ski pylon

I have just acquired a Legend Sportfish 17 foot bowrider. I have used it for skiing a couple of times with a tow harness (http://www.gandermountain.com/modpe...on_Wide_Transom_Boats&aID=512F6C&merchID=4006) on the back of the boat. In the past, have skiied behind a ski pylon such as this

http://www.gandermountain.com/modpe...on&aID=512F6C&merchID=4006#details_box_holder

I have not done a lot of skiing though, and not for many years, so kinda, just getting back into it...at 47 years old, .. Not so sure that is a good idea but that would be another thread...

The boat has a fuel tank in the floor, and the one I seen in the past mounted to the floor....After submitting this thread, I took another look at the photo for the Gander Mountain ad. It looks like it mounts in the splash well (term?) at the back of the boat. That might work better..any advice?

For those of you that have used the pylons versus the bridle/harness, is the pylon the way to go ie strongly recommended?

Does the built in fuel tank affect the installation? What hardware usually holds the pylon to the floor? I do seem to recall one coming out of the base and, as you can imagine, this is extremely dangerous having a steel pylon whipping over the back of the boat...:facepalm:

It was not my boat. The base was not a good fit but it illustrated what kind of forces are on the pylon.

Input?

Thanks

Re: ski pylon

I've had pylons in three boats 15-17' outboard-powered. I didn't use them all the time.
The primary advantage is ease of handling lines. It is just easier to work over the top of the motor. In terms of skier experience, I don't think there is ANY advantage to helping a skier out of the water, in fact they hinder hole shot with a higher leverage point so the boat has a bit harder time planing out (my experience with 200 lb slalom skiers anyway - worked better towing off the transom eyes). I used the pylon to pull lightweight kids on the tube. Not for adults - and either way the boat driver needs to be very attentive to loads on the rope and avoiding lots of slack.

My Glastrons had transom eyes close to the motor. Only 18-24" apart, so we would tow off of just one of the eyes and it didn't make much difference with how the boat handled. Depending on how far out to the corners your transom eyes are would determine the need for a bridle (using both eyes) or just towing from one.







On one boat the main pole passed through the splash well and bolted to the wood floor. In another the bracket for the pole mounted just ahead of the splash well, and I added alum. U-channel underneath to spread the load. Sorry no detailed install pics.

Re: ski pylon

It depends what type of skiing you are doing. If you are a slalom skier making deep cuts it helps to place the pylon further foreward. This results in a better tracking boat. You will have to see how thick your deck is over the fuel tank. I had to cut a access hole and install a stainless steel plate with threds taped into it to accomodate the bolts provided with the pylon I had on my old 19 ft Jamican.

Re: ski pylon

Since you are skiing for fun and not competition, why not consider a tower instead?
A tower keeps the rope in front, which is better for tracking.
The rope is up out of the way, so passengers can move around more freely.
A tower aids the skier by helping them get up on the water more quickly.

My boat has both a tower and pylon, I see no negative in skiing off the tower vs the pylon.

Towers are stronger and the mount is much more secure. It is easier to install a tower on most boats than it is to add a pylon that is strong and secure.

Re: ski pylon

The minute difference in angle from the pylon to the tower isn't hardly enough to aid in getting out of the water for skiing unless you use a really short length of rope to ski with. At 60-75' back, the angle between the two mounting points is negligible. Skiing from the tower also causes the boat to be top-heavy when the skier is cutting outside the wake.

Re: ski pylon

I have a main pole and the bottom mounting bracket I took from another boat and I am trying to figure out how
to mount in my boat. Any ideas were you can purchase addional mounting hardware only ??

Re: ski pylon

Great lake skipper.com has tons of hardware for mounting all types of accessories. Ther are a marine parts liquidator.