87' Sunsetter Titan III Tower Project

[martinarcher]

Well polishing is done! Since I did so much cutting and welding and grinding it took quite a bit of work to get it to shine without scratches.

My buddy had a sanding attachment for a drill that uses a cylinder that is actually a rubber bladder. You put between 1-15psi into it and it will conform to a tube shape. He only had 80 grit "tubes" for it. Using it and the air grinder I got the big nicks and nasty welds taken care of. We then moved to DA sanders with 150 and 220 grit sandpaper. The majority of the time was spent with these cleaning up the medium scratches. After that we ended up making "tubes" for the air bladder wheel using super glue and gorilla tape. We used the air bladder sander with 320 and 400. After that, I polished it with red ball compound using a wool pad on the polisher. It was one very very shiny tower now. We have about 40 man hours of sanding and polishing in it.

Here's a bunch of pics of the progress and finished product. I need to get all the racks mounted as well as the Pro-80's back on. I love it so far and think it looks awesome. I got one of the new Titan Spinners I snagged a while ago mounted. It looks sweet and is built like a tank.

Ground zero...

Air grinder marks...

220 marks....

320 marks....

More 220/320...

Air bladder attachment...

Air port....

After 400 grit....

More 400 and a quick hit of 600....

Lots and lots of this.....

[martinarcher]

Back on the boat...

One of the new Titan racks....

[martinarcher]

Few more finished shots...

Shiny!!!

Both racks mounted....

Tow spool and light mounted...

[rugger]

Looks good MA. Nice work. You'd never know how much modification that tower saw to get it just right.

You've got me fired up to finish my tower now! It's already been stripped -- ready for polish. It's amazing how quickly a little sunshine pushes boat stuff back on the priority list.

Edited May 2, 2011 by rugger

[Slayer]

Great job!! That thing looks really nice on your boat!!

[obski]

Very nice.

I am always a bit in awe of people that can do so much themselves. Great job.

[skier_88]

Awesome job Matt, after having a Matt owned boat, I am constantly reminded of the awesome work this man is capable of!!!

[cbmalibu98]

You did a great job finishing your tower. Polishing and blending SS tubing is a lot harder than you think. It is a real work of art. I wish I would have saw this thread earlier, I would have made sure I got some free samples in your hands. We have a lot of ss refinishing in my area. And I would put that finish up agianst anything I have seen. Great job.

CB

[martinarcher]

Looks good MA. Nice work. You'd never know how much modification that tower saw to get it just right.

You've got me fired up to finish my tower now! It's already been stripped -- ready for polish. It's amazing how quickly a little sunshine pushes boat stuff back on the priority list.

Thanks man. Glad to hear your all fired up to get your polished. Looking forward to seeing pics!

You are right! Sunshine really gets you going on boat projects! It's been raining for about 4 weeks straight here and Sat was the first sunshine we've seen in a while. It was sure nice to work in the sun!

Great job!! That thing looks really nice on your boat!!

Thanks man....I can't wait to see it on the water!!

Very nice.

I am always a bit in awe of people that can do so much themselves. Great job.

Thanks man. It was a lot of work, but I've wanted a TIII since the first time I saw one on a Response. I finally got one made for my boat!

Awesome job Matt, after having a Matt owned boat, I am constantly reminded of the awesome work this man is capable of!!!

Thanks man. My boats are just another one of those never ending projects.

You did a great job finishing your tower. Polishing and blending SS tubing is a lot harder than you think. It is a real work of art. I wish I would have saw this thread earlier, I would have made sure I got some free samples in your hands. We have a lot of ss refinishing in my area. And I would put that finish up agianst anything I have seen. Great job.

CB

Oh man - that would have been awesome. Free samples of stainless are hard to come by! No biggie though. The guys at Star One were fantastic and hooked me up with the connectors and parts I needed. Thanks Brett! I appreciate the comment on the finish. That means a lot after two straight days of work. I'll have to show this thread to my buddies that helped.

Edited May 2, 2011 by martinarcher

[martinarcher]

Never did post up a finished shot of the tower on the boat. Figured I would finish this thread right. Now that I have the OTT bimini I have to take more pics.

[obski]

Looks great! Nice job.

[Levi900RR]

Yeah!

[StarOneWake]

Looking good buddy.. get that bimini up and lets see some more pics....

[kkong72]

where did you get those spinner racks from? they look great!

[martinarcher]

Looking good buddy.. get that bimini up and lets see some more pics....

Bimini is up.....just need to get pics of it on the boat now. Need to order another one of those ski/surf racks from you guys. Love the one I got with the bimini. I have the guys here at work working on some kneeboard/ski fingers for another rack.

where did you get those spinner racks from? they look great!

They are the spinners that Titan used to make for the Nautiques. I found them on ebay. If I didn't find those I would have bought a pair of the Star One spinners as they are made by the same guys mine are. Either rack would be very well made.

[StarOneWake]

I might have parts here still to build 2 more of the old nautique spinners... But the would have the Menace bases on them..