Tower movement

[Stickleback25]

When wakeboarding behind my 88 saltare I get alot of sway in the tower when pulling hard to get way outside the wake.
Is this at all normal?
I'm scared at some point if I'm pulling someone that weighs more than the tower can handle something bad will happen. When I bought the boat the tower was already mounted and I'm not sure if it was done right. I looked at the mounts and the bolts underneath were tight and they had a piece of wood between the fiberglass of the boat and the washer/nut. There were no stress cracks in the fiberglass either.
Is there anything I should do to fix the tower from swaying left-right, or is this fairly normal for this style of tower? I've only boarded on this boat, so I cant compare what other towers are like.

I was told its a skyjack tower?

[mapleleaf]

Not that I have to much exp. in this department, but from the looks of your tower it wasn't structured for a lot of lateral force. Probably could have a metal shop add a couple gusset's to help prevent castrophic failure.....

[michael hunter]

+1 Maple is spot on.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

First off your boat looks TOTALLY GREAT!! You will be added to my screensaver of rotating wake boat pics :P

The most common source of sway in a universal tower are the adjustable points on top of the tower. Check to see if there are any bolts or allen-wrench screws that can be tightened. You may also wish to contact the manufacturer or check their website for instructions that may include how to tighten or what to do if it's swaying. Good luck and let us know what happens!

[riderite]

There is not much you are going to be able to do for the sway of that tower due to the design. It has to do with the side hoops that have no support, they will be fine pulling front or back but with pull from the side it will always sway. Good thing you dont have that thing loaded with speakers and racks the extra weight would not help at all! If I was you I would check into getting a new tower before someone gets hurt.


Star One Wake
Brett Burrows
916-858-1178
[email protected]
staronewake.com
menacewatersports.com
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[Okie Boarder]

I think I would tend to agree on the sway being due to the design. I also agree with mikey's comment about contacting the manufacturer to see if there is anything you can do. Sway and rattle are two key elements of a tower that can be impacted by design, from the way it seems and feedback I've read or heard.

[Salty87]

is there really 1 bar going across the top from port to starboard? that's the problem. another bar toward the front would probably tighten it up but looks may be lacking.

[Stickleback25]

Thanks guys,[

Mikey, you sure know how to make a person blush...;)

I'll check with a metal shop to see if they can do anything to fix the problem.

I cant find any info about how to contact the tower manufacturer.
NOt so sure it is a skyjac. It doesnt look like the ones on there website.

Anybody need a cheap tower? haha

[Stickleback25]

yep, just single bar across the top.

[riderite]

Here is one of the most solid towers on the market!! It does not matter how many cross bars ect. on the tower, it depend's on the engineering. On each mount there is a heim joint that directs all force and pressure from the rider to the tow spool.

[87SunSportMikeyD]

I didn't think Titan's were available anymore as aftermarket towers? Aren't they exclusive to Malibu?

[riderite]

The series 1 and series 2 can still be built to fit any boat, not just Malibu's. Star One Wake/ Menace Watersports is the old Titan and are still manufacturing them. Malibu bought the Titan name and the rights to the OEM product they built for Malibu.

[sybrmike]

Uh, I dunno bout that - stainless steel triangulated wishbones and heim joints are pretty sexy looking to us engineers (that's why I've got a Series II leaning against the garage wall just waiting...)

[87SunSportMikeyD]

Ya it is a very stiff design that is still fully collapsable. Very nice design. I did not know the old Titan I&II were still offered through another name. Thanks for that tip.

[riderite]

There are some great deals going on right now on the series 1 & 2 and also the the FX1. Here is a pic!

[jet]

I agree with Riderite. This tower (not being the strongest) should easyly be able to hold the 400lbs-900lbs forces this rider would be putting on the tower sideways. Even a cheap tower would most likley be rated at several thousand pounds. Check all points and tighten..If there is too much side to side motion after that, then you need to talk with the mfr. It should have a long warranty on any defects. Jet

[beast 496]

Triangulation is the key to success for side to side movement. If you added corner supports it would help. Did you beef up the mounting points on the deck? Al

[Stickleback25]

By beefing up, I assume you mean adding morefiberglass for supporting the mounts. As far as I could tell, there wasnt any extra fiberglass, just a wood piece underneath and a metal bracket. I will double check the mounts when it warms up a bit.
If that doesnt help I have a few local people I can talk to about bracing. I think that would be cheaper than a new tower.
Thanks for the help.