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Bu loosing Tower Wars?


The Hulk

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On 9/8/2021 at 12:26 PM, gregtay said:

The G5 is a classic easy to use design, rock solid, and it is iconic in how it looks on the boat.

The Gx is for those who want a few more features (push button to lower (and lower flush with the windshield), integrated cockpit lights, etc.

One thing to think about is that the ability to lower a tower and have low clearance (For a garage door) can make or break a boat sale.  Malibu actually seems to think about this, clearly some of the other OEMs do not.  

I agree with you there.... But the boats have gotten so much bigger that I will be sticking with our '07 VLX for a while longer... We have a weird garage header height of 7'-6" (I frame houses every day and have never seen this...) and our VLX just clears... I always store it inside. 

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I did not read page 2 as it seemed to be sort of getting sidetracked. Forgive if this has been brought up.  

I will not own another Malibu until I get one that is rear arching and that has a decent bimini mount.  

The speakers on a Malibu tower are right next to the driver's head, and that is with a boat that has a smaller bow than most.  I simply cannot understand why anyone who likes loud tower speakers could say anything good about the tower sound system placement.  I like loud tower speakers, but I don't want to burst eardrums in the boat to have riders hear the music.  The Nautiques, MC, and Centurion towers all have the tower speakers closer to just above the rear bench, where they belong.  

Don't get me started on the bimini, I think that could be fixed without changing the tower, but has not happened to my knowledge.  

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Centurions tower speakers point straight down into the cabin. Speaking of blowing the passengers ears out...

I think TRR had the CS bimini if I remember the conversation correctly. I am torn, yeah the pins are a bit of the annoyance, but I love the way it fits when it is out and how it folds up and basically tucks back into the tower. Best way to transport it IMO. Every Nautique I pass on the highway I just can't imagine the extra drag their bimini is adding and it is always bouncing all over. I'll be honest, I have no idea how the MC bimini works because most around here don't have them which I guess raising an interesting question of why. And while I don't know exactly how the Centurion bimini works, I know my friend who just got a new Ri245 spent about 20 minutes on the water last Sunday putting his up. I don't know what the best solution is, but I do know that how Malibu's fit and function in the two positions that they spend 98-99% of the time in, seem to function - and look the best IMO.

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5 hours ago, saxton15 said:

Interesting take on the MC bimini.....I'm scratching my head to think if I've ever seen one deployed on the water too! And there is an MC dealer on my lake system!

Just went to Action's site and they have a few pictured folded up. Looks similar to Axis bimini's. Don't know if they offer a section that goes backwards, but would tow and stow better than the Nautique IMO.

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10 minutes ago, ahopkinsVTX said:

Just went to Action's site and they have a few pictured folded up. Looks similar to Axis bimini's. Don't know if they offer a section that goes backwards, but would tow and stow better than the Nautique IMO.

This is accurate from my demo experience a few weeks ago on the XT24.  It's similar to the Axis bimini, but I don't like how the surf pockets are executed on them.  They deploy quite easily.  Easier than the CS ones we get on Malibu.  If I decide to get another Malibu, I'll likely opt for the GL bimini.

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On 9/17/2021 at 4:35 AM, saxton15 said:

Interesting take on the MC bimini.....I'm scratching my head to think if I've ever seen one deployed on the water too! And there is an MC dealer on my lake system!

For good reason... they're ugly! I'm a big fan of MC, but the bimini design is not particularly attractive. That said, it literally takes 5 seconds to deploy it, so I guess I'm not really complaining. 

As for my favorite tower in the industry? I'd have to choose the Paragon telescoping tower. The ability to raise/lower the tower without affecting the bimini it pretty awesome for those chillier days. Plus I actually like the look of it. Also, the blind spot isn't really as bad as people make it seem, although it is there.

I also really like the new MasterCraft Z8 tower, it's a lot better looking than our previous towers (I actually think it looks really good, but to each their own), and possibly the most functional tower on the market. The MC board racks still need some fine tuning... depending on board thickness, it sometimes takes a lot of effort to clamp the racks back down. PTM for the win. 

Centurion (only the dropzone) and Malibu share the same weakness, speaker placement. Since their towers slope foward, this places the speakers in the middle of the cockpit and so anyone sitting towards the rear will get blasted with sound. Granted, I've always thought Bu towers have been inovative and really make a Malibu, look like a Malibu (a good thing). Also I've found the centurion towers are super strong/solid. I can't comment on other brands since I have zero experience with them. 

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On 9/16/2021 at 9:18 PM, hethj7 said:

Also, what is wrong with the Great Lakes bimini?  I am happy with mine.  What am I missing?

What Ahop said below.  I think I had the CS.  Difficult tiny little D rings to hold the support bar in place.  

On 9/17/2021 at 4:05 AM, ahopkinsVTX said:

Centurions tower speakers point straight down into the cabin. Speaking of blowing the passengers ears out...

I think TRR had the CS bimini if I remember the conversation correctly. 

I always feel that if I needed tower speakers for the cabin folk, then something is wrong with the interior speakers.  Centurion offers a Wetsounds option, so I went with that and have been pleased.  

10 hours ago, TolCarMan said:

For good reason... they're ugly! I'm a big fan of MC, but the bimini design is not particularly attractive. That said, it literally takes 5 seconds to deploy it, so I guess I'm not really complaining. 

As for my favorite tower in the industry? I'd have to choose the Paragon telescoping tower. The ability to raise/lower the tower without affecting the bimini it pretty awesome for those chillier days. Plus I actually like the look of it. Also, the blind spot isn't really as bad as people make it seem, although it is there.

I also really like the new MasterCraft Z8 tower, it's a lot better looking than our previous towers (I actually think it looks really good, but to each their own), and possibly the most functional tower on the market. The MC board racks still need some fine tuning... depending on board thickness, it sometimes takes a lot of effort to clamp the racks back down. PTM for the win. 

Centurion (only the dropzone) and Malibu share the same weakness, speaker placement. Since their towers slope foward, this places the speakers in the middle of the cockpit and so anyone sitting towards the rear will get blasted with sound. Granted, I've always thought Bu towers have been inovative and really make a Malibu, look like a Malibu (a good thing). Also I've found the centurion towers are super strong/solid. I can't comment on other brands since I have zero experience with them. 

Keen observation.  The Centurion Dropzone tower is similar to the G3 in terms of speaker placement.  I have the Maximus tower that puts them more rearward.  Oddly enough, the Dropzone is considered the premium tower.  How people put up with tower speakers blasting the interior crew is a bit of a pet peeve of mine.  Tige towers similarly put the tower speakers in poor position for the cabin folk.  

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 9/8/2021 at 4:49 PM, IXFE said:

I’ve had two GX towers in a row and there isn’t another tower in the entire industry I’d trade it for.  It’s big, solid, power operated, good looking, and in keeping with Malibu’s design language. The GX absolutely does not sway at all. It is a BRICK!  The power mechanism is actually incredible… it automatically slows down as it approaches the end of either spectrum (up or down). Then it automatically latches in place. It’s like the soft close feature in my new X5. It’s fantastic and removes all doubt about whether it’s all the way up/down/locked/etc. Also, the included PTM racks are still the best in the business (and they were improved in 2020 from prior versions). And as always, if you’re a baller, you can have QUADS!  Is that true on the other towers in the industry. I honestly don’t know.  Kinda doubt it.

Even at $13k, the GX is the easiest box I check every year. And I don’t even need to lower my tower!  I just like it / respect the quality that much. And you can keep your shag carpet @oldjeep, all you need with the GX is a colored hoop to set it off!

I’m sorry @The Hulk, you know I love your ramblings on this forum, but as an actual GX owner (twice) I find this particular rant to be WAY off base. Comparing the GX to the G3 is honestly laughable. And if you think the G4 is superior to the GX then I seriously question your objectivity. I owned several G4 towers also. It was very good for its time, but looks dated now and is substantially less rigid than the GX. 

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0BF20273-AE88-4236-8833-1770D555D684.jpeg

Wait, the PTM racks come standard with the GX tower? If so, it might be more worth it to get the GX than I thought, the racks are a 4k upgrade!! 

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54 minutes ago, Brandonloos21 said:

Wait, the PTM racks come standard with the GX tower? If so, it might be more worth it to get the GX than I thought, the racks are a 4k upgrade!! 

Yep, one pair is standard.  

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51 minutes ago, RCorsa said:

Standard but the racks still cost extra even with that gx tower.  I just bought a m240 which is supposedly the loaded boat but everything is still an option over $100k 

What do you mean by standard but the racks still cost extra?    A second pair of racks is extra but as far as I know, the first pair of PTM racks come with the Gx still and are built into the tower price.   

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53 minutes ago, hethj7 said:

What do you mean by standard but the racks still cost extra?    A second pair of racks is extra but as far as I know, the first pair of PTM racks come with the Gx still and are built into the tower price.   

They are a 4k upgrade with g5, so realistically the GX tower is more like 5-6k than 9-10k (since it is standard with clamping racks)

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Just now, Brandonloos21 said:

They are a 4k upgrade with g5, so realistically the GX tower is more like 5-6k than 9-10k (since it is standard with clamping racks)

Agreed.  I'm trying to figure out RC's statement that the racks still cost extra
"even with that Gx tower".  

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The gx tower is $13,900 for 2022.  I just looked at my build sheet.  I though the racks were extra but I was reading the line item for the second set of wet sounds 10 so you are correct the racks are included. 

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On 9/9/2021 at 11:49 AM, granddaddy55 said:

you obviously haven't been in a 2012 or so xstar, you should hear that thing creak snd grown pulling up the wakeborder, talk about side to side snd from forward to back movement 

Nobody has ever been on a 2012 XStar. There is no such thing.......... Also none of the towers from 2012 on had any creaking or swaying issues.....

That said, the previous ZFT3 (2011 was the last year of it) was probably the worst tower ever made for side to side sway. So maybe you are talking about 2011??

 

 

On 9/17/2021 at 11:53 AM, Slayer said:

This is accurate from my demo experience a few weeks ago on the XT24.  It's similar to the Axis bimini, but I don't like how the surf pockets are executed on them.  They deploy quite easily.  Easier than the CS ones we get on Malibu.  If I decide to get another Malibu, I'll likely opt for the GL bimini.

I'm also not a huge fan of the "surf sleeve" setup. It's an extra step that is a bit of a pain if you are commonly opening and closing the bimini. Did you notice that it has two integrated board holders though? You can stow two boards on the MC bimini, without installing the sleeves. If you install the sleeves, you can store 6 on the bimini.

 

 

On 9/18/2021 at 12:52 PM, TolCarMan said:

For good reason... they're ugly! I'm a big fan of MC, but the bimini design is not particularly attractive. That said, it literally takes 5 seconds to deploy it, so I guess I'm not really complaining. 

As for my favorite tower in the industry? I'd have to choose the Paragon telescoping tower. The ability to raise/lower the tower without affecting the bimini it pretty awesome for those chillier days. Plus I actually like the look of it. Also, the blind spot isn't really as bad as people make it seem, although it is there.

I also really like the new MasterCraft Z8 tower, it's a lot better looking than our previous towers (I actually think it looks really good, but to each their own), and possibly the most functional tower on the market. The MC board racks still need some fine tuning... depending on board thickness, it sometimes takes a lot of effort to clamp the racks back down. PTM for the win. 

Centurion (only the dropzone) and Malibu share the same weakness, speaker placement. Since their towers slope foward, this places the speakers in the middle of the cockpit and so anyone sitting towards the rear will get blasted with sound. Granted, I've always thought Bu towers have been inovative and really make a Malibu, look like a Malibu (a good thing). Also I've found the centurion towers are super strong/solid. I can't comment on other brands since I have zero experience with them. 

 

Agreed. 

I have always been on the fence on the looks of the MC towers. I do really like the new Z8 and Z10.

One thing I have always liked though, was how functional they are. Its nice that you can stow the bimini and fold the tower in 20 seconds. Its nice that boards on the racks dont hit anything when you fold them in. Its nice that the tower speakers don't blast in to the cabin area. There is good and bad to everyones designs.

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22 hours ago, TenTwentyOne said:
On 9/9/2021 at 10:49 AM, granddaddy55 said:

 

Nobody has ever been on a 2012 XStar. There is no such thing.......... Also none of the towers from 2012 on had any creaking or swaying issues.....

That said, the previous ZFT3 (2011 was the last year of it) was probably the worst tower ever made for side to side sway. So maybe you are talking about 2011??

it was about 2012 two years before i bought my 14 in about a 1 yr old boat, guess your right, swayed bad and creaking while it moved tightening up to rope pull 

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