Wakeboard Tower Install for 1995 Bayliner Capri 2050 LS

[Ramblin'man]

I have a question that is specific to Bayliner boat owners. The year, make and model of my boat's design has lots of curves presenting an issue for finding placement for a wake board tower. I have purchased a High Fly Monkey Bar Tower for my boat and to introduce us into the world of wakeboarding.

I consider myself rather savvy on mechanical aspects, hardware etc... but I am extremely nervous about having to drill through the fiberglass of my boat. The footings for the tower have very thick front and back plates; almost an inch thick. Do I need to put something between the plates and the actual fiberglass of the boat? What tips, hits, tricks, advice and/or warnings can you Bayliner owners offer in the area of wakeboard tower installations?

The installation process seems very basic, I just want to take every step and use every trick to ensure that it is done completely right: avoiding cracking, spidering, tower movement etc.. Although, the local boat shop charges a little over $500 to do the install.

We have planned to do the install this weekend. So I have 5 more days to cram as much info as I can.

 

[Dave.Mishchenko]

Re: Wakeboard Tower Install for 1995 Bayliner Capri 2050 LS

When I did a MonsterTower kit a number of years ago it come with rudder pads that sat between the gelcoat and the external mount. This allowed me to mount some of the pads onto a slightly curved surface. How large are the external plates?

For the backing plates that you'll have inside the boat I'd suggest the following:
1) take some quality plywood and sand down one side to match the curvature of the mounting area. That'll provide a flat surface for the backing plate to mount against.
2) ideally you'd use a marine quality plywood, but in any case make sure to glass the wood in to protect it from moisture damage.
3) I'd also suggest sealing the holes you drill to protect those areas from any water that might leak in from the external plates.

For drilling the holes, I found it helpful to run the drill in reverse until the drill bit is through the gel coat. It helps prevent chipping on the outside edge of the hole and it doesn't take much pressure with the drill running in reverse to get through the gelcoat.