2016 Sx190 wakeboard tower

[rick marzen]

has anyone installed a tower on the sx190

 

[swatski]

It can be done, I have done it in my 2012 SX190:
https://jetboaters.net/threads/sx190-wakeboard-tower.7569/

That tower was very inexpensive and served us really well, including surviving a Bimini trip with no issues. But, it is a bit of a project, IMO.
It is important, IMO, to use really well enforced mounting sites, or factory-enforced mounting sites. The hull is the same as AR190, so you can see the enforcements inside the gunnels. I found that the exact placement/size of those re-enforcements varies somewhat in individual hulls.
A factory tower would be the best option for structural considerations, but I found the price to be kind of ridiculous. If you could find one used for a good price - that would be a no-brainer.


EDIT: I'm not sure what the OEM enforcements are in the 2016 w/forward-swept towers.
--

 

[rick marzen]

I found one from reborn towers that I like.
The sweep looks adjustable and it seems I can get it to mount where the AR mounts. I'm just not sure if it will adjust to a level tow point.

 

[rick marzen]

I was also curious if there is a tower that I would be able to keep the SX Bimini top?

 

[Budrick]

I put the Monster mtk tower on my sx192 this past summer. When i get a chance I will put a picture up. My wife and I love the tower so far. When i installed the tower i measured the placement of the factory ar192 tower, allowing us to use the ar192 cover.

 

[rick marzen]

That would be great

 

[Budrick]

Sorry the pictures are not that great. I had to upload them from my phone. I took the tower off today and didnt take a picture with the cover on before i did; that is why there is no tower in the one picture. The only thing i do not like, which i am currently fixing, is the angle is off 180 degrees for the top due to the mounting location. It is adjustable but I didn't mess with it much when I installed it. I should have it leveled here soon.

 

[rick marzen]

That's perfect. The instructions say to make sure you have at least a # of turns of the bolt into the bar for adjustment. It looks like your bottomed out right now?
Can the tower fold into the boat inside the window?

 

[Budrick]

It was not bottomed out, but was close on the front. Imo, the bottom hiem joint should have a longer threaded section; it is only 2 inches. Currently I am making a riser for the rear that will level it to within 1 to 2 degrees. If it works like it should, I'll throw up some pictures sometime next week. Staying in the factory area, where there is additional fiberglass reinforcement, and leveling any aftermarket tower was a concern I always knew I was going to have to deal with.

 

[rick marzen]

Agreed. I am concerned about that also. I will not waiver from the factory mounting locations.
I also do not want to bay for a black ar192 Yamaha OEM tower.

I was also wondering about folding it down. Are you able to fold yours down for storage or do you have to remove it all the time?

I really like the look of that tower on the boat too. Thanks for all of the feedback.
On the heim joint, the directions say to have it turned in minimum of 9 turns. I would think it would only need to be extended an inch or so to level it out. I would think a spacer under the mount would be better than an extended threaded rod though. As long as the mount from the tower is able to have that aggressive of an angle.

 

[Budrick]

On the folding of the tower:
It will fold inside the window but i dont like that it rests on the steering wheel. Come to think of it, i have never seen how it restd on the cover. Direst answer to your question is yes , it will fold inside the window, but my current temp. Storage for the boat allows me to just leave it up.

Tower leveling and the hien joint issue:
Rule of thumb on any bolt is to have at least 1.5 times engagement. If that is 9 turns i do not know. When the tower goes back on there will be two nuts on that hiem joint for me; need to make sure that first one is locked in place. When i removed those hiem joints i forgot how small they are and how little adjutment you could get from them. You could buy longer ones but i had a different solution. I am an engineer and have designed a base plate that is contoured to our boat and level out the tower. Issue is that cost of aluminum and not be able to properly measure the rails contours means i would be taking an expensive hit if they would work; this is what i really want to do though. The other solution, working on now, is to make a 2.5 by 5.5 inch long riser for the back tower leg out of aluminum rod, but issue with this is it moves the hiem joints mounting about 2 inches; working on that fix now.

Sorry, typing this on a cell phone and it sucks.

 

[rick marzen]

Thanks
Did you do anything with the SX Bimini top?
Are thinking modify or replace?

 

[Irvs]

Sorry the pictures are not that great. I had to upload them from my phone. I took the tower off today and didnt take a picture with the cover on before i did; that is why there is no tower in the one picture. The only thing i do not like, which i am currently fixing, is the angle is off 180 degrees for the top due to the mounting location. It is adjustable but I didn't mess with it much when I installed it. I should have it leveled here soon.

Ohhh yeah!!!! I am ordering one for my 2015 SX192!

Looks awesome!

 

[Irvs]

@Budrick Before I order an MTK tower, since I like the Aerial Freeride tower more than the MTK, do you think the Freeride will be a non issue on the SX192?

Thanks again for the pics.

 

[Budrick]

Irvs,
From looking at the pictures of the Aerial Freeride tower, I would say that it should work about the same; maybe better. The mounting looks similar, but the distance between the mounting points are different. If you were wanting to use the ar mooring cover, that 24" to 30" distance won't fit the tower space for the cover; could modify or use a different cover though. The fact that the front legs could move with angle of the boat is why i say it maybe better. If that movement would allow you to level the top of the tower, that would be great.

Sorry for taking so long to reply!

 

[Irvs]

@Budrick thanks for replying

One more question. How did you gain access to the underside of the hull to tighten the bottom of the mounting block?

 

[Budrick]

It's all good, I understand the question. You can access the under side of the rail through the storage area under the back, side seats. It is a little tricky to wiggle in there and be able to get enough viability to see what you are doing. You can tell where your tower needs to be from the underside by finding the added fiberglass. The added fiberglass is easy to understand once you have seen it. In short, you have from the back of the windshield to the gas tank latch on the one side; if you need a reference.

 

[rick marzen]

This is the reply I got from aerial

Good morning,
We only offer one forward facing tower which is the Freeride tower.
To be completely honest the odds of the mounting points lining up exactly
with any other tower are slim to none.
If you have any other questions please feel free to let me know.

Best Regards,
Cody Hayes
cody@aerialwakeboarding.com

 

[Budrick]

Well if he is saying that it wont hit up in the factory area, i would have to measure some. The legs of that tower are 24" to 30 " apart, so it hitting in the same spot as any other tower is prob. true. The added fiberglass area is bigger than just the factory mounting points; and even if they are not you could always have someone add fiberglass or bracing if needed. The picture attached is a representation of what i believe the haul contour is. Now you also have a contour out from the 2-d image but this is at least a visual. The front intersection point on the green line is an approximate back mount point of my tower. The second and third are approximately where the freeride tower would be if you put the front block right at the windshield; which i would not do but this should give you an idea of location. The only thing that concerns me with the 24 to 30 inch distance is the gas tank latch. Ill try and do some more research for you.

 

[haknslash]

^^ @Budrick
From one Autodesk Inventor user to another...Hi