Wakeboard Racks

[drtortho]

Just ordered a new 23Lsv with the Titan 3 tower. Looking for wakeboard racks. (That look "bitchin" and do the job...LOL) Was at the LA boat show this week. Looked at MC "bungeeless" rack customized for their tower. I that that it looked real beefy comparied to other racks and loved the swivel. I know that Malibu is workin on a swivel, but it looks and feels cheep. Looked at Wakside and they have a Fusion "bungeeless" that looked similar to MC's. Any body have any experience with these "bungeeless"? OR........what rack for the Titan 3?

[CarveItUp]

Titan has some nice looking racks that you can outfit with swivels or lift offs. I don't think they have a bungeeless option though.

I haven't seen the MC racks but I'd be worried about the bungeeless system failing and a board flying off. We had a bad experience with that on our bungee rack when someone forgot to re-attach the bungee after a set. I'm sure the bungeeless racks are designed with that problem in mind though...

[Wakespecialty]

The bungee-less racks I have seen and experienced are the NVERT (no longer around and cut your hands) and the MC. The MC are pretty stout racks in appearance and price. They can be attached to an aftermarket tower. I don't believe they are as "fool-proof" as the bungee. My partner has experienced a board falling out of the MC rack at full speed through mild chop. They are close, but not perfect. The Titan stuff has always impressed me from design to quality. You can tell the company is involved in the sport and design their products for use. I cannot say the same for Metcraft. Their designs over the years have have left me less than impressed, in fact left me questioning if they understand the rigors that the products go through. I acknowledge the greatness of the Illusion X tower, but the accessories offered are far from adequate. We are looking at a 'bu for our next shop boat - with that said, I would opt for the Illusion tower and direct mount the Titan Lift Off clamps and use the Titan Battle Racks. Beautifully chromed, rock solid and rattle free.

[drtortho]

The bungee-less racks I have seen and experienced are the NVERT (no longer around and cut your hands) and the MC. The MC are pretty stout racks in appearance and price. They can be attached to an aftermarket tower. I don't believe they are as "fool-proof" as the bungee. My partner has experienced a board falling out of the MC rack at full speed through mild chop. They are close, but not perfect. The Titan stuff has always impressed me from design to quality. You can tell the company is involved in the sport and design their products for use. I cannot say the same for Metcraft. Their designs over the years have have left me less than impressed, in fact left me questioning if they understand the rigors that the products go through. I acknowledge the greatness of the Illusion X tower, but the accessories offered are far from adequate. We are looking at a 'bu for our next shop boat - with that said, I would opt for the Illusion tower and direct mount the Titan Lift Off clamps and use the Titan Battle Racks. Beautifully chromed, rock solid and rattle free.

Thanx for the input. Will research the battle racks. I think "bungeeless" would be nice and look so clean. I did consider that they might vibrate out of the "grips" in some chop.

[WakeGirl]

Just to echo what Wakespecialty said, I love the Titan gear. I've been around a bit of the Metcraft stuff & while the quality is there, I don't think that it's quite on par with Titan. I have the Cruisers with the lift offs & they are awesome - take the racks off & throw them in a hatch when towing=no more bugs. The rubber inserts on the Titan stuff seems to add more protection than other racks as well - the rubber goes all the way to the edge of the fork, while other racks have rubber inserts that leave the edge exposed (including Metcraft). When the rubber wears down a little (& it will), the board contacts the metal damaging both the rack & the board. JM2C

[stewart]

Just to echo what Wakespecialty said, I love the Titan gear. I've been around a bit of the Metcraft stuff & while the quality is there, I don't think that it's quite on par with Titan. I have the Cruisers with the lift offs & they are awesome - take the racks off & throw them in a hatch when towing=no more bugs. The rubber inserts on the Titan stuff seems to add more protection than other racks as well - the rubber goes all the way to the edge of the fork, while other racks have rubber inserts that leave the edge exposed (including Metcraft). When the rubber wears down a little (& it will), the board contacts the metal damaging both the rack & the board. JM2C

The Titan racks look and function great!

[drtortho]

Just to echo what Wakespecialty said, I love the Titan gear. I've been around a bit of the Metcraft stuff & while the quality is there, I don't think that it's quite on par with Titan. I have the Cruisers with the lift offs & they are awesome - take the racks off & throw them in a hatch when towing=no more bugs. The rubber inserts on the Titan stuff seems to add more protection than other racks as well - the rubber goes all the way to the edge of the fork, while other racks have rubber inserts that leave the edge exposed (including Metcraft). When the rubber wears down a little (& it will), the board contacts the metal damaging both the rack & the board. JM2C

Have any experience or info on the "spinner" that Titan make to allow for the boards to rotate for better access?

[WakeGirl]

I don't have any personal experience with the spinners, but what I've read about them would make me hesitant at shelling out the money for them. They seem to be somewhat difficult to keep working smoothly, but maybe they've gotten better. If you're looking for spinners, another good company to try is Samson. I don't see them on their website, but I looked at their '06 stuff at the boat show & really wished that they made something for the Illusion X. They are great quality & the spinners are really top notch. The down side is that everything is polished billet & not easily removable (from what I could see, they may have a quick release system that I'm not aware of), so it could add up to a lot of maintenance. One thing I swore when we ordered the new boat is that there would be very, very little polished billet & the racks would be easily removable. Titan's got that dialed, with their lift offs & chromed racks.

Samson looked like they may use a standard bolt pattern (but I can't be sure, no tape measure with me that day), so it may be possible to buy their spinners & then mount Titan racks/lift offs to them. Just an idea.

[drtortho]

I don't have any personal experience with the spinners, but what I've read about them would make me hesitant at shelling out the money for them. They seem to be somewhat difficult to keep working smoothly, but maybe they've gotten better. If you're looking for spinners, another good company to try is Samson. I don't see them on their website, but I looked at their '06 stuff at the boat show & really wished that they made something for the Illusion X. They are great quality & the spinners are really top notch. The down side is that everything is polished billet & not easily removable (from what I could see, they may have a quick release system that I'm not aware of), so it could add up to a lot of maintenance. One thing I swore when we ordered the new boat is that there would be very, very little polished billet & the racks would be easily removable. Titan's got that dialed, with their lift offs & chromed racks.

Samson looked like they may use a standard bolt pattern (but I can't be sure, no tape measure with me that day), so it may be possible to buy their spinners & then mount Titan racks/lift offs to them. Just an idea.

Thanx