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1991 Malibu Skier - tower?


MalibuSRB

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I have a 1991 Malibu Skier and was interested in installing a tower. I have heard that since towers didn't exist in those days that I can't do this. Another dealer said I would have to get additional fiberglass reinforcement.

Does anyone have any experience with this and can it be done? Which tower should I go with? And if someone has a boat this old and has installed a tower, have they noticed the gel coat cracking?

Thanks!

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I've seen plenty of boats that weren't designed to have a tower with towers on them. Monster Towers seems to be the tower of choice for universal fit and pretty decent function.

Would I install one on a 91 Skier? No way! Not made for it. You're risking too much damage and possible injury to passengers if and when it fails/collaspses.

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I installed a Titan Series I on my 88 Sunsetter.

f_boat_desc--524_647.jpg

There was never any issues regarding gel cracking or structural damage with this tower. The Titan is nice since it's made custom for your boat (not universal) and folds down easy.

I'd think that the chance of complete failure under towing is remote; the loads you put on while wakeboarding, etc. might seem large, but are actually quite small compared to the material allowables. The specific geometry in the areas where the tower feet attach to the boat aid in stiffening this connection.

The Titan came with some backing plates, which I used.

Edited by Mechmaster
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I just put a Monster Tower on our 1998 Sporty. They are light weight and it works well. It did change the wake a little bit. But for the kids it was well worth it. Thumbup.gif

Mike

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I'd put a Titan I or Titan II on that boat all day long, and twice on Sundays. It'll work great, just do it.

Peter

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I have the Titan I on my Skier. I prefer it over the Monster because it is custom for your boat, and only cost a couple hundred more. The only drawback I found was waiting for it to be built. Monster can ship same day, but Titan you will have to wait a month or two, depending on the time of year you buy it. It was SUPER easy to install - I did it alone and it only took me about 2.5 hours. With help, it could have easily been up in 90 mins. If you buy the Titan the directions say to measure out and place the mounting feet first, then put the tower on them. I did it differently and it worked great for me. I put the whole tower together then set it on the boat and paced it where I wanted it, meausred everyhing from multiple points to check for square, and then traced the footprint of the mounts onto the gelcoat. I found it much easier to actually see how it was going to look and fit BEFORE putting the holes in my boat. If you decide on the Titan let me know, I can dig up the measurements I used for you as they should work for you as well Thumbup.gif

l_1a6e5ea12258c5c95ffe5eb7f349fd62.jpg

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I second the Titan tower idea... I remember when I put my Monster on and the dealer I bought the tower from reccommended I reinforce the fiberglass but I didn't and I have no cracks after 3 years... I prefer the look of the Titan though over the monster but the monster has been great for us...

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I'm in the same position within the next week I will be purchasing a tower for my 1987 malibu skier. I've seen tons of skiers with monster towers on them and a friend of mine has great things to say about the monster towers. However I'm debating between the titan series 1 and the monster tower I can’t seem to tell a big difference between the series 2 and the series 1 as far as the titan towers are concerned. The biggest issue for me is the fiberglass reinforcement on my malibu skier. Is this really going to be necessary? I hear a lot of you have not done it and been fine and some have done it. I've never heard any stories of someone not doing and the tower failing. I will be installing the tower myself so I'm afraid the fiberglass reinforcement might make the job a tad over my head, and I'm not about to spend $400.00 on a tower installation job.

Give me some feedback PLS!

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I've seen plenty of boats that weren't designed to have a tower with towers on them. Monster Towers seems to be the tower of choice for universal fit and pretty decent function.

Would I install one on a 91 Skier? No way! Not made for it. You're risking too much damage and possible injury to passengers if and when it fails/collaspses.

The hull of boats haven’t been changed to deal w/ tower issues yet, there is no issue of installing towers on older Malibu’s. I do however suggest the Titan w/ the heim (sp?) joints that help to reduce the impact to the hull.

I installed a Titan Series I on my 88 Sunsetter.

f_boat_desc--524_647.jpg

There was never any issues regarding gel cracking or structural damage with this tower. The Titan is nice since it's made custom for your boat (not universal) and folds down easy.

I'd think that the chance of complete failure under towing is remote; the loads you put on while wakeboarding, etc. might seem large, but are actually quite small compared to the material allowables. The specific geometry in the areas where the tower feet attach to the boat aid in stiffening this connection.

The Titan came with some backing plates, which I used.

That is one killer looking ’88! Great color scheme and just looks like the day it was sold.

I'm in the same position within the next week I will be purchasing a tower for my 1987 malibu skier. I've seen tons of skiers with monster towers on them and a friend of mine has great things to say about the monster towers. However I'm debating between the titan series 1 and the monster tower I can’t seem to tell a big difference between the series 2 and the series 1 as far as the titan towers are concerned. The biggest issue for me is the fiberglass reinforcement on my malibu skier. Is this really going to be necessary? I hear a lot of you have not done it and been fine and some have done it. I've never heard any stories of someone not doing and the tower failing. I will be installing the tower myself so I'm afraid the fiberglass reinforcement might make the job a tad over my head, and I'm not about to spend $400.00 on a tower installation job.

Give me some feedback PLS!

The only difference between the Titan I and Titan II is the rear loop has a slight curvature forward giving it a bit more of a flow look than the original version. I’ve had the version I since ’00 and haven’t had any issues w/ it whatsoever. I would use the backing plates on it. You don’t need any fiberglass backing but it won’t hurt either. No towers from Titan have failed on any boat TTBOMK. The quality of craftsmanship is second to none.

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The only difference between the Titan I and Titan II is the rear loop has a slight curvature forward giving it a bit more of a flow look than the original version.

The other difference is that the Series 2 is offered in a Polished finish. While the difference in the curve of the rear hoop is not worth the added expense as it is hardly noticeable IMO, I can see paying the extra if the Polished is what you want. These are the measurements from my Skier, the should be the same for yours but double check them - 58 Front - 70 Rear - 78 Front/Rear. You will be able to install it yourself, don't worry about the fiberglass reinforcement, the design of the tower with the heims and included backing plates will be fine. Again, I found it easier to put the WHOLE tower together on the floor then setting it on the boat to trace the footprints for the mounts. It eased my mind about drilling 16 holes in the boat. If you choose to do that however, be careful because the front to rear spread will stretch itself out from the weight of the two hoops leaning on each other. Once I had both sections on the boat, I used ratchet straps on both sides to pull the two halves closer together to get the desired measurement.

One other word of caution with the Titan - it just BARELY fits under my garage door collapsed. The rear hoop lays back flat just past the motor box, but the front wishbone only drops a few feet before it hits the windshield. My trailer has small tires on it and sits low, so I clear by about 2 inches. You do have the option of leaning the front wishbone forward however, in which case it would fit under fine, but to me it looked like it was adding more stress on the mounts because of the way the weight was distributed.

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The only difference between the Titan I and Titan II is the rear loop has a slight curvature forward giving it a bit more of a flow look than the original version.

The other difference is that the Series 2 is offered in a Polished finish. While the difference in the curve of the rear hoop is not worth the added expense as it is hardly noticeable IMO, I can see paying the extra if the Polished is what you want. These are the measurements from my Skier, the should be the same for yours but double check them - 58 Front - 70 Rear - 78 Front/Rear. You will be able to install it yourself, don't worry about the fiberglass reinforcement, the design of the tower with the heims and included backing plates will be fine. Again, I found it easier to put the WHOLE tower together on the floor then setting it on the boat to trace the footprints for the mounts. It eased my mind about drilling 16 holes in the boat. If you choose to do that however, be careful because the front to rear spread will stretch itself out from the weight of the two hoops leaning on each other. Once I had both sections on the boat, I used ratchet straps on both sides to pull the two halves closer together to get the desired measurement.

One other word of caution with the Titan - it just BARELY fits under my garage door collapsed. The rear hoop lays back flat just past the motor box, but the front wishbone only drops a few feet before it hits the windshield. My trailer has small tires on it and sits low, so I clear by about 2 inches. You do have the option of leaning the front wishbone forward however, in which case it would fit under fine, but to me it looked like it was adding more stress on the mounts because of the way the weight was distributed.

Welp I just ordered the Monster Tower I debated between that and the Titan for a few weeks and I honestly know a lot of people that are really happy with their monster towers so I feel really confident with the product and I honestly like the look of the monster a lot better then the series one titan, and I was able to get it for a lot cheaper and in the polished color... which I would have had to gone with the series two ($$) to get that color.. I'll let you guys know how the installation comes sometime next week and post some pics.

Thanks for everyones feedback.

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  • 2 weeks later...
That is one killer looking '88! Great color scheme and just looks like the day it was sold.

Thanks for the compliment. That boat was a find, I was sad to see her go when I sold it (easy sale though). It was rare to find a Midnight/gray/white color scheme in an era when most boats went day-glo or looked like a Burger King.

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