wakeboard tower - help and advice please

billymac · Newbie Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 45 City: seattle

hi there, thanks for reading. i need some help. i've been trying to do research on a tower and bimini for my boat, but i really need some real world advice. can someone please recommend a brand that will not only work with my boat and look good, but meet the following requirements:

1. not cost a fortune
2. look good
3. not rattle
4. include a bimini top (a must, fair-skinned wife and little girl)
5. collapsable
6. not cost a fortune
7. not cost a fortune and still look good
8. increase not lower the value of my boat

my boat is a 2005 Maxum 1800MX. i bought it new and it didn't come with a tower. olympic boat center (where i bought my boat) won't sell me one for it, because it didn't come with one and it needs to be reinforced. i want someone to recommend a good tower/bimini combo that for sure will work well, look good, collapse and not cost a total fortune. i've looked at the monster racks and they look decent, but i'm a little concerned that the tubing is a little thicker than i would like and may not look good on my boat. any input would be greatly appreciated. in addition, if anybody knows of a good place to by and/or install this for me in the seattle area, i would appreciate that as well.

tia

bighitbiker3 · Soul Rider Joined: 21 Jun 2005 Posts: 386 City: Seattle

Hey im in the seattle area and most people hear will say monster tower here forsure. These are great towers and I was looking for one to put on my boat also. For reinforcement kits go to West Marine in bellevue or in downtown seattle. It is very easy to install. Measure a lot before you drill. Where do you ride?

billymac · Newbie Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 45 City: seattle

hey thanks for the reply

my wife and i are just getting started and this is out first boat. we've only had it out 3 weekends so far and unfortunately ran into some super bad luck last weekend out in vantage. man, i'll never go back there, we hit bottom a 1/3 of a mile from shore. not just a rock, but a friggin' river bed. it was ridiculous. i take full responsibility, but there were no markers, or anything and to top it all off a kititas county sherrif's deputy gave me a "courtesy" boat safety inspection before we launched. he knew i was a noob and also that the boat was new but mentioned nothing about the water level or the "rock beach" in the middle of the river. anyway, sorry to ramble, but at any rate, it's going to cost me about $700 to fix my skeg and prop plus the cost of a backup prop to set me all straight, and that's coming straight out of my tower/bimini budget. i'm starting to think the monster towers would be a pretty nice fit for us though. my only concern is the bimini portion. i'm hopeful that it is decent quality, rigit enough and that you can stand up under it. it looks like it may be a little low.

so can you give me some good tips for places to go around here?

also, i just took my boat to olympic's service center down in lake union and i'm not going to get it back for nearly 2 weeks! is there somewhere as good/better faster that you know of that does that kind of repair? $700 seems a little high to repair the prop and skeg. but again, i'm new to all of this, just going off what i've heard from others.

billymac · Newbie Joined: 06 Jun 2005 Posts: 45 City: seattle

oh, and i'm really nervous to install it myself so i'll probably have a dealer do it. i'm totally un-handy like that and would just be sick to my stomach if i messed it up.

wesgardner · Posted: Jul 06, 2005 3:45 am Post subject:

Hey billymac,

First, don't be embarrassed to admit you're NOT handy - that's a GOOD thing as there are numerous ways to mess things up...however, you will have to pay a premium to have others do it...or maybe some of your friends know a bit more....

I'm sure Bill at MonsterTower will stand behind his product - he has a very good reputation and I wouldn't feel at all uncomfortable purchasing from him - he can also probably give you a good idea of how much time you can expect the install to take and perhaps someone has a duplicate boat and knows exactly where/how much to reinforce the area where the tower will mount.

Get used to the high price of boating - ANYTHING even vaguely associated with "marine" activities is not cheap and if it is, it's no good....I'm not thrilled to hear your dealer won't install a tower - maybe start looking for some other place a littel more interested in customer service...after dropping a considerable sum of money on a new boat, hearing "no" wouldn't do much for me at all...don't know the area so you may be stuck???

Good luck, keep posting, there are alot of knowledgable folks here.

Wes

Killermiller_40 · Newbie Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Posts: 9

I just bought a Tower From Big Air Plyons. My Bimini Top does work with it and it does fold down. But it does not fold down enough for me to put it in my shop. I installed it my self and it was not so bad. My tower is solid as a rock. If I had to do it over again I would have probably bought a Monster Tower. The tower I bought was 1085.00 shipping included.

Snoop108 · Criminal Joined: 12 Jul 2005 Posts: 59 City: iola

monster.....they are sturdy and a quality product.

AirProfile · Addict Joined: 17 Aug 2004 Posts: 602 City: Brookfield

billymac, '
get a depth finder, my friend has a monste bimminii i always stand up and it is extremly sturdy when i hit my head on it

my friend and i at age 16 installed the monster tower and it was easy we where hesitant to drill into the gel coat but his boat not mine,

also replacing prop easiest thing in world new one probably 115 dollars simple simple just need wrench

i did my prop in water and simple simple

good luck with boating price is worth it soon you'll b a pro

just the price of monsters bimmini i don't like
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Killermiller_40 · Newbie Joined: 30 Jun 2005 Posts: 9

Take it from me... Don't buy a Big Air Tower. Mine works fine but having to take the whole thing down everytime I put it my the garage sucks. The pictures they have on the web site are not accurate. The holes they drilled were not so well either. After my research I have found that Monster Towers is a better product.

wilsontdy · Newbie Joined: 06 Jan 2006 Posts: 8 City: Yelm

I've got an 18' Maxum also. I'm looking at Samson towers and Barewest. They are both in the local Seattle area, you might look into them. I just can't stand the look of the Monster.