93 Echelon: is a tower a good idea?

[MikeMohr]

Good morning all. Apologies if this topic has been beat to death. For the last 5years I’ve wondered if it’s practical to add a tower or ski mast extension to create more space in my boat. We mostly pull kids skiing. Would like to open the back seat since the open bow is so tight. Is a retro fitted tower really feasible on a boat not design for it. Can the gel coat top deck handle the stresses of a tow rope or will I end up wrecking my old echelon?  Thanks for any insights. As an old aircraft mechanic, I’m probably over thinking it. 

[justgary]

I don't see why a tower would hurt if you install it properly.

As for an extension, a Fly High or other pole will work just fine.  As a bonus, the height can assist with pullout if the skier lacks strength or skill.  You will still have to watch carefully with slack rope trying to wrap a kid in the back seat.

A third option is to tow the kids from the stern bracket.  If they improve a lot over the years, they may start asking to get a pull from the center pylon.  In that case, they'll all be old enough to understand that a higher performance run demands that the boat leave someone on shore for a few minutes. 

[Michigan boarder]

1 hour ago, MikeMohr said:

Good morning all. Apologies if this topic has been beat to death. For the last 5years I’ve wondered if it’s practical to add a tower or ski mast extension to create more space in my boat. We mostly pull kids skiing. Would like to open the back seat since the open bow is so tight. Is a retro fitted tower really feasible on a boat not design for it. Can the gel coat top deck handle the stresses of a tow rope or will I end up wrecking my old echelon?  Thanks for any insights. As an old aircraft mechanic, I’m probably over thinking it. 

There are lots of Echelons out there with towers, and none of them came from the factory with a tower installed - everything is an afterthought.  So yes, it's safe to do.  I've thought about removing mine many times, but it's great for storing boards, hanging jackets when beached, etc.  With our limited space I find I'd be seriously missing it.  So I say to it, do some research on hole drilling & proper torque (not too tight), and have good backing plates.  Mine has a couple spider cracks near the mounts that have not changed since I bought it 11 years ago.

[MikeMohr]

Thanks JustGary and Mich Boarder for the insight. Nice looking Echelon too. As the kids are teens now and wake boards and my old slalom ski comes out more and more I’m leaning to the tower or pylon extension. You’re point about less people in the boat is valid too. I’d love to carve back and forth without wake jumping at 52 yrs old. Less weight, less wake. 

So give me you’re opinion on Which brand of tower, and pros and cons of pylon extension vs tower from an all-around boating experience POV. Thanks again.

[justgary]

3 hours ago, MikeMohr said:

Thanks JustGary and Mich Boarder for the insight. Nice looking Echelon too. As the kids are teens now and wake boards and my old slalom ski comes out more and more I’m leaning to the tower or pylon extension. You’re point about less people in the boat is valid too. I’d love to carve back and forth without wake jumping at 52 yrs old. Less weight, less wake. 

So give me you’re opinion on Which brand of tower, and pros and cons of pylon extension vs tower from an all-around boating experience POV. Thanks again.

I don't have a tower, so I really can't help much with that. 

I have a Fly High pole that I got with the boat.  I have never used it.  It is not hard to put up, but you won't want to take it down several times during an outing.  Get one that still allows you to tow from the normal pylon height. 

I'll mention that I do have a barefoot boom that gets set up every trip.  That's another option, just teach the kids to barefoot and let them hang out beside the boat. 

[Michigan boarder]

+1 on the boom, they are fantastic.  My wife is going to do a girl's night out, teaching some friends to wakeboard.  We are going to set up the boom and everyone gets a pull from the boom, then from the shortline on the boom before any of them go long line.  It provides instant, reliable satisfaction.

I bought my boom used, but if I were doing it again I'd have bought the boom that mounts to the tower.

[Jbarry14]

On 6/7/2020 at 8:40 AM, MikeMohr said:

Good morning all. Apologies if this topic has been beat to death. For the last 5years I’ve wondered if it’s practical to add a tower or ski mast extension to create more space in my boat. We mostly pull kids skiing. Would like to open the back seat since the open bow is so tight. Is a retro fitted tower really feasible on a boat not design for it. Can the gel coat top deck handle the stresses of a tow rope or will I end up wrecking my old echelon?  Thanks for any insights. As an old aircraft mechanic, I’m probably over thinking it. 

 

Here is a Monster MTK tower installed on my 95 Echelon LX. This tower has worked great for me. I have used it the past 3 years with no issues. 

 

[MikeMohr]

That looks good on there. I checked the Monster site. See they offer a bimini too for it as well. Decent price too

Could you conceivably fold that tower down by pulling the bolt on the front or rear mount on each side?  Just an idea.