Wakeboard tower for tubers?? good idea?

[searay4now]

Thanks for the advice on tube pulling!, I am thinking about getting into wakeboarding this year and may purchase a tower for my boat, the company says its no problem mounting, but then they are the company of the towers... I have a Sea Ray 185 with a 5.0 lx V8, it is a 1991 and am thinking mounting a Monster brand tower. it seems simple, the level of rope would be up considerably, has anyone ever tubed off a tower? I would imagine the air time would be phenominal !!! but safe? cold in Erie PA, But I read the Farmers Almanac for this season, so far its correct, winter is colder than usual, but Spring is to come quick thus Summer!!

 

[blifsey]

Re: Wakeboard tower for tubers?? good idea?

Sports Stuff that mfr the tube we have used to have short video clips of their tubes being pulled from a tower. They would get LOTS of air this way. I just checked and although they have their 2004 product videos listed, I couldn't get them to play.<br /><br />I would start by towing from regular ski eye and get used to that first.

 

[salty87]

Re: Wakeboard tower for tubers?? good idea?

the only real issue i see is the mounting of the tower. boats of that age were not designed with wakeboard towers in mind. you'll want to make sure that the areas under the tower legs have sufficient fiberglass or that backing plates are used to add support.<br /><br />using a tower will give a different pull than using the ski pylon, pulling up more than a pylon would. combine that with the increased drag from pulling tubers as opposed to wakeboarders and you can get an idea of the additional stresses you'll be putting on the tower. <br /><br />towers aren't really designed for the sweeping turns you see a lot of tubers doing though, at least not really wide. they start creaking and rattling when too much lateral force is applied, the next thing to give could be the deck where its attached. <br /><br />monster towers are highly regarded and they answer questions quickly....i'd check with them for recommendations.<br /><br />i wouldn't pull more than 1 person at a time on a tube on my tower. they aren't designed for the weight of 2 or 3 people pulling from the exact same spot in a turn.

 

[mattttt25]

Re: Wakeboard tower for tubers?? good idea?

salty brings up a good point about extra stress on the tower from tubing. i'd check with the manufacturer and installer of the tower. if they it's fine and covered, you're good to go.<br /><br />never actually tubed from a tower, but would guess it's much better. when tubing from a standard position, the rope constantly bangs into the water, putting lots of stress on it and the tube covering. with the rope elevated, i would think it would stay out of the water more and provide a better ride.<br /><br />let us know. good luck-

 

[NCOffSeason]

Re: Wakeboard tower for tubers?? good idea?

Check out Wake Air towers at 1-877-WAKE-AIR or WakeAir.com. They make custom towers to fit your boat that will look better then a universal tower. Talk to Brian.