help fitting a wake tower

[ski33]

i have just purchased a monster wake tower for my 2005 sportster 150
fitting the back fittings shouldent be a problem but how do i fit the front ?
i cant get behind the storage boxes to fit the brackets !
do i have to cut a hole in the boxes or is there a way of getting them out?

 

[jster91]

Tower

What did you have to do? I just got a monster tower too for my Utopia 205.

 

[mattnhays]

Yea... Just got a tower for my 08. What is the story on access to the front mounts?

 

[ski33]

i had to cut a hole in each stowage box about 6 inches in each one for fronts and got to the rear through engine bay.
i used a small angle grinder with a fine cutting disk on the left keep your hole up top near the corner becouse of the seat back also there is a bit of foam to cut out in there .
on the right there is better access but keep to the corner as much u can .
im thinking of useing the rubber they use for car windscreens to put back the glass fiber i cut out for access.
engine bay is easy just drill the mounts and follow standard fitting instructions
downloadable here if u aint got them ...http://www.monstertower.com/

 

[jster91]

monster tower

Yea... Just got a tower for my 08. What is the story on access to the front mounts?

Well, I installed my tower yesterday afternoon. It went very well. If you have a utopia, you should have no trouble. Access to the hull is inside the storage areas behind the driver and passenger seats. And the front mounting can be accessed by popping out the one plastic retainer and pulling up on the seat backs of the front seats. Very nice access. I used plywood backing on all locations just to be safe. Thicknesses were probably ok without the plywood, but since access was easy, I make up some anyway. Start to finish, it took me about 4 hours to install, by myself with help only when I mocked up the tower to decide on locations of the mounts. I'll post pics tomorrow with my exact locations for my mounts. They seemed to have worked out pretty well.

 

[LesG]

Ski33, we have exactly the same boat and were considering the Monter Tower.

I am concerned about cutting into the storage compartments. I don't want to loose what storage the boat has, even though I want the tower.

Could you explain a little more what you had to do to mount the front legs, and perhaps post pix?

Thanks

 

[ski33]

Ski33, we have exactly the same boat and were considering the Monter Tower.

I am concerned about cutting into the storage compartments. I don't want to loose what storage the boat has, even though I want the tower.

Could you explain a little more what you had to do to mount the front legs, and perhaps post pix?

Thanks

the storage boxes are still useable like i said i only cut a 6 inch sqare hole with a small angle grinder with a fine wheel .you could repair the glass you cut out very easy ,or just get some ruber like the ones they fit car windsheilds with and pop it in with that for futuer access.the holes are cut near the top of the boxes and havent been an issue at all for me.
i will try and post pics in the next couple of days for you showing all points of the instalation.
here are a few pics i have of the tower on the boat

 

[ski33]

install pics as promised. on the off side dont make the same mistake as i did and cut to near the center of the box i toataly forgot about the seat behind and had to cut a bigger hole to get n=my hand in.
im thinking of putting some kind of container in the small one to hold my anchor and riveting some s/steel to the bigger one so they can be poped for future access.

 

[LesG]

There are a lot of marine inspection covers, plastic rings and matching covers. I had them on the tops of the hulls of my Hobie. It gives a watertight and very professional result. I've seen them mostly round, but there are rectangular shapes with a gasket and hinged plug. I can send you the links I found if you're interested.

Les

 

[ski33]

There are a lot of marine inspection covers, plastic rings and matching covers. I had them on the tops of the hulls of my Hobie. It gives a watertight and very professional result. I've seen them mostly round, but there are rectangular shapes with a gasket and hinged plug. I can send you the links I found if you're interested.

Les

cheers les that would be great

 

[LesG]

This site has round and rectangular covers in white and black-

http://www.bartonmarine.com/html/inspectionCovers.htm

Same thing here.

http://rwo-marine.com/inspection.html

Interesting idea, there are what are called "cat bags" in the Hobie world. You remover the covers on the top of the hulls, and fill the bags with gear or food. It's often the only storage on the boat

This site is from the UK, but the bottom cover should cover the bigger hole with a great, finished look. I'd guess that item would be available in the US.

http://www.marinescene.co.uk/category/325/inspection-hatches

 

[LesG]

Here is a store in Maine. This is a rather exhaustive list of hatches. Some would cost as much as the tower itself, but the plastic ones look entirely satisfactory and are reasonable, but boating standards.


http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/2,414.html?gclid=CNbut6rn65sCFVlM5QodgXHg5w

 

[ski33]

Here is a store in Maine. This is a rather exhaustive list of hatches. Some would cost as much as the tower itself, but the plastic ones look entirely satisfactory and are reasonable, but boating standards.


http://store.hamiltonmarine.com/browse.cfm/2,414.html?gclid=CNbut6rn65sCFVlM5QodgXHg5w

thanks les wish i seen these before i cut them out ;p

 

[LesG]

With all of those sizes, I think you could just enlarge the holes you cut to match the next sized port, pop it in with a little Marine-Tex and it would be perfect.

 

[ski33]

iff anybody can add to this thread with pics of there own tower and fitting instructions feel free!

 

[jster91]

Ski33, we have exactly the same boat and were considering the Monter Tower.

I am concerned about cutting into the storage compartments. I don't want to loose what storage the boat has, even though I want the tower.

Could you explain a little more what you had to do to mount the front legs, and perhaps post pix?

Thanks

You won't have to cut into anything. The side storage areas give you access to the underside of the step right near the window. And the other area is accessed by removing the seat back of each bow seat. No cutting required. Just drilling. I'll post some pics soon.

 

[rexsteiner]

MT2 tower. removed the rear storage tubs to get access for the rear brackets. cut 2 4" hole behind front seat backs to get access to front brackets. patching is an option because its covered by the seat backs.

 

[LesG]

You won't have to cut into anything. The side storage areas give you access to the underside of the step right near the window. And the other area is accessed by removing the seat back of each bow seat. No cutting required. Just drilling. I'll post some pics soon.

I don't think this applies to a Speedster 150.

 

[ski33]

MT2 tower. removed the rear storage tubs to get access for the rear brackets. cut 2 4" hole behind front seat backs to get access to front brackets. patching is an option because its covered by the seat backs.

nice set up there rex !outstanding!
did you put wires for speakers through the tower ? was it a hard job?
also i have cut the prongs of one of my racks to fit a kneeboard
i know you can buy them but i had 2 with the tower and needed to carry the board !
i love my grinder lol

 

[LesG]

Yeah! Where did you get the stuff to lace on the outside of the tubes?

 

[rexsteiner]

yup the wires run throught the tower. i used a speakon connector at the base of the tower. its a terminal they use for cables for concerts and stuff that can lay on the ground without contamination. i dont like to brag about that part of the tower cuz it didnt turn out too pretty. for some odd reason i decided to use 12 guage speaker wire and it made the whole job extremly difficult. you can see the connector in the back of the boat in the picture i poasted before. it disconnects to put the tower down. heres another pic of were the wires come out of the top and aroud the swivels. and a pic where the connectors unhooked.
http://www.neutrik.com/fl/en/audio/204_672560351/speakON_STX_Series_productlist.aspx