Nautiques). This is considered the best tower to get for an older Nautique as it has a classic look. They are kinda pricey.

There are cheaper brands that work (Monster, big air, Ariel). These are one size fits all and I've heard will sway and rattle more than the New Dimensions tower. Overall people seem happy with these towers and they will work but If you can budget it get a New Dimensions. It'll cost more I. The short term but look and fit will but much better.

Roswell Aviator is a popular tower, they are also around the price of a ND tower but have the more modern swoop look. If you choose the Aviator I'd recommend the OEM mount as it looks much nicer.

For bimini, you can get a custom made tower Bimini or may of the tower manufacturers offer matching Biminis. Diywake.com will sell tower collars that you can use to attach a Bimini without drilling.

Or you can do what I did and get a new boat. I got lucky with a good deal and ended up being cheaper to switch to a boat with a tower than to add one to my current boat.

I can tell you that getting the tower has made a huge difference. Getting the boards out of the boat. Not having to deal with the strap. Using the the tower to hold up the cover. Mounting my ski flag (NJ law). And having something to grab when boarding the boat. I would not get another boat without a tower.

[Blamey]

And the Correct Craft Fan meetup is looking like the weekend of 12th August. Will meetup on the sandbar, just up from the Kettletown State Park.

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[vanhanbr]

I really liked the Samson sports edge tower I had on my 97 sport. They custom make each tower to fit a specific model unlike some of the cheaper universal options. The Edge tower has a similar look to the New Dimensions tower and (in my opinion) a better mounting system which is why I went with it. I actually like it better than the titan tower on my 210.

[joechrom]

The new dimensions towers great I got to call them and price it out for my Nautique . Looks like in excess of two g's with the wakeboard racks


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[Airtrack356]

Wayne at New Dimensions was really great to talk to and purchase from. The tower is solid. Does not squeak at all and looks great. Put it on my 86' three years ago and so glad I did.


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[joechrom]

Wayne at New Dimensions was really great to talk to and purchase from. The tower is solid. Does not squeak at all and looks great. Put it on my 86' three years ago and so glad I did.


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Easy install?


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[Airtrack356]

Wasn't terrible. Think all in all was about 6hrs with a friend that had installed one on his nautique. We took our time. Was not a rushed project. Unpacked everything and did a mock up of the tower. Marked the holes. Drilled them (16 total). It was a pain scraping out the foam insulation. Still find a yellow chunk once in a blue moon. We made some slightly larger bottom plates out of stainless just to help enlarge the surface area to add less stress on the gelcoat. I want to say 3/16 plate is what I used. Going to have to take out the front seat which is no biggie (4 screws) just to get easy access underneath. I opted for the anchor light on top of the tower then just wired in a marine 12v socket for my fat sac pump on the stern where the old anchor light socket was located. I'll snag some pics of what it looks like under the bow and show you, but to summarize it wasn't difficult. Biggest thing to over come is drilling that first hole in your boat. Extremely happy with the purchase.

I tried to upload these pics earlier but still getting use to the PLT app.






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[joechrom]

Pics are showing up good. Does the new dimensions not come with plates for the underside?


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[functionoverfashion]

I haven't installed a New Dimensions tower, but a couple others I've done came with backing plates that just didn't seem big enough. I think they make them smaller so they'll be more likely to fit in any location, but then you can just get some flat stock aluminum or whatever and make your own as big as you want. Monster tower backing plates were only the size of the feet on the top deck, which was like 1-1/2" x 3" or something very small. I used a 3" x 12" backing plate on those instead.

For what it's worth, I love the look of that ND tower like above on the 2001's. I also happen to like it on the 210's; I may be biased.

[Airtrack356]

They do come with plates,like FOF said I just wanted to cover more surface area. Took some short strand fiberglass that can picked up at your local auto part store and slathered it on the top of the plate on the underside of the boat to fill in the air gaps from any void that may exist and snugged it up. Pretty sure that new dimensions gave it to you with the tower, but I can't remember.


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[Airtrack356]

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[Airtrack356]

Crappy photos but you get the idea.


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[joechrom]

Crappy photos but you get the idea.


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Look good to me. Did you say the plates were your idea not the tower manufacturers?


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