Crack in 2009 230 Tower,need help understanding options.

[Blamey]

So the tower on my 2009 has devolved a crack. I was wondering if any one has experience with getting something like this repaired. or ideally finding a spare part. The piece that has the crack is fairly small section about 2 feet long that I believe is completely removable.

I would assume an Aluminum welder can fix this but I don't really know what kind of shop I would go to for this repair just a general welder. My Marina has said they can possible do it but they are pretty backed up so I want to try and find an alternative.

I am not sure if the cracked section can be repaired but I am hoping if not then the fitting can be removed from the piece and welded to a new section of aluminum.

Is there somewhere that would sell the parts used for the fittings on the tower. Anyone know who manufactured this era of tower. I believe it's an FCT-1 (gen3 or gen4.)





Picture of boat for reference.

[ScooterMcgavin]

Any qualified welder in your area can handle that. Just look up some local welders and give them a call. Make sure he protects the boat, but should be able to get that repaired.

[Nautiquehunter]

That looks like water got trapped inside the tower leg and froze . After you get it repaired drill a 1/8 '' hole at the lowest part of the tower to let the water out.

[shag]

I agre with the above. Any good welder/fabricator can fix that (probably fairly inexpensively) and yep, looks like water froze and expanded maybe. Also, FYI, a 2015 G21 tower fits nicely on the 2008-2009 230.

[SilentSeven]

That looks like water got trapped inside the tower leg and froze . After you get it repaired drill a 1/8 '' hole at the lowest part of the tower to let the water out.

ah....never would have thought of that....makes total sense,

[charlesml3]

That looks like water got trapped inside the tower leg and froze . After you get it repaired drill a 1/8 '' hole at the lowest part of the tower to let the water out.

Yep. That's exactly what it is. Seen it many times on that era of tower.

-Charles

[wayoutthere]

If thats lake george and your not in a crunch, i know a guy, holds crazy welding certifications, aluminum, stainless, titanium, race bike frames, exhaust, airbox, high pressure gas pipe, medical manifolds for anesthesiologists.

He moved, but he goes to the lake when welding jobs start stacking up. Because its spring and if your under a time crunch and its removable you could send it to him.
I'll let him know if you want, we talk 4-5 times a week, good guy, good friend.

what is lenght & dia of part, lenght of crack

[Blamey]

The part is about two feet long. The crack is about 5".

I am in Westchester New York so not too close to Lake George but I'll consider shipping it if I need to. I am going to see if I can find someone local or what my Marina thinks. If don't have any luck, I'll let you know.

[Blamey]

Called up a local welder and they said they could get it done by the end of the day.

[ScooterMcgavin]

Nice, post some pictures of the repair when finished if you can.

[Blamey]

Anyone know how hard this tower is to fold? I want to know if l need help as I'll need to fold it over to remove the cracked part and need to figure out if I need a second set of hands, boats an hour away so I dont want to drive all the way there and not be able to do it.

[SilentSeven]

On my 206 I can easily fold myself the tower from within the boat. When I'm outside the boat and it's on a trailer and the cover is on....it's possible to do with one person (but awkward)...works much better with two people each having a short step stool. The step stool helps get you some leverage and mitigates the vertically challenged....

[Blamey]

On my 206 I can easily fold myself the tower from within the boat. When I'm outside the boat and it's on a trailer and the cover is on....it's possible to do with one person (but awkward)...works much better with two people each having a short step stool. The step stool helps get you some leverage and mitigates the vertically challenged....

Thanks, but I think I need to hear from someone with experience with this specific tower (230 FCT-1 Gen 4). I know the 230 had a tower that was very difficult to fold by yourself. Not sure if my tower is that one or not. If you look at the pic about you can see the tubing as overall structure of the tower is much bigger then what's on the 206.

[Blamey]

The answer is no, I can't lower the tower alone.