Bow rail going to be a problem?

I'm planning on installing a tower on my boat in the off season, and I'm wondering if the bow rail on my boat is going to cause a problem. I was planning on getting a Big Air Ice Tower, but all the installs I see mount to the side right where my rail falls. Has anyone run into this problem before? Advice from someone who has dealt with this?

Here is my boat:

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

Looks like a problem to me for a conventional 4 legged tower. For that boat I'd take a look at the aerial freeride or similiar mid mount tower.

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

That is a sweet looking boat! What great lines!

From their video you can see the feet sitting flat on the floor, so I think you will have no problem other than having to remove and move your horn. I think the feet will sit nicely on that flat, triangular area in front of the window.

That being said, I have a single overhead bar tower similar (the Aerial Assault) and I kind of regret it. It creaks in high wind and rough water. I wonder if that one will do the same?

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

I don't know but it will almost certainly interfere with your bimini top

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

The way the ice towers mount you should have no problems getting around the rail.

They will mount on any angle or flat surface the rear legs can mount wider than the front if need be.

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

sickwilly said:

That is a sweet looking boat! What great lines!

From their video you can see the feet sitting flat on the floor, so I think you will have no problem other than having to remove and move your horn. I think the feet will sit nicely on that flat, triangular area in front of the window.

That being said, I have a single overhead bar tower similar (the Aerial Assault) and I kind of regret it. It creaks in high wind and rough water. I wonder if that one will do the same?

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Thanks, we love the lines too, very modern looking for an '84 IMO. I'm not a huge fan of that style of tower, so I'm hoping the 4 post will work for me.

spdracr39 said:

I don't know but it will almost certainly interfere with your bimini top

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Yeah, we already figured we would need to get the bimini top for the tower to replace our current one, though the current top is really tall, so depending on the tower height it may actually go over the top of the tower.

86 century said:

The way the ice towers mount you should have no problems getting around the rail.

They will mount on any angle or flat surface the rear legs can mount wider than the front if need be.

Click to expand...

This is exactly what I was hoping, so I can mount the front legs on the flats in front of the windshield, and the rear legs on the sides. Very glad to hear that!

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

Seem that were back and forth on the tower pulling capacity. Regardless I want to touch base with your set up. The standard height from the mount to the bottom of the top bar is 53". The stance can spread apart to lower the tower if need be. At seem that the tower would almost ride under to top. Which is where i think it would look bet. The way the yolks are on the ice tower im pretty sure you can get away "like previous poster said" with mounting the front feet up top on the back feet on the sides. I think for looks you may as well mount the back on the top also. With that said....there is no given "area" to mount the tower. The Ice is also reversible. I think for your boat that it would look best to mount it further back and have it sweeping forward. Just a though. .....Remember its 2.25 round Aircraft Grade Tubing. If your trying to imagine how it will all lay out... There pretty bulky... Nice boat FYI....

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

no harm no foul, this is a discussion board and the tower pulling thread is a good discussion IMO. My only concern with using my current bimini is the rear leg mounts of the tower needing to go on the outside of the bimini mounts, so might not work. We'll see, my main concern is addressed, it will mount, if I need to replace the bimini I'm ok with that. Thanks for all the input!

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

What a great looking boat. Love the teak on it and that red color is beatiful.

I would guess that you could mount to the side if needed. It depends on the tower mount. There are some great pictures of the Big Air Ice tower mount at www.wakeboardtowerreviews.com if you're interested in seeing how it mounts up. You could mount it on top with your hull but this would likely interfere with your ability to lower the tower without the windshield being in the way?

You're bimini just looks like it won't work with any tower that I'm familiar with. Way to tall?

I looked on line and here are some options from the various manufactures that attach to the tower itself (a nice option in my opinion):

Aerial
Big Air
Indy
Monster Tower

I like the bimini's that go under the tower instead of on top of it. It places the bimini lower so that you end up with more shade. You do lose some headroom this way though. I'm more than happy for the tradeoff. I have speakers on my tower that I have to duck for anyway my bimini is mounted directly under my speakers. Lot's of great shade.

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

Let me potentially side track you a little. Why add a tower? I added mine primarily for storage, so I can get the boards off the floor. It definitely has pros and cons. I love the storage and the speakers, but sometime long for the cleaner lines of the boat without it.

If you don't need storage and are just wanting more height, why not consider using a removable pole like the insanity pylon?

Re: Bow rail going to be a problem?

personally I like the look, and board storage is a big plus also. I think if properly installed it will complement the lines of the boat. Also, this boat is used for wakeboarding 80% of the time, so the pylon would be a pain to set up and take down every time IMO.