Which tower on a budget?

[dockdoc]

Any thoughts on wakeair towers? Found this one on craigslist. It looks really busy in the photos but I think that's because of all the brackets he's got installed .Also not sure it would fit my boat since that's a ski.

[functionoverfashion]

A member here who works for Roswell summarized the different towers very well in a different thread.

Diamond Back built the FCT1 and FCT4's these towers were similar in shape and design. All of these towers fold forward into the bow of the boat and had a brushed anodized finish although some were offered painted i.e. the original Byerly Icon Edition. Titan built the FCT2. It was a rearward folding tower that was made from stainless tubing. The FCT3 and FCT5 are both from Roswell. They both use the cam latch system, both have weight assist sytems, and with the exception of a few early towers that were polished all of these towers have had a painted surface finish.

There were a few variations of the Diamondback towers FCT1 and FCT4's. I remember the 08 210' having grab handles and gussets with the colored Nautique logo in them.

It was around 06 I believe that the Titan FCT2 tower was first offered in the 226 then the following year was offered in all other models before it was discontinued.

The Z shaped tower was the FCT3 tower by Roswell as I recall it first offered in 2009 along with the FCT2 and the Diamondback tower. I believe the FCT3 tower was the only tower offered in 2010 and then in 2011 the FCT5 was standard on all boats except the 200's which still uses a FCT3 tower specificaaly designed for the 200.

I was a Nautique dealer for several years in the mid 2000's and this information is based off of my time as a dealer. I could be slightly off on dates possibly but I believe this is pretty close to accurate. I apologize for any possible inaccuracies but I am going off of memory and the photos I have associated with these towers.

I would only add that there was an early Flight Control Tower that was all one piece, seen here:



All the other towers - like mine - on the early 00's boats are FCT1 "Gen 2" because they fold. The New Dimensions tower you're talking about is a clone of that.

There should be a sticky on factory tower designs...

[engelland11]

I had the Monster MTK on my 99 SN. I chose this because I would be folding it down after every use and I hated the looks of every other universal fit tower on the market at the time. It had some creaks during the first few uses, but tighten it up after every use and they start to go away. Never had any issues with cracking of the gelcoat or flexing at the gunwales. Just make sure to follow the manufacturer's install recommendations!

[Tom_H]

I'd also recommend staying away from Aerial - I've never met one that didn't rattle and shake and flex. Monster's were always pretty decent from a sturdiness stand-point for a universal tower. After having custom aftermarket towers though, don't think I could go back to a universal tower of any flavor. I'd go for the NDT personally, but the Aviator looks awesome, and I think the Samson Edge (rounded top) does pretty well on the Nautiques as well. If you go with the Monster MTK - be very diligent above reinforcement under the gunwhales, I had a friend with that on a MC 205, and while they reinforced well, it still massively spider-cracked the gel, and eventually cracked some glass before they pulled it from the boat. That's also the reason I prefer a 4-point tower on these older boats, as they weren't built with towers in mind back then, so I prefer to spread the load.

[Sbrelje]

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).

Thanks! We loved the look, just not the placement so much. We had one of the early MTKs and the cross beam on top was kind of narrow so as you walked around the engine you kind of had to lean in. Engelland11s looks like it might be the newer version with the wider cross beam so they may have had a better experience. As for the solidity, we followed the install instructions and glassed in reinforcement. These boats are incredibly thick where the tower is mounted and the indented step seems to give even more strength so we didn't have any flex or cracking in the gel. Like Engelland said keep giving it a little tightening each use and after a handful of times out it will be quiet and rock solid. On a v drive I think it would be a great budget friendly option (basicly same as mc used on its first few nxts,) but on the direct drive it kind of closed you in.

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[dockdoc]

A member here who works for Roswell summarized the different towers very well in a different thread.



I would only add that there was an early Flight Control Tower that was all one piece, seen here:



All the other towers - like mine - on the early 00's boats are FCT1 "Gen 2" because they fold. The New Dimensions tower you're talking about is a clone of that.

There should be a sticky on factory tower designs...

Thanks - I think that's right except New Dimensions makes a clone of the Flight Control 2 tower, not the FCT1 Gen 2, as far as I understand.

[dockdoc]

Thanks! We loved the look, just not the placement so much. We had one of the early MTKs and the cross beam on top was kind of narrow so as you walked around the engine you kind of had to lean in. Engelland11s looks like it might be the newer version with the wider cross beam so they may have had a better experience. As for the solidity, we followed the install instructions and glassed in reinforcement. These boats are incredibly thick where the tower is mounted and the indented step seems to give even more strength so we didn't have any flex or cracking in the gel. Like Engelland said keep giving it a little tightening each use and after a handful of times out it will be quiet and rock solid. On a v drive I think it would be a great budget friendly option (basicly same as mc used on its first few nxts,) but on the direct drive it kind of closed you in.

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I will strongly consider this. I think if I could do that with an over-tower bimini, it might check all the boxes. That's an option right?

[dockdoc]

I had the Monster MTK on my 99 SN. I chose this because I would be folding it down after every use and I hated the looks of every other universal fit tower on the market at the time. It had some creaks during the first few uses, but tighten it up after every use and they start to go away. Never had any issues with cracking of the gelcoat or flexing at the gunwales. Just make sure to follow the manufacturer's install recommendations!

Thanks - that looks pretty solid! I am attracted to Monster because they have a good reputation, every forum I check people seem happy with their products. I just can't get on board with the MT1 look. This is kinda different. Truthfully I'd love the Roswell Aviator, but that price point isn't anywhere in my wheelhouse.

[Sbrelje]

I will strongly consider this. I think if I could do that with an over-tower bimini, it might check all the boxes. That's an option right?

Yep, they have a over tower option. It is kind of spendy for what it is though. We just altered our original bimini and frame to fit and it worked great. I can't find any pictures of ours, but if you look closely at their system you may find all you are missing are the stainless quick release brackets and feet, and a simple pipe bender.

I used PVC to mock up my shape (after screwing up one stainless bimini bar) then cut and bent the original tubes to fit the shape I needed. Fun little DIY project.

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[functionoverfashion]

Eh. I think I give up then. These screenshots are form this document which is a 2008 owner's manual from the looks of it.

Other people refer to the folding FCT1 as the FCT2. Google is little help because most of the results lead you back to PN or wakeworld discussions on the same topic.

Back on topic. The monster tower on my Supra was pretty solid. I did tighten it a few times after installation. I'm happy to talk another time about installation strategy, placement, and reinforcement.

[Blamey]

Yeah exactly what I'm trying to avoid.



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?

The tower in my profile pic is a Boss Tower. Nice tower and similar to the NDT. They are no longer available.

I haven't heard anything bad about any of the towers listed on only inboards.

The 'one size fits all' towers generally have more sway and rattle but I don't have heard of any brands to avoid.

I have been exactly where you are. I had a sport and wanted a tower but didn't want to spend the money. I got lucky and found the Super Sport in my profile pic for less then I was able to sell the Sport for.


That said even with the super sport, I always wanted the NDT. It's the tower to get.

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[MTRBTR]

i Have seen a 97 sport with a black monster tower. I didn’t think it looked that bad.

[MTRBTR]

[dockdoc]

Thanks. Small pic, but agreed not terrible looking. Although I think I like the MKE look better.