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Illusion G3 tower knobs available from Malibu Boats


Bake's Marine

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Thought this would be a good one to share with the Crew. Just released from Malibu, billet polished aluminum hand knobs make the G3 tower that make it much easier to collapse the tower with no tools. Made by Malibu boats and will not void the tower warranty.

They are not a standard part to the G3 tower so you should be able to purchase these at your local Malibu dealership now that they are available. If you don't have luck finding them local, Bake's has them in stock and we can get you set up if you need help.

Thanks!

-Paul

post-4023-12647118853216_thumb.jpg

Edited by Bake's Marine
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Great news! That makes that tower much more user friendly. Do you think they will work themselves loose?

Dang 60 Bucks a piece...wow inflation....I could see 60 for the pair....My socket driver and allen socket 13 dollars. Dontknow.gif

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Dang 60 Bucks a piece...wow inflation....I could see 60 for the pair....My socket driver and allen socket 13 dollars. Dontknow.gif

I haven't seen this tower but I have to agree. Maybe they're priced individually because many will be lost. Why wouldn't they be designed like my T3, the knob has a retainer, no tools required. And that knob should not be an option. -1 for Malibu on this one.

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Guy at the boat show told me they were coming, but did not state the price. $60 bucks for an item that literally costs pennies to make, is just ridiculous. You'd be better off just buying a cheap little, cordless drill for twenty bucks, and keep the right allen head bit in it....

http://www.amazon.com/STP-Lithium-Ion-Screwdriver/dp/B001TZOT9S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1264809902&sr=1-1

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Guy at the boat show told me they were coming, but did not state the price. $60 bucks for an item that literally costs pennies to make, is just ridiculous. You'd be better off just buying a cheap little, cordless drill for twenty bucks, and keep the right allen head bit in it....

http://www.amazon.com/STP-Lithium-Ion-Screwdriver/dp/B001TZOT9S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1264809902&sr=1-1

I'd like to see you make them for pennies.

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Coming from someone who buys machined Aluminum and cast iron auto parts for a living, you will not be able to buy these for "pennies". Unless you are well over 100 pennies.

Now I think $60 is outrageous too, but I'm used to buying on a much larger scale don't know what the overhead and mark-up structure would be for something on this scale.

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Coming from someone who buys machined Aluminum and cast iron auto parts for a living, you will not be able to buy these for "pennies". Unless you are well over 100 pennies.

Now I think $60 is outrageous too, but I'm used to buying on a much larger scale don't know what the overhead and mark-up structure would be for something on this scale.

I'll accept error.

Pennies was incorrect, as I didn't realize they were billet.

That being said, a non-billet option would be less than $1 to produce. Go hit a hardware store and get creative-

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Would anyone expect anything less than billet on their Malibu?

After seeing this debate, I had to ask Jake about it. He makes billet parts all day long at SkySki. Heres what he said.

If this was a part that was run in small numbers (100 or less) I could see it easily cost $60.00 on the open market. Materials (Aluminum blank & stainless stud) are going to run about 6-8 bucks. Machining of the blank is where the cost comes in. Machine time to machine, drill & tap the hole is going to run somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 minutes, depending on the quality of finish desired. At a buck a minute you're already up to $18 bucks in cost to manufacture. Then factor in the last two components; cost of writing the program & cost to set the job up each time. Programs run anywhere from $100 to $500 to write, (this one is pretty simple, so most likely on the lesser of the the scale) and probably take better part of an hour to set the job up each time. So you could easily be into it for as much as $20 bucks on the high side. Order in large quantity everything drops since you could order material in bulk, set up the job less, etc.

I would guess that Malibu ordered in some quantity, but not like thousands. Maybe hundreds. Get on Ebay sometime & see how much a billet shifter knob costs. $60 is high, but for American made, it's not outrageous.

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I'll accept error.

Pennies was incorrect, as I didn't realize they were billet.

That being said, a non-billet option would be less than $1 to produce. Go hit a hardware store and get creative-

Crazy.gifROFL.gif

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That being said, a non-billet option would be less than $1 to produce. Go hit a hardware store and get creative-

The only problem with that is then you'd wind up with something that looks like it cost less than a buck on your 50k+ Malibu.

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That being said, a non-billet option would be less than $1 to produce. Go hit a hardware store and get creative-

The only problem with that is then you'd wind up with something that looks like it cost less than a buck on your 50k+ Malibu.

Exactly my point Jake, good note.

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It's a bummer they don't cost less but Malibu did use the nicest material and put a lot of detail work into them that makes them look nice but also ergonomically nice on your hands when you spin them loose and tighten them up.

A cable or a retainer like the Titan 3 knobs would be a great idea, especially if you do this on the water.

Now if we can only work on Malibu making them a standard part of the tower. I guess they are trying to keep the prices down which i can respect since not everybody needs to collapse their tower every time?

-Paul

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Or just get a Titan and avoid the whole situation....

Who said convienience didn't come at a price....

Wish Titan was still a viable option, i loved that tower. Had the Titan 3 on my boat.

-Paul

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Wish Titan was still a viable option, i loved that tower. Had the Titan 3 on my boat.

-Paul

So with the reorg of Titan, is the T3 still available? Is it still only available thru Malibu? Are you saying the G3 is the only tower option available on a Malibu now?

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So with the reorg of Titan, is the T3 still available? Is it still only available thru Malibu? Are you saying the G3 is the only tower option available on a Malibu now?

Not right now, I just tried to order for a customer. The T3 is thru Malibu only but the T1 and T2 are available only thru Star One. As far as i know OE the G3 tower is the only option right now. I'm sure as Titan gets settled in we will start seeing a lot of new stuff!!

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Heard you guys loud and clear that the Malibu knobs were too expensive. Now you have a option, Bake's developed a after market knob that will save you some money if you don't want to stick with OE. When you go the machining route, it can't get much less than this.

Check out info and pictures and let me know what you think. - Bake's G3 Knob

-Paul

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