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Adding a tower to my 21 LSV


nemalibu

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I am considering adding an Illusion X tower to my 2003 21 LSV.

I have mostly been a skier and have recently gotten into wakebaording (so has my wife - my kids are still a bit young). I can now land a few tricks but at my age I will likely never do an invert. I am wondering if a tower would be worthwhile for me (and worth the $3-4 k). While having board racks would be nice, we mostly don't need to have them since the storage lockers seem to hold all of the boards we have. I am also wondering about the additional investment vs looking for another boat (aside from cost - I do love my current boat).

Please provide thoughts and let me know what additional capability you think I will experience having the tower vs my current fixed pylon.

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You could also add one of the Titan towers for much less cost - or a Monster tower for even less.

They don't have the look of the Illusion X, but are both quality towers. I added a Titan II + racks to my 01 SLXi and couldn't be happier.

The tower does let you get things out of the boat & more readily available. You will be able to tell a difference when the rope is attached to the tower.

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You could be well under that price range.

Titan Series 2 through Buywake $1800

Titan Cruiser racks $320 each

With 2 board racks, that's $2420, add a lift-off option to each rack & you'll be right at $2600. If you buy all of that from a dealer right now, I'd be willing to wager that they'd cut a pretty good deal that would include installation.

I will also need to replace my bimini.

What should I expect for a different when I am doing tricks?

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I added the Titan tower to my 99 Bu a couple of years ago and am still very happy I did. As for the cover, I found someone who cut my cover to fit around the tower. She then used Velcro and rope with hooks to keep in place.

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You could be well under that price range.

Titan Series 2 through Buywake $1800

Titan Cruiser racks $320 each

With 2 board racks, that's $2420, add a lift-off option to each rack & you'll be right at $2600. If you buy all of that from a dealer right now, I'd be willing to wager that they'd cut a pretty good deal that would include installation.

I will also need to replace my bimini.

What should I expect for a different when I am doing tricks?

More lift. It's not that the pylon is pulling you down, but the tower allows elevation that the pylon does not.

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I would think a Titan ( or other more conventional tower) install would be easier than an Illusion...... basically drill a few holes & bolt it all in place. I've done two installs over the years & it's not rocket science. You just have to measure twice before you start drilling. Mounting an Illusion might be a bit more difficult, especially if you wanted to do the springs too.

I'm not sure how old you are, but don't blame getting upside down on that. Lots of guys land their first well into their 40s, even 50s. My first, a wake back roll on a wakeboard was in my mid 30s. Now I'm 43 & have 6 or 7 different inverts on a foil...... landed my first air front rolls this year.

A high tow point doesn't get you more air.... you still have to earn that..... but it gives you more hang time, more time to get around & complete the trick, or even get across the wake. It also benefits beginners by pulling them more up out of the water, rather than straight thru like plowing water.

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Also pay attention to the color. I was going to go with chrome until I started looking at pictures. Because my windshield trim is black the chrome tower just didn’t look right to me. I went with the black tower but chrome board racks. And if I do say so myself…. It looks pretty darn good!

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I say illusion X all the way, Best tower I have run across. Look clos in the picture how the titan does not allow the walk through window to open all the way. If your going to do it, do it right the first time. You will need reinforcement where it mounts but a great fiberglass guy can help you out. Good luck with it. Make sure to post pictures when done.

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Look clos in the picture how the titan does not allow the walk through window to open all the way.

I noticed that too. I wonder what the deal is there. I've never seen a boat with a Titan do that. My own boat has no problem opening the walk thru all the way & doesn't touch the tower at all. Might be something to ask the guys at Titan about.

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Look clos in the picture how the titan does not allow the walk through window to open all the way.

I noticed that too. I wonder what the deal is there. I've never seen a boat with a Titan do that. My own boat has no problem opening the walk thru all the way & doesn't touch the tower at all. Might be something to ask the guys at Titan about.

If you look at my 2nd pic that I posted it will show what Bill is talking about. Even though the window doesn't open all the way it opens more than enough so that the "walk through" isn't blocked in any way. There is a piece of rubber on the tower so the window is resting on a piece of rubber and not metal on metal ... so all it good. You certainly do not drive the boat with the window open or tow it that way. I'll qualify that - it wouldn't hurt to drive the boat at a real slow speed with the window open.

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Look clos in the picture how the titan does not allow the walk through window to open all the way.

I noticed that too. I wonder what the deal is there. I've never seen a boat with a Titan do that. My own boat has no problem opening the walk thru all the way & doesn't touch the tower at all. Might be something to ask the guys at Titan about.

It depends on how you do the install. A lot of Titans are like this, but people here have been known to adjust their installation to accommodate for that.

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Look clos in the picture how the titan does not allow the walk through window to open all the way.

I noticed that too. I wonder what the deal is there. I've never seen a boat with a Titan do that. My own boat has no problem opening the walk thru all the way & doesn't touch the tower at all. Might be something to ask the guys at Titan about.

It depends on how you do the install. A lot of Titans are like this, but people here have been known to adjust their installation to accommodate for that.

Possibly depends on the width of the walk thru? Maybe the width of the boat?

Since the front tower supports are welded in place, I wouldn't think there would be as much flexibility in changing things a lot. Granted you could move the feet forward/backward a bit, but you wouldn't be able to adjust the width at all.

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A Titan tower will not prevent the windshield from opening completely as implied in this thread. If you have the chance, spend some time looking at the two towers in person, I think you'll notice quite a few areas where Titan products excel.

If you have any other questions about our products, please feel free to contact me.

Jason

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