All things equal.... TOWER Question...

brotherbrown831 · Outlaw Joined: 26 May 2008 Posts: 154 City: Oklahoma City

I am curious all things being equal, If you do 2 W2W jumps the exact same approach, edge, load, pop, everything is the same but one is behind a tower and one is not, what kind of difference would I see? Are we talking a 5% increase in hieght or a 50% increase?
Just curious, thinking about buying a tower, I know I dont need one, but it could be fun to have one.

War Eagle · Newbie Joined: 09 Jul 2008 Posts: 11 City: Del Rio

i hear its a small increase of height. small, but enough to make it noticeable.

HL DRIVE · Newbie Joined: 20 Aug 2007 Posts: 49 City: Weston, WI

A tower will give you a little more hang time but not really height.

howabouttheiris · Addict Joined: 16 Jun 2005 Posts: 677 City: Austin, TX

A tower is pulling you up, since it is above the normal position of your handle. Therefore it has to increase your height and hang time.

I have rode behind both in the same session with everything else equal. (took my boat with a tower and rode from the tower and then back eye to see the difference).

My jumps were maybe 2-3 inches higher and my hangtime maybe a spec longer, but it was only barely noticable. Not enought to justify the investment on that alone.

BUT.

What I did find, however, is that it is much more comfortable to ride behind the tower, as you are not being pulled down while you just ride along. It was also easier to balance in the air during jumps, as you are being pulled almost parallel to the surface of the water.

Unfortunately... the opposite of this is also true.. it was much easier to get a strong edge with the lower rope position.... (thus the reason it is where it is for slalom skiing)

Hope this helps.

DangerWake · Newbie Joined: 10 Jul 2008 Posts: 5 City: Bay Area

Thats good to know. I just took my Bayliner (no tower) in to be serviced and the mechanic was talking to me about wakeboarding acting like he was the authority on the sport so when I told him I wakeboard too his immediate reaction was "You mean you can get up with no tower? When I said of course he was like ok, well you dont get any air without a tower right? Spoiled sh1t never rode behind a boat without a tower and thought it was impossible.

Goober · Newbie Joined: 18 Jun 2008 Posts: 15

I found if you dont have a tower when you fall the rope pulls u into the water for a mutch harder fall witch whips u into the water. Where a tower pulls you out of the water for a less plainful fall