Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

Bigprairie1

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Jun 13, 2007
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Anyone know where I can get a good ski/tow bar to fit a 1990 18' Bayliner Capri? (important note: Outboard....not i/o!!!....different transom arrangement!!...see jpeg below)
My boat had one at one point but all that remains is the mounts. That being, one in the floor and two outrigger points above the back transom area.
I am tempted to design and make a 3 point system...but I know somewhere there is one off the shelf....or someone has one that will fit.
In the included back end photo you can see the one (passenger) side support knob sticking from the back transom area just behind the seat surface.
I would prefer something that didn't require more drilling/mounting that what is already there....any ideas?
Thanks.
 

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QuadManiac

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

I just use a Water Devil tow harness (that i got at Walmart) which consists of a 8' or so sheathed steel cable with latching hooks at each end, and a floating, plastic encased pulley in the middle that the tow rope attaches to. THe cable is long enough that, at idle, the pulley floats in the water well behind the outboard.

I attach the latching hooks to the two rear cleats on my 91 Capri 18' and have had no trouble with it at all pulling tubes with two people. The pulley slides around on the cable when the tuber/skier leaves the wake, and pulls them quite well while somewhat evening out the load across both cleats.

If this helps, great. If not, good luck finding what you need.

Waterdevil.jpg
 

Bigprairie1

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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

...Quadmaniac, I think I'll give that a try. The boat came with that kind of harness as well. If I come across the 'post/bar' type I'll look at getting it.
How do you like your boat and motor combo so far? I've got the same unit but a year older. I've only had it a couple of months but so far so good.
Do you run a custom prop or anything on it?
 

QuadManiac

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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

Had it for less than a year. My first boat. I love it so far, but I'd like to get a little better top end. 35MPH is my best (GPS) with me and 2 others totalling about 550 lbs, maybe 100 lbs of additional load and a full tank. I really want to hit 40 if i can. Stock prop right now. I'm about to add a tach and start playing with props a bit. How is your's running in comparison?

Engine runs great, boats in great shape. I bought the boat from the original owner, someone I know, and i know that it was VERY well taken care of and maintained and only fresh water run. They went bigger, and so gave me a great deal on this at 3 grand!

Only prob i've had so far is a broken fitting on the tip cylinder, and i might have broken an engine mount when the fitting failed and the engine yanked itself out of the water in reverse.. i'll know when it get to diagnosing that in a couple of days.

Overall, I'm very happy with it as a first boat... and with any luck, it will still provide joy for a long time.

BTW, I see you have the same 'convertible' top as mine. With a little bit of thinwall conduit and some grommets and nylon line, i turned mine into a true bimini. It works great and it's much better for the So Cal and Colorado river boating I do. Doesn't look bad, ppl can't tell that I 'jury rigged' it, for the most part.
 

QuadManiac

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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

Oh yeah, one other thing. In my infinite wisdom, i left the plug in during the winter. Mind you, it doesn't rain much in San Diego. But, when I pulled the cover off last month to get ready to take her out, the bilge was full of water, and mold was beginning to grow elsewhere. The moisture got into the steering cable and it was frozen. Luckily, I found a new one for $85 on line, replaced it in a couple of hours, another couple of hours to clean and pretty it up, and now it's better than when I bought it.

The plug comes out at home and the trailer jack is tipped all the way up now, lol.
 

Bigprairie1

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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

....yeah, from what I've heard I'm definitely taking the plug out of mine for the winter.
As well, I recently picked up a spare 91' Force 90hp motor complete w/ controls. However the bottom end of it is split and needs to be replaced. I guess the guy left it 'up' over the winter and didn't drain the water from it...or it didn't drain itself. Anyways, it froze and split the bottom casing. Ouch...good lesson. I'm going to watch that one. After that I read in the manual to not leave it 'up' when storing it. Hmmm.
Right now, and ever since I bought it, it's been running great. It seems to start well and it moves out well. No issues. The (cold) compression test was 118/126/126...which is ok. Everything within 10psi and no sub 100's there.
I am the 3rd owner and supposedly it has something south of 300 hours on it.
So we'll see how she does over the rest of the summer.
I'll be keeping a close touch with the Iboats group tho' should anything surface problem wise.
Ahoy
 

vandy21

Petty Officer 1st Class
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Mar 27, 2007
Messages
375
Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

http://bierbower.net/diytower/ <<<No thats people that made their own. DIYWake is a company who makes them, they just make them in china so they can sell them for cheaper then some other companies. They still make a good solid tower though, the only I would worry about is apparently there mounts can cause cracking of the hull. I don't know if you were looking for a tower, but in several cases it can be a better option. It is pulls you out of the water in an upward direction which makes it easier to stand up get air if thats what your interested in. It also Provides a lot of storage and in many cases is better for your boat because it distributes the stress more evenly.
 

WAVENBYE2

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Apr 28, 2007
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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

http://bierbower.net/diytower/ <<<No thats people that made their own.
He might want to add hardware to the one(IF) he desides to build his own, It has hardware,lights,clamps,speaker cans Etc..I meant to say "make their own" not "made there own" typo :) This is a site you can by accesories for building your own
 

Bigprairie1

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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

...This are good website references. I guess these suppliers probably have a listing of specific boats and the towers and brackets that would work to fit it. The Capri is a pretty popular boat so I'm sure they would know that one.
Now...how bad do I really want one?...hmmm. Well I'll probably be doing most of the driving.
I could just cruise around with wakeboards stuffed in it...or I was thinking of having it modified to fit a sub-machine gun...sort of like the Rat Patrol. Now that would get some attention!!!
 

vandy21

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Mar 27, 2007
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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

haha nice idea. sorry wavenbye, good idea, i just didn't know what you meant. Big Prairie, its up to you to decide what set up you want to go with. If you decide that you want a tower, but don't want to pay upwards of a thousand dollars, you can go with one of those cheaper ones like this http://www.diywake.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=552 you will sacrifice looks, but if you are not too concerned with that, it may be a good compromise.
 

JAL51974

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Apr 26, 2005
Messages
608
Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

I just use that ski harness mentioned in an earlier post on mine and hook it into the two tie down eyes on the transom. the harness floats behind the engine far enough to not be a problem even at that height in relation to the water. Good for tubing and the PO used it for skiing too.
 

brwalkersk8

Cadet
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Jul 16, 2007
Messages
15
Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

You can get a tower pretty Cheap at diywake.com. $498 to you door.
 

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EricR

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May 17, 2007
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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

Are you looking for a wakeboard tower, or a removable (with pins) "tripod" type pole that sits in front of the motor splashwell?

I use the eyes on back of my Glasspar, but the tow rope when tubing often cuts into the wake when the tube crosses the wake. This creates three problems-

1. It slows the "whip"

2. It sprays you in the face to the point you cant see or breathe at times

3 It whips the tube in a way you don't want it!

Now I just spent a Sunday tubing and trying to get up on skis ( I ain't 15 anymore that's for sure!) behind a '91 Bayliner Capri identical to Bigprairie's right down to the interior trim, except it had a 120 Force on it. For some reason, perhaps the type of tube that they had, it did not do what my boat and my buddie's boat wakes do with the rope.

I will definitley get a ski pole made in the future.
 

Bigprairie1

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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

EricR
I think I'm going to go with a mult-piece post that fits in the boat wherein the vertical post fits down into a fixed receptacle in the floor and then 'tripods' onto the back, like you mentioned.
The waketower....may be a future option. I'd love one...just for the looks. However, short term and for whats left of the season, I think the back pole/tripod arrangement will work.
In the meantime I'm doing do the ol' back rope/float arrangement.
The feedback on the options (and where to find them) from everyone tho' is unbeatable.
 

section8

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Jul 27, 2007
Messages
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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

hey big prairie. they are called waterski pylons or just pylon. put that in a search engine or e bay. some extend so you can mount one leg high up in front of the motor and the other 2 legs on each side of the motor. up to 56" extending!
 

Bigprairie1

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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

hey big prairie. they are called waterski pylons or just pylon. put that in a search engine or e bay. some extend so you can mount one leg high up in front of the motor and the other 2 legs on each side of the motor. up to 56" extending!

Good idea....I will check Ebay. I often browse there for miscellaneous stuff. I got through this season with the ol' tow-rope routine. However over winter I will try to get the tow bar thing going.
 

MikDee

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Jun 6, 2007
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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

Hey, go to Overtons.com, they have an assortment of reasonable tripod skibars, but they don't recommend towing a tube from them (I guess that's common with all ski bars?).
 

gregmsr

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Sep 20, 2006
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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

Remember, the thicker the rope the more sag thus cutting into the wake. I went to a smaller diameter tow rope and shazam! Less sag and no cutting! It seemed to help.
 

Bigprairie1

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Re: Bayliner Capri....ski/tow bar?

Hey, go to Overtons.com, they have an assortment of reasonable tripod skibars, but they don't recommend towing a tube from them (I guess that's common with all ski bars?).

I didn't know this....don't tow a tube with a skibar? So whats the best way to tow a tube (and why)?
 
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