'03 Sport 216 Limited

[Redreid23]

Hey guys,

We purchased her from Race City Marine in Lake Norman, NC. Looking to add a tower and bimini top so if you have any suggestions then I am ALL EARS. I have been talking to Wayne at NDT and he showed me a tower I liked but I am not sure how I feel about their bimini tops. I have also attached two other photos of boats with the towers and bimini. Would love your opinions. Over to tower or under the tower bimini? Pros/cons of both?

[gome123]

My MasterCraft had the biminini under the tower... Looked great. But sucked when you moved around, it made a few good goose eggs. My SAN has it above the tower. Great to move around, but I think the shade is more sensitive to sun position. Either way it is all preference. BTW, nice boat.

[beach]

I have a tower biminis under the tower top on my boat. http://www.towerbiminis.com

[s_kelley2000]

Nice boat, congrats! I replaced the original model FCT on my boat with a New Dimensions Tower that is a clone of the FCT2 and I have been extremely happy with it. Wayne treated me great and the install was very straight forward. You may want to look into ordering through Onlyinboards.com. I worked with Ian to get a great package deal on the tower and racks I wanted.

As for bimini's I like not bumping my head on the over the top style but I am not a big fan of the look personally. I much prefer the look of the under tower bimini and have learned to duck without thinking about it. Here is a link to what I did for my bimini if you are interested:

http://www.planetnautique.com/vb5/fo...bimini-project

[Redreid23]

Thank you s_kelley! I actually saw that thread a few days ago. I just have not read it throughly yet. Hopefully I can get this project done this summer and have pictures up.

[98SAN]

I have an under the tower bimini from tower biminis that I am extremely happy with. If I had to do it all over again I would get the same thing. I had them make the longest one they could make on that tower. It is about 6 or 7 feet long. I have young kids and we spend all day on lake. Max sun protection was a priority. Sitting on the lake in the middle of the day, it sometimes feels like you are inside, there is so much shade. That is a ND tower as well. Bimini has stainless steal hardware.

[Redreid23]

I've decided to go with the under tower Bimini. Just have to save up for it.

[Redreid23]

I got a tower. Came off an 04 SAN. Taking it home this weekend to make sure it'll fit. I'll post pictures soon.

[Redreid23]

She FITS! Haven't finished mounting completely but it's getting there.

[tlarocque]

Picked up this 2008 Air Nautique 216 LE over the weekend. I'm a bit confused because it is an LE but it has the FCT, factory ballast, and Zero-Off (all of which I thought was standard TE). 276 hours, PCM 343, great shape. Found it at the local Nautique dealer but turns out it was owned by one of my neighbors at the lake. Weather wasn't great over the weekend but managed to ski, wake board, and pull the wife on a tube and it did all of those things wonderfully.

Can't wait for next weekend!

[Redreid23]

I know it's basically the same picture. The only difference, it's completely mounted! I'm beyond excited. Check that skim board on the far rack haha, pretty sure that's from when I was high school. Anyone have an extra wake surf board? Only thing left is to wire the anchor light, then take her to the water.

[s_kelley2000]

Looks great!

[Redreid23]

I feel like I am beating a dead horse but I am proud of our boat so I finally got a shot on the water. The lighting is not that great but you get the picture.

Are 216 sports an oddity? I rarely see them on here. I know it's probably not the most sought after boat being that it is direct drive.

[s_kelley2000]

She looks great. I think they are somewhat rare at least compared to a 206 or 210 but cool boats for sure.

[WillD]

Great looking boat! Looks awesome with the tower. I think the under the tower bimini looks a million times better (that is what I have on my sport).

I wouldn't mind it being mounted a little higher, but on a boat like ours with the engine in the center, the bimini doesn't really get in the way all that much anyways.