Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

[pat8839]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Hey sickwilly, do you have any pics of inside the hull where your backing plates are?

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

No, but I will get some. Probably next week before I can post them. I am off to water test it tomorrow.

My backing plates are not huge. My hull was actually 1/4th an inch thick, so according to Aerial's directions, they were not needed. I ended up cutting probably 3 by 5 strips which I attached with pl premium construction adhesive.

I would have gone squarer but the shape of my hull would not allow squarer, so I had to cut more rectangular shapes.

I will get you a pic of them.

 

[pat8839]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

awesome, thanks man!
Good luck tomorrow, enjoy!!

 

[shaddr3]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Nice wiring job! The only thing that I see that may be wrong (might just be the angle of the picture) but when the directions say position the side bars at a 90 degree angle, they say that for a reason! I had to re-position mine and then I drilled the holes to my top bar. That stopped a little bit of wobbling. Either way what ever the manufacturer says about the fiberglass thickness, think about the investment you already have. Better safe than sorry!!

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Here they are:

Front (before I cleaned up the wires)

http://www.StingrayBoats.com/MyStingray/ppost/data/500/front_backing.jpg

Rear (sideways picture)

http://www.StingrayBoats.com/MyStingray/ppost/data/500/rear_backing.jpg



Looking at them again, I could have gone 1/2 to 3/4th and inch taller with them.

 

[shaddr3]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Here they are:

Front (before I cleaned up the wires)

http://www.StingrayBoats.com/MyStingray/ppost/data/500/front_backing.jpg

Rear (sideways picture)

http://www.StingrayBoats.com/MyStingray/ppost/data/500/rear_backing.jpg



Looking at them again, I could have gone 1/2 to 3/4th and inch taller with them.

Looks good! I had a little trouble with cutting mine exactly because of the ridges on the inside of the hull, etc.. My plates in the front were 8"L X 4.5W and the rear were 10"L X 5"W . Then again I have a thin bayliner hull, literally 1/16"! I still plan on fiberglassing over the plates later this season. As long as your ONLY pulling one person on ski's or a board you'll be fine. Do you notice a real difference with your hydrofoil when pulling ski's and boards?? I seem to have a problem when the boat reaches plane, changes the speed for the person being towed, really hard to drive if you don't know what your doing! I may consider getting one in that case!
Also how was the water test?? Much shaking??

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Nice wiring job! The only thing that I see that may be wrong (might just be the angle of the picture) but when the directions say position the side bars at a 90 degree angle, they say that for a reason! I had to re-position mine and then I drilled the holes to my top bar. That stopped a little bit of wobbling. Either way what ever the manufacturer says about the fiberglass thickness, think about the investment you already have. Better safe than sorry!!

You know, you are right. I had those side bars really balanced and they looked like they were at 90 degree angles. After installing the top bars, they now seem to be a little less than 90 degrees. They do not follow the window, but aren't 90 degree angles either.

I was really happy with the water test. There were a few times, when at certain angle into the wind I heard a little noise from the side of the tower, but overall its was real quiet and had a degree of vibration that I am darn happy with. Under load there is no noise from it at all.

It was sweet having the 2 kneeboards and wakeboard off the floor of my boat!

Unfortunately, I have fighting my amp. My rear speakers were intermittent, but I think its a wiring issue on the amp and will have to read about that, or start another thread in the right area.

The tower is exceeding expectations.

 

[pat8839]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

sickwilly that looks easy enough! I have read different things that people have done to those backing plates including using something called "peanut butter" that is some sort of concoction mixed into a paste to attach the backing plates and water proof them...how big are those washers?

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Thinking about the 90 degree angle more, why is this the case? I wish Aerial would say? My thought is that if those bars are not at 90 degree angles, the tower will not fold down properly. I do not see how it would affect the strength, etc of the tower? Maybe I should contact them and ask this question.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Looks good! I had a little trouble with cutting mine exactly because of the ridges on the inside of the hull, etc.. My plates in the front were 8"L X 4.5W and the rear were 10"L X 5"W . Then again I have a thin bayliner hull, literally 1/16"! I still plan on fiberglassing over the plates later this season. As long as your ONLY pulling one person on ski's or a board you'll be fine. Do you notice a real difference with your hydrofoil when pulling ski's and boards?? I seem to have a problem when the boat reaches plane, changes the speed for the person being towed, really hard to drive if you don't know what your doing! I may consider getting one in that case!
Also how was the water test?? Much shaking??

Water test was great. There was not that much shaking at all. I did get some noise a couple of times at a particular angle to the wind, when no one was being towed. However, it was minimal.

I love my foil. I know smart tabs seem to be preferred, but for my 19 foot boat the SE 300 foil and my high 5 prop create a great combination for towing. I get great hole shot, plane at 16 to 17 miles per hour, and can hold my speed and plane darn good at lower speeds. I can still hit 50 miles per hour too -- but rarely run wide open.

My sweet spot for towing is right below 20 miles per hour, at 2900 RPM. Nice wake, holds plane, turn well, etc.

So, yes, I am one of those lepers around here -- a foil user!

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

They are a 3 inch diameter. I was going to use the 3M 5200 sealer but reading here the pl premium construction adhesive was recommended. I found it easy to work with. No water is getting through there with the large rubber washers and the amount of torque on them.

 

[CADEMAN77]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

I highly recommend looking at towers manufactured in the USA.... There are a handful of tower companies which manufacture out of the same factory in China... like all things made in China ( no offense ) the price is right but the quality is well... something else. You get what you pay for, so if you are making an investment in your boat, and safety, seriously do the research....

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Cademan77,

I hear you and I got one of those "you get what you pay for" towers. I have a 7 year old boat rapidly losing value in the market place, but very valuable to me. I looked at the Arial Assault and the Samson Edge, because those are the two that I felt fit the boats lines the most. The Samson with everything I wanted was going to cost me $4000, and I still would need the extra speakers, amps, etc. Would it have been sweet to have a solidly welded, no bolt tower -- hell yeah. However, that would blow my boating budget for a couple of years. I found no good alternative made in the USA universal, so I bought what worked best for my boat and budget, and it is actually the one I thought complimented my boats lines the best.

In terms of quality -- I see no signs that any part of it is crap. I have found every part, fastener, bolt, etc to be to high standards. I had some help from a mechanical engineer who was quite impressed too.

I wish there as a more price conscious domestic alternative, but I couldn't find it. What the hell have we done over here in the USA where every wake related product has to cost so damn much money? Minimal interest rates so stuff can finance for years? I don't know, but no one seems to be targeting a value price point in the US. IMHO, boating is quickly becoming a uber-rich mans hobby and I am damn glad to be able to do it on my family's budget. I went into a Mastercraft dealer to get a buddy an impeller, the cheapest boat was $68,000 and the most expensive was $113,000. However, the towers on those were absolutely aluminum works of art. Some day, sure. right now I have too much other stuff I need to juggle for my family's future to outlay that kind of money on a boat or on upgrades to my own boat.

 

[shaddr3]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

The reason for keeping the side bars at perfect 90 degree angles is to resist the tower from bending as it shakes. Not sure if you ever built a box out of wood, if one of the sides is off of that 90 degree angle it will slightly bend, and the stress on the bend would be applied on the tower mounts. Even though it may not crack the gel coat and fiberglass right away, you have to think about the stress LONG TERM.

I just may have to buy a foil and try it out, $50 no problem. I mainly use my rpm gauge when im pulling friends on the board. Different friends have different preferences. But when the boat reaches full plane it will speed up, then I have to slow down so lightly. NOT easy for a beginner. My little brother is only 15 but he knows his stuff! I had a friend drive the boat for the first time so I could get out on the board.... He hit the throttle more right before I hit the wake... Resulted in me launching in the air, flipped upside down before I hit the water. Water impact on my right knee and i've been on crouches for 4 weeks, and can't board for another 8. BLOWER, but I have been boarding here in Maryland since the end of march. Yes cold even with a wetsuit but hey we're hardcore lol.

Besides the foil, i'm running a 21 pitch prop, and might buy a 19. Should help me out with that but will reduce my top end.

ALSO ALSO ALSO, keep a set of allen keys in your toolbox onboard. Even though you use locktite for every bolt, sometimes they may get a little loose. I noticed where my board racks attack to the board rack plate, one bolt rattled loose, even with red locktite!

I'm buying a stereo system to mount to the tower but they're all so expensive! I have found the kicker 6mt dual's pretty darn cheap. I may order these off ebay, good reviews so far http://cgi.ebay.com/1200-Watts-SSL-...ltDomain_0&hash=item3365cdc4b9#ht_1406wt_1139 .


Other than that keep ridin

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

I have the allen keys in the glove box. I need to get my engineer friends protractor and take an angle measurement.

I initially went to a 4 blade aluminum prop, dropping from 23 to 20 pitch. That sucker was great for hole shot and holding speed, but I lost too much top end. Thus, I went with the 5 blade stainless High 5.

A speed control device may be the next big purchase -- perfect pass or something like that. I too often get a pull that is either in a constant state of speeding up or slowing down, unless another boarder is pulling me.

 

[shaddr3]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Here are some pictures. Purchased this 04' Bayliner 185 of April '10 with only 32 hours. Sweet deal for $7k.

Just need speaker towers / amp, tower mirror, tower light bar, tower rod holders, and of course an ESP then im done.

 

[sickwilly]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Looks great! Compliments the boat nicely. Bravo, job well done!

$7000K on the boat, add tower, wow, you have a hell of a ride for less than $10K.

 

[pat8839]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Shaddr3 that's a good looking boat! How do you like that tower? I think it looks sweet! Pretty stable?

 

[shaddr3]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

Shaddr3 that's a good looking boat! How do you like that tower? I think it looks sweet! Pretty stable?

I absolutely LOVE it! Of course I wish it was a one piece welded unit. I primarily bought it because of the looks of the board mounts. It really makes this bayliner shine. I dont really care what anyone says about Bayliners, hell I even have the 3.0L I/O but I tell you what I save some gas and still top out around 45 with a few people on board. Took the lower end off this winter, replaced the water pump myself. Never worked on a boat before this, learned alot. I wouldn't be anywhere without my seloc manual. The tower shakes a tiny bit every now and then, but no big deal. Scariest thing was drilling the holes through the fiberglass. Now that I look back, theres no way in hell i'd pay a couple hundred for someone to install one of these for me. Even though I do have almost every tool in the world in my warehouse.

I have been thinking about buying something new next season. I still want to stick with an open bow but somewhere between 19-22ft, maybe even possibly a deck boat. Or I might pull out the two folding seats, put a captains chair for the driver, and build an extended bench seat on the one side. We'll see though, college tuition is killing me right now >.<

 

[pat8839]

Re: Aerial Airborne Wakeboard Tower

I have a Bayliner myself and it does exactly what I want it to do. I have never worked on a boat before either and have enjoyed doing a few things to this one. Next on my list is the impeller-was that hard? I am really nervous about pulling the drive off!!

As for the tower, that is awesome you did it yourself. I see these guys do it themselves and do a great job-I hope I can manage the same. How did you line up where to put the feet?