Which tower on a budget?

[dockdoc]

For '93 Sport Nautique. Well aware that NDT is the best, and everyone likes the Roswell Aviator... I'm struggling with the reasonableness of spending $3k for an accessory to a $9k boat. And not interested in a fly high.

Monster has a solid rep, but I'm really not a huge fan of their look. Something akin to the New Dimensions would be much better.

What do you think... Suck it up and get the NDT (+rack, +bimini, of course) as the only good option? Or have people been happy with other universal fit towers? I've heard good things about the Aerial brand, for example.

Pic for clicks. This bimini is horrible, but came with the boat and the North Carolina August sun demands some shade.

[Blamey]

Big Air, Monster and Ariel all have budget options under $1000. Roswell has a cheaper tower too.

I have heard that these towers will never fit as well as the NDT towers. Personally I would suck it up and get the NDT.

[Blamey]

Onlyinboards has a page for towers. one of the few places where you can see most options on one page with pricing.

[Lakejackson]

I’m not a fan of towers that do not have adequate support to keep them from racking. I have seen/experienced issues with them.


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[dockdoc]

I’m not a fan of towers that do not have adequate support to keep them from racking. I have seen/experienced issues with them.


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Yeah exactly what I'm trying to avoid.

Onlyinboards has a page for towers. one of the few places where you can see most options on one page with pricing.

Yeah I've checked that out, but there's a decent amount, not sure if anyone's had good/bad experiences. What's the tower on your boat in your profile photo?

[Neptune442]

That's a nice looking Sport! If you want a tower, I don't think spending $3k on a NDT/bimini would be unreasonable.

[glassywaters]

Do you need to fold the tower? If so, I would highly recommend the new dimensions. If not a monster or ariel would be my vote. I happen to like the look of the monster and a good Bimini on the older sport.

[dockdoc]

Do you need to fold the tower? If so, I would highly recommend the new dimensions. If not a monster or ariel would be my vote. I happen to like the look of the monster and a good Bimini on the older sport.

Yes, would like it to be foldable. Thanks for the input!

[glassywaters]

Yes, would like it to be foldable. Thanks for the input!

I fold my tower to store the boat after each use and really love the convenience of the FCT2/New Dimensions. I added an aerial airborne 2.0 to my 2002 SAN. The airborne can fold backwards or forwards depending on how you set it up to fold. Although, it's specifically designed to fold back into the boat. The tower was decent and looked good, but it just didn't feel right and wasn't nearly as easy to fold as the FCT2. I ended up selling my 02 and bought an 03 with an OEM tower! At the time, I really struggled to justify buying a ND tower ($2,200), plus a tower bimini ($800), and a matching cover to go with the new tower ($800). That's real money that you will never get back. The cheaper route may save you $1,000 - $1,500. I guess it just depends on how much you like your boat. I'd say either buy a new boat with a FCT2 tower or buy the ND and keep it forever.

[Sbrelje]

We had the Monster MTK on our 98 Sport Nautique. It looked good but honestly if I were doing it again I'd go for the NDT.

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[MTRBTR]

Stay away from Ariel. You really do get what you pay for. The fittings were very cheap and soft metal. I stripped several of the bolts and fittings. They don't always use the same size bolts and might send you the wrong ones for your tower. Mine creaked and racked really bad. I had one on a 97 sport nautique. It looked ok but it always made me nervous. Also their customer service was very poor when I needed to order parts for the ones that broke. The other issue is if you have to fold it down you had to get out the allen wrenches every time you put it in your garage.

[functionoverfashion]

This is what you need:

https://www.onlyinboards.com/1995-Sp...ado-92799.aspx

That boat has a GT-40, too. So you'll get a newer, better engine, tower, bimini, and dual axle trailer for the ~$6k price difference. It's even the same color! No one will know it's a different boat.

It's got a boom, too. Those are great for teaching kids to ski.

Aren't I helpful?

[dockdoc]

This is what you need:

https://www.onlyinboards.com/1995-Sp...ado-92799.aspx

That boat has a GT-40, too. So you'll get a newer, better engine, tower, bimini, and dual axle trailer for the ~$6k price difference. It's even the same color! No one will know it's a different boat.

It's got a boom, too. Those are great for teaching kids to ski.

Aren't I helpful?

Yeah. Thanks. So helpul. Is that a FCT2 tower?

[dockdoc]

Stay away from Ariel. You really do get what you pay for. The fittings were very cheap and soft metal. I stripped several of the bolts and fittings. They don't always use the same size bolts and might send you the wrong ones for your tower. Mine creaked and racked really bad. I had one on a 97 sport nautique. It looked ok but it always made me nervous. Also their customer service was very poor when I needed to order parts for the ones that broke. The other issue is if you have to fold it down you had to get out the allen wrenches every time you put it in your garage.

Appreciate it - I'll stay away. Sounds like Big Air Vapor is a reasonably popular choice.

[dockdoc]

We had the Monster MTK on our 98 Sport Nautique. It looked good but honestly if I were doing it again I'd go for the NDT.

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Thanks - actually I think that looks pretty good, would probably work well with an over-tower bimini.

Did the boat gunwales do OK? Seems like a lot of force in two areas (compared to 4).