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Tower going on tonight


CKreations

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I am finally pputting the tower on my '94 echelon tonight. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or little suggestions?

Wait until your all done to drink any alcohol :)

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check, check again, triple check, then have some one check you, before your drill! Thumbup.gif

Plus1.gif yeah, I've done the liquid courage theory and thought it was perfect only to regret what I did. But if you have someone double check your measurements that is a great idea, but make sure it's someone that has mechanical skills not your next door neighbor just because he is close :)

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I am finally pputting the tower on my '94 echelon tonight. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or little suggestions?

What tower are you installing?

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Yea, you know what they say about measuring twice & drilling once.

Also, use some big backing plates..... biggest you can get in there. Top plates would be a good idea too but it might be a little late for that now.

The easiest install we ever did we hung the tower from a forklift in place over the top of the boat. Did all our measuring & eyeballing it etc. before we drilled anything. Could also hang it from the shop rafters too.

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martinarcher

The biggest thing is mocking it up on the boat and standing back and making sure it is right where you want it. Take a look at where the tow spool/legs/etc are and make sure it makes sense and is where you would like it. Also test folding it carefully before mounting to make sure it all works properly. Make sure everything is as close to symmetrical as possible before getting the drill out. I went a little nuts with precautions to prevent the gelcoat from cracking due to stress. If you are interested there are details and pics here....

http://www.themalibucrew.com/forums/index....20&start=20

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Also, make sure that your center window will open all the way when the tower is mocked up. I remember reading a post where that wasn't the case.

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I am finally pputting the tower on my '94 echelon tonight. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or little suggestions?

What tower are you installing?

It's an Aerial tower. I will post pics and hopefully a painless story when it's done. Thanks for all the help! BTW any one in the Sammamish area want to come out and help, shoot me an email. [email protected]

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Sometimes I wish I was still in the area..... then I see how blown out the lake gets or I get stuck in traffic & the feeling goes away. Rockon.gif

Did an install in the parking lot at Wiley's one time. Darren has done quite a few installs & is not afraid to drill holes in your baby.

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I am finally pputting the tower on my '94 echelon tonight. Does anyone have any words of wisdom or little suggestions?

What tower are you installing?

It's an Aerial tower. I will post pics and hopefully a painless story when it's done. Thanks for all the help! BTW any one in the Sammamish area want to come out and help, shoot me an email. [email protected]

If it is an Airborne, I just installed one on mine. If you expect to fold it down like they show on the advertisement, good luck. I pulled out threads because the rear leg joints don't line up correctly. PM me and I can give you a ton of details. Aerial said that they don't know what else they can do for me. I just want the thing to work right. The tower is very solid and looks great, it just doesn't fold down the way they advertise it to. Mad.gif

I agree, use at least 3/8" plywood and Weldwood it when you have everything in place. It really adds support to the gunnels. Do not slide your tower legs very far into the H support at the top. That will help minimize scratches. Check for any burrs in the H support opening. Cross measure several times, make a plumb bob to hang from the tower rope spindle. Use that to help center the tower with the ski post. My post is off by about a half inch or so. Level the boat side to side. I also lifted the front until the rear bottom of the hull was level. When you have that all done, measure it again, hold your breath and drill the holes in the glass. Use a small bit then a uni-bit or a 1/2" counter sink. It works really nice on the glass. The on line install instructions are better than the ones supplied with the tower in the box, unless they have updated it.

They also have a quick release kit in the works for the leg bolts. Should be much easier to take it down. Good luck and have help!

Edited by Sunsetter95
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Holes are drilled, and everything is going smoothly so far. Nothing is installed yet, but it has been measured, placed, looked at, measured, moved, looked at, placed, moved, measured then measured for good measure. Ha. Tomorrow will bring an finished install!

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