'01 FCT Installation HELP!!

[steve-o76]

Well, I finally bucked up and purchased a FCT for my '01 Sport (soon to be Air)!!!

The tower has been delivered and I'm ready to go forward with the DIY installation. HOWEVER, the tower didn't come with any installation instructions! I searched the web high and low for a copy of the installation instructions to no avail. So, I thought I'd turn to my friends here at PlanetNautique.

Does anyone have a copy of installation instructions that could be emailed to me? Or, can anyone point me to a website that has the instructions? I KNOW somone out there has to have the instructions in .pdf format or something. Also, any guidance in any form on the tower installation would be greatly appreciated. I read through the thread ("Anyone installed a Flight Control Tower?") started by Dr. John (same boat as me) in October of last year and I have to say that I'm now a bit more apprehensive about the installation.

Thanks in advance!

[xmalibuman]

Tower install

Steve,

I installed mine on an 02 Sport and was really fairly easy, another person is a must though for the positioning etc.
First off I taped the deck in the general areas that the feet would be sitting for protection then with the tower assembled set it up on the boat and it will be pretty obvious were it goes due to the shape of the rear feet and the available hull/deck area.
When 100% satisfied you are in the right position take a pencil and mark the holes in the feet onto the taped areas, remove the tower and drill.
When drilling through the gellcoat you must be very carefull not to chip up the surface, I started whith small holes and worked up to the correct size and in between sizes used a chamfering bit to ease the edge of the gellcoat to reduce the chance of chipping.
Make sure when done drilling to chamfer the finished holes so that you don't get cracking later on.
The rest is obvious
Good Luck, Alan

[steve-o76]

RE: Tower install

Alan,
Thanks for the insight. That's exactly the kind of information I'm looking for. I know the installation SHOULD be pretty straightforward, but after reading through some of the posts on this site, I got a bit worried about folks saying that all towers and boats are just a bit different, and each tower (actually, each of the tower feet) needs a bit of 'tweaking' to fit the deck properly. Did you encounter the need for any 'tweaking' when you installed your tower? Thanks again.
Steve

[laddski]

RE: Tower install

Alan,

One other tip when drilling through the gelcoat. Get a bit that is about 1/8 to 3/16 larger than the hole you are going to drill. Put the drill in REVERSE and drill in just far enough so the bit has penetrated the gelcoat the width of the bit. Then use your regular bit and just drill through. This will provide an edge that will never crack or chip. Putting the drill in reverse keeps the bit from cracking or chipping the gelcoat because it is cutting slower. Good luck.

Ladd

[sperbet]

RE: Tower install

I did have to bend the feet a bit on mine. I put a 2003 FCT on my 95 SS. Just lay the tower where you are going to mount it and then everything shuld be flush. If the feet don't sit flat you will need to tweak on them a bit with a crescent wrech. Other then that just follow the above directions, mask, mask, mask and bevel the hole with a counter-sink bit.

It took us longer to decide where exactly to mount it then to actually do it. Another thing that helped us get the holes lined up was actually drilling while we had the tower in place, so we drilled trhough the mounting holes on the tower with a slightly smaller bit.

[darrel409]

RE: Tower install

After setting the tower on the deck, if it all sits flat then drill the rear legs first to give you location for the front. Does yours line up when resting in place? Drill in reverse like others said, i used 1/2 inch bit to champhor. As sperbet said it takes longer to set up than to mount it. I had to curl the lip of the alum. discs that bolt under the front feet because it was a tight fit on the underside. My install was on a 196 so you prob. have more room.
I also drilled w/ tower in place. Good luck.

[steve-o76]

RE: Tower install

Thanks for the great information everyone!!!! With the help of a friend, we got the tower installed last night and I couldn't be happier. Everything went off without a hitch and we were done in just under four hours. I swear that two or more hours were spent just lining everything up, as you guys pointed out would most likely be the case.

We drilled everything with a smaller bit and the tower in place (that hint helped alot). Then, we removed the tower and 'finished' all the holes (drilled them to the correct size and countersunk the holes). AFter that, it was just a matter of fastening everything.

If we ever cross paths, I owe you all a beer (or six) for the great information.

Thanks alot!
Steve

[wviveen]

RE: Tower install

Post a pic of your boat with the tower !

I am getting a tower on my supersport this winter and would love to see the result.

[steve-o76]

RE: Tower install

Unfortunately I didn't have my camera the night the we installed the tower and only have a blurry camera phone picture. As soon as I get a pic or two, I'll post them. Thanks again!

[sperbet]

RE: Tower install

make sure you tighten everything down after every few times out for a while. Mine loosened up quite a bit, although this was mainly due to the foam on the underside of the gunnels. Not sure if the Sport also has that foam

[Laptom]

RE: Tower install

You should remove the foam were the inner plates are. And make sure you use screw on's which are self quarantee (not sure if that's the correct English term).
So inner plate -> deck -> FCT rubber -> FCT foot. We have a FCT for several years now and it has always been rock sollid.

[steve-o76]

RE: Tower install

I figured I'd have to tighten things up a abit after a few uses and once everthing "settles". I just have to make a mental note to do so!

There wasn't any foam under the gunnels so I didn't have to remove anything on that front. It was really nice, also, that the backing plates were pre-shaped to fit the countours under the gunnel. It made things that much easier.

I honestly couldn't be happier with how rock-solid the tower feels. The only trouble is that it looks like I'll have to wait until next year to test it out.....It's gonna be a LONG winter.

[noti_dad]

RE: Tower install

Where did you get an FCT? I was told that I couldn't get an FCT through CC.

[joelhern2]

Go to www.newdimensiontowers.com for your FTC tower and intructions ask for Wayne Hartford.

[steve-o76]

I got the tower from a friend of mine here in Pittsburgh that used to be a CC dealer. I'll be honest, I'm not exactly how he got his hands on the FCT. Hey, he got me one (at a good price, too) so I just didn't ask any questions. Of course, I could pry for more information if you'd like.