Tower for 1999 Sea Ray 185

bkw4287 · Criminal Joined: 18 Mar 2003 Posts: 73 City: Central FL

I found 2 towers for a decent price but I'm not sure if they will fit on my boat. My boat is 7.6ft wide.

The first pic is a Skylon Tower off a Sunsetter VLX. The width of that boat is 7.75ft. The 2nd pic is a Flight Contol tower off an 02 Team Edition Natique, I'm not sure of the width on that but should be right around 92 inches.

Skylon

Flight Control

Can anyone tell me if these should fit my 1999 Sea Ray 185?

Thanks in advance.

riverfreak · Posted: Mar 31, 2003 8:17 am Post subject:

you need to call the manf. on the tower width, you also need to look at the mount, the distance from the front mount to rear mount, your windshield may not allow you to use this type of mount.....its really easier to have a cutom tower made or buy a universal tower

Jon · Wakeboarder.Commie Joined: 12 Jan 2003 Posts: 1176

Yeah, it will be hard to exactly match the towers to your hull. I would look at the Sea Ray tower. To me, its one of the best looking towers out there.

Fishmaster · Posted: Apr 01, 2003 6:58 pm Post subject:

Both of the ones you've looked at are really well built towers from good companies. I think they are made specific to each boat so you check to see if they have the template already for your boat or if you need to send the dimensions.

If a universal tower is acceptable to you then your options are a lot wider, including ours (shamelesss self promotion).

Also check with your SeaRay dealer. Some boat companies are now saying "lifetime hull warranty" but some become of little value after 1-3 years if you read the fine print. If you dont use the factory SeaRay tower it could effect the hull warranty. It's worth a call to see.

Bill@MonsterTower.com

wakeair1 · Newbie Joined: 11 Feb 2003 Posts: 31 City: Roseville, Ca

To best fit your boat you will need to go with a tower that is fully custom made to fit your specific boat. That way the mounts and the tower can be made to fit the form and angle of your boat to prevent any cracking or damage to the gel coat. Let me know how I can help.
Brian
Wake Air
www.wakeair.com
1 877 Wake Air

Fishmaster · Posted: Apr 02, 2003 9:54 am Post subject:

bkw4287,

Check out post http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=3265 about gel coat cracking. Actually the ones all mentioned that "caused" gelcoat cracking were custom fit towers.

Towers don’t cause gelcoat cracking - people do. People installing them wrong, people climbing on them and jumping off, etc. Most people agree that the best way to prevent gelcoat problems is to use stiffer towers because the flexing is what "torques" the mounts and causes problems. Remember to Chamfer/Countersink the holes. Also, many towers are now using "Heim joints" which eliminate "torque". Not allowing people to use it as a gymnasium is highly recommended as well.

Most of the available "universal" as well as "custom" towers have bases that mount on the top, side or angle of your gunwale and once you finish installation they are permanently adjusted to your specific boat.

Do your research - as us tower builders are pretty biased about "our way" of doing things. There are lots of great posts about towers. If you haven’t searched this yet, go the top of this page and select the "Search" function, type in "tower” then under Forums select "Boats and Accessories” You’ll find a wealth of great info from members.

Bill