211 Tower Mounting Question

[evidor]

I recently purchased a new '07 211 and to me the tower mounting just doesn't look right. Am I just being picky or is this something I should get the dealer to correct? Even a few of the mounting screws are slightly stripped.

[Mikeski]

RE: 211 Tower Mounting Question

Mine doesn't conform to the hull that well but I think it's a bit better than yours. I mentioned it to the factory rep and he said the plates warp when they weld them to the tubes? It seems that a thick medium density rubber pad would make it much better.

[cs07211]

RE: 211 Tower Mounting Question

My 07 211 tower mounts look just as bad as yours. I've complained and get the same kind of run around. Of course it's not supposed to be that way but your rep's comments are a perfect example of what everyone was talking about in the recent "dealer questions Nautique quality" thread. Correct Crafts lame excuses will likely loose them more dealers and customers. They need to face up to the fact that ever since the new plant went on line their quality control has tanked. My experience is if you holler loud enough, your dealer will make them fix it.

[jos]

RE: 211 Tower Mounting Question

Same story all around the globe.
Thats CC crap.
We go worse and the poor get better.
Good solution is, first occasion, let your dealer, under warranty, fill the 'full' footprint with 3M sealant, by the that way with this methode you get a rock solid tower. Try now to flex your tower standing in the boat and you will see.

[jeff226]

RE: 211 Tower Mounting Question

And it's not just the 211. My 226 had the same issue but the dealer had it fixed. jos, your 3M sealant fix may work, but someting about caulking over factory defects does not set well with me on an expensive boat. I say make the dealer or CC make it right!

[Miljack]

Those tower feet do not fit the boat, make your dealer get this issue in front of CC. The comment of the CC rep to Mike is right, HOWEVER, the tower manufacturer should know how to build these correctly. If the tubing was cut correctly, and there were no gaps when it's welded, then they should fit. The way the feet are attached to the hull makes it difficult NOT impossible to get these built the right way.

Jack

[MHayes]

You've got to be kidding me, right? This is typical for 211/226 towers? For boats that cost that much money, someone at CC needs to be addressing that problem. The tower mounts need to conform to the surface of the hull in order to disperse the load. I think you'd eventually get some hull damage with the way it's mounted.

[noti_dad]

The tower mounts on my 06 211 and other's I've seen at the dealer all fit he form of the hull. Not sure that this is a CC wide problem with every boat, but if it was mine I would make the dealer and CC make it right.

[jeff226]

I think it is a bigger problem than you think. I have a friend with an 06 220 with a similar issue. The fit was so poor that the tower would work loose after minimal use. He actually had the dealer arrange for him to take the boat to the factory and they still could not resolve the issue. Now the bolts won't even tighten back down. He is having a fit and will probably just get rid of his boat.

[BigRob]

this has been an on going problem since both boats were designed ,unfortunately no one wants to redesign it to work better.

send it back and have it fixed , as for the 226 send it back again and tell them to replace the nylovk nuts and the bolts as they seem to be stripped.
worse comes to worse call the new v.p. down there in orlando.

c.c. has known about it since year one of both boats. 226 used to be much better.

[dabigkahuna]

There's a good discussion going on at Wakeworld right now about quality of construction and rigging, which really parallels the recent "dealer questions Nautique quality" thread.

Here’s and Excerpt from what one poster said:

“When you get into go fast offshore or sport boats, the rigging has come very much under scrutiny by the consumers of these boats. Even the boats costing WAY less than these pictured here have had to make the attempt to rig their boats on par with the others, or lose market share. Their customers demand quality rigging, and they deliver. It seems to me that when the general consumer of a wake boat finally gets tired of fixing all the factories broken stuff and use of inferior material, one manufacturer will see an opportunity to capitalize on the other's weaknesses, and not only build a superior boat, but be able to price the boat accordingly. Once other manufacturers will then compete for their piece of the pie and we will all benefit.

Until we all quit accepting that "These things happen to boats" and that "That is why the dealer is so important", and making excuses for their inferior product, I don't see quality changing much.”

Very well said in my opinion. Here’s the link to the thread:

http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/m...tml?1189885967

[Mikeski]

Hmmm,

I took another look at the posted pictures. It's pretty obvious that the tower baseplate holes were not drilled in the correct location. The plate is mounted too low and too far out on the hull. It looks like it would fit pretty fairly well if it was mounted correctly.

I installed a Monster Tower on my 1995 Nautique. In general the heim joint mounting system is a significantly superior solution to the fixed baseplate mounts. If the Titan option was available when I purchased my 211, it's likely that it would be on my boat instead of the flight control tower.

At some point in the future, maybe this winter, I will probably remove my tower and make some changes to the mounting system. I will probably replace the hard plastics under the feet with high density rubber. maybe enlarge the screw holes a bit to prevent any future gelcoat cracks.

As much as we hate to admit it, these boats are mass produced machines.