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Going retro


buckhorn

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My new to me RLXi came with a tower, racks, lights, and tower speakers.

2 of the 6 lights work (halogen Pilots).

The tower speakers are Focal (audio guy said they were mid level car speakers at best) and the amp that powers them needs to be replaced.

And then I think to myself-

The tower and racks we will use. Glad to have them.

The lights- I don't think we will ever use them.

The speakers- I am pretty sure 4 nice cabin speakers and a sub would be enough to make me happy.

So-

Instead of sinking money into stuff we will never use, I think I'm going to just take all that stuff off.

Will I be kicked out of this forum if I remove lights and speakers :) ?

If I do take off the electric stuff, how crappy will the tower look with holes drilled in it?

Do they make rubber plugs that could fill the holes?

Or should I just pay to get the stuff fixed?

None of my other boats have had a tower, lights, or big speakers, so maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.

Edited by buckhorn
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I doubt you will miss the lights, I really don't know when you would have a chance to use them. I believe its illegal to have them on while underway so I don't see the point. Tower speakers on the other hand,,,, well I'll leave that up the rest of the crew to explain why they are a MUST have. :)

  • Like 2
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My new to me RLXi came with a tower, racks, lights, and tower speakers.

2 of the 6 lights work (halogen Pilots).

The tower speakers are Focal (audio guy said they were mid level car speakers at best) and the amp that powers them needs to be replaced.

And then I think to myself-

The tower and racks we will use. Glad to have them.

The lights- I don't think we will ever use them.

The speakers- I am pretty sure 4 nice cabin speakers and a sub would be enough to make me happy.

So-

Instead of sinking money into stuff we will never use, I think I'm going to just take all that stuff off.

Will I be kicked out of this forum if I remove lights and speakers :) ?

If I do take off the electric stuff, how crappy will the tower look with holes drilled in it?

Do they make rubber plugs that could fill the holes?

Or should I just pay to get the stuff fixed?

None of my other boats have had a tower, lights, or big speakers, so maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.

it is your boat, make it all that you want. They do make rubber plugs to fill the holes. Plug them and keep going, if you change your mind or if the next owner wants to make it his boat, then the tower is "pre drilled."

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I'm with you - 4 cabins & amps plus a powered sub. Good enough for our purposes. Easy to fold down when putting on the lift or garage.

post-8942-0-08636400-1396449199_thumb.jp

  • Like 2
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My new to me RLXi came with a tower, racks, lights, and tower speakers.

2 of the 6 lights work (halogen Pilots).

The tower speakers are Focal (audio guy said they were mid level car speakers at best) and the amp that powers them needs to be replaced.

And then I think to myself-

The tower and racks we will use. Glad to have them.

The lights- I don't think we will ever use them.

The speakers- I am pretty sure 4 nice cabin speakers and a sub would be enough to make me happy.

So-

Instead of sinking money into stuff we will never use, I think I'm going to just take all that stuff off.

Will I be kicked out of this forum if I remove lights and speakers :) ?

If I do take off the electric stuff, how crappy will the tower look with holes drilled in it?

Do they make rubber plugs that could fill the holes?

Or should I just pay to get the stuff fixed?

None of my other boats have had a tower, lights, or big speakers, so maybe I just don't know what I'm missing.

If I ever get another boat, it won't have tower speakers, heck it may not have a stereo.....at all. :frantic: I say go for it.

On the lights, I've been in a few situations where putting the boat on the trailer after dark would have been a lot easier if I'd had a pair of lights that I could turn on. (I sure wouldn't need 6 though, 1 forward-facing pair would have done it.) No they wouldn't have gotten used much, but when needed they can be a handy thing. But that's just me, not too many people are crazy enough to stay out as late as I've been known to.

  • Like 2
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If I ever get another boat, it won't have tower speakers, heck it may not have a stereo.....at all. :frantic: I say go for it.

On the lights, I've been in a few situations where putting the boat on the trailer after dark would have been a lot easier if I'd had a pair of lights that I could turn on. (I sure wouldn't need 6 though, 1 forward-facing pair would have done it.) No they wouldn't have gotten used much, but when needed they can be a handy thing. But that's just me, not too many people are crazy enough to stay out as late as I've been known to.

That brings up a point. Why are the docking lights so dang worthless? If I ever build a boat (not likely :)) I will nix the docking lights and get a pair of tower lights.

I need them 4-5 times a year on our home lake and every time I am amazed to how little they help.

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That brings up a point. Why are the docking lights so dang worthless? If I ever build a boat (not likely :)) I will nix the docking lights and get a pair of tower lights.

I need them 4-5 times a year on our home lake and every time I am amazed to how little they help.

They tend to point down, rather than out. Plus they don't tend to have very good distance, so they end up just lighting up about 5 feet directly in front of the boat. You need some good tower lights that have good projection.

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They tend to point down, rather than out. Plus they don't tend to have very good distance, so they end up just lighting up about 5 feet directly in front of the boat. You need some good tower lights that have good projection.

Exactly. But why :lol: . Pointless lights anyway.

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Oh, I see. Well, how many useless things are sold by boat dealers? Malibu is no different in that respect. There are a lot of 3rd party items that you can get to replace things that come stock or as factory options that FAR outperform those factory items. Lights are just one thing among many.

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That brings up a point. Why are the docking lights so dang worthless? If I ever build a boat (not likely :)) I will nix the docking lights and get a pair of tower lights.

I need them 4-5 times a year on our home lake and every time I am amazed to how little they help.

What about the runway lights some of the trailers have? Those looks pretty sweet.

  • Like 1
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What about the runway lights some of the trailers have? Those looks pretty sweet.

Those can help, add some marker lights to the guides & you'd have a pretty good setup. But that doesn't help you if you're trying to navigate a marina in the dark (I've done that too).

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In my experience unless you have a good set of tower speakers that are properly powered, you won't hear much behind the boat. You may as well scrap them. Same with tower lights. When it gets dark, I find they just reflect off the water and ruin my night vision.

Edited by Pnwrider
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ahopkins22LSV

IMO towers look good naked on an LXi or TXi: http://www.onlyinboards.com/Details.aspx?ID=35405

My friend has tower speakers on his PS190 and when we are free skiing you can sometimes here the music playing, but there is a lot other noise going on at slalom skiing speeds. They would be nice for if you are going to anchor for the afternoon at a sandbar or island, but again IMO I don't see them necessary on a LXi or TXi.

Great looking gen1 LXi BTW!!

Edited by ahopkinsTXi
  • Like 2
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They tend to point down, rather than out. Plus they don't tend to have very good distance, so they end up just lighting up about 5 feet directly in front of the boat. You need some good tower lights that have good projection.

When I decided to retro-fit docking lights to my RLXI, I spent plenty of time studying numerous pictures of fitted boats to make sure I placed them as close a possible to the factory position.

The first time I was able to check them on the water I was astonished at how useless the light was. Exactly as WakeGirl describes. They are nothing but bling (even though that's the main reason I installed them anyway!).

I still like their concept but would love the opportunity to do it again and would probably fit them about 3 feet further aft and pointing closer to horizontal.

  • Like 1
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When I decided to retro-fit docking lights to my RLXI, I spent plenty of time studying numerous pictures of fitted boats to make sure I placed them as close a possible to the factory position.

The first time I was able to check them on the water I was astonished at how useless the light was. Exactly as WakeGirl describes. They are nothing but bling (even though that's the main reason I installed them anyway!).

I still like their concept but would love the opportunity to do it again and would probably fit them about 3 feet further aft and pointing closer to horizontal.

I've gotta wonder if there isn't a way to mod those housings to accept lights that actually function the way they're needed.

  • Like 2
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If you want good lighting look into 4x4 off road ones, or LED light bars. I've been considering fitting a 16" light bar on top of the tower that folds down but I'm rarely in the need of actually using it. I have one on my work truck and it will light up 100ft in front of you easily.

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Okay. Thanks all. I'm not crazy I guess. Lights and speakers are coming off. Now I need to figure out how to best plug the holes and still look decent. Boat already has Perfect Pass, but I have other ways to spend the money that will be more useful. Like new skis and boards.

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I've gotta wonder if there isn't a way to mod those housings to accept lights that actually function the way they're needed.

If they just had an eye ball swivel adjustment arrangement would be great!

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