homemade tower

[bostonboard]

i picked up an 86 comp over the summer and a friend made a tower for me. he used steel and it is a little heavier than i think most towers probally weigh but i was curious if anyone knows of any problems this might cause..thanks

[jasonba1]

my tower is steel and I have had no problems,

[tg0824SSVGG]

just make sure there are adequate backing
plates behind the glass where the bolts go thru.

[iwakeboard]

I made the tower for my first boat, an old '86 runabout. It had stainless steel rails that weighed a ton, after 3 summers she didn't even have a spider crack. The rails were even turned in a way that was not ideal because they would put alot of stress on the deck. I used a 3"x12" steel plate as a backing plate, no additional backing.

If it gives you a little bit of an idea, Monster and XTP recommend additional backing above that which is provided as a precaution if your fiberglass deck is less than 3/8" thick at the mounting location. Most decks aren't this thin, but if you're using a heavier material like steel (Monster/XTP uses aluminum) you may want to consider this.

[bostonboard]

alrite thanks i just wanter to make sure it wasnt going to make the boat too top heavy

[tg0824SSVGG]

Too Top heavy ... you just said "steel" you didn't say it was 10 inch I-BEAMS ... just kidding.

Make sure you prime and paint it real well if it's steel.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

I used 3/4" marine ply and cut 4" x 9" rectangles to use as backing plates.