242 limited s E tower folding

[kinglenario]

Hey Guys, I got a new 2017 and love it. I’m having a couple of small problems. One is folding down the tower so it fits under my dock. The manual simply says “pull the tower all the way down”. But it doesn’t stay down at all because of the gas struts. I’ve had to use two straps to keep it down (one attached under the passenger chair and one to the back handle). Am I missing something? I MUST be missing something.

 

[jcyamaharider]

I wonder the same thing, and I have done the same thing as you to get mine into my shed. Kind of a PITA.

 

[kinglenario]

Weird. It also seems like in a lot of pictures I look at they do not have the gas struts like mine. The gas struts do not look like they are easy to remove. There needs to be better instructions from Yamaha on this. Saying "push the tower all the way down" doesn't work, it just springs right back up.

 

[Coheeba]

The new boats have the gas struts, my 2016 does not. I personally wish I had them. It takes two people to put up and take down mine.

 

[jcyamaharider]

The new boats have the gas struts, my 2016 does not. I personally wish I had them. It takes two people to put up and take down mine.

It still takes 2 people, you just don't have the fear of the tower crashing down on top of you.

 

[kinglenario]

I can actually pretty easily do it by myself. It's just so amazingly stupid that there are gas struts but you still have to strap the top down with your own straps. They could easy have a little bracket with pins to lock it down. My buddy who was here called it Duct tape on a Mercedes. That's pretty much what it's like. For $70k this $hit should be motorized

 

[swatski]

I can actually pretty easily do it by myself. It's just so amazingly stupid that there are gas struts but you still have to strap the top down with your own straps. They could easy have a little bracket with pins to lock it down. My buddy who was here called it Duct tape on a Mercedes. That's pretty much what it's like. For $70k this $hit should be motorized

Trust me, you have nothing to complain about!
Those towers are Lamborghini compared to the demented design they use in AR models.

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[jcyamaharider]

I can actually pretty easily do it by myself. It's just so amazingly stupid that there are gas struts but you still have to strap the top down with your own straps. They could easy have a little bracket with pins to lock it down. My buddy who was here called it Duct tape on a Mercedes. That's pretty much what it's like. For $70k this $hit should be motorized

We could actually motorize these for about $300 ish if we found the right motorized actuator.

 

[jcyamaharider]

Just a quick search...cheap models

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Heavy-Duty-...7?var=&hash=item1a2c76d4d9:g:Dy4AAOSw9OFZIkFL

 

[kinglenario]

That would be cool. The problem is there are two parts that go different ways. And we would need to get an actuator that fits inside the tower where the gas strut is located. I'm sure it's doable but it should be done by Yamaha. Or just mechanically engineer it in a way that makes it easy to fold down and put up so that you don't need 2 people and your own straps attached to chairs and handles.

 

[swatski]

That would be cool. The problem is there are two parts that go different ways. And we would need to get an actuator that fits inside the tower where the gas strut is located. I'm sure it's doable but it should be done by Yamaha. Or just mechanically engineer it in a way that makes it easy to fold down and put up so that you don't need 2 people and your own straps attached to chairs and handles.

I would talk to @rocknracing - he knows more about small marine actuators than anyone else here!

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[NORCAL-GAS]

anyone from this thread have pics of the 242x or L tower folded?

 

[Rylee44]

My 2017 Limited SE is the exact same way. I went back to the dealer and got the shipping braces that bolt in and use those for getting it in storage...

 

[Tjensen]

Hey Guys, I got a new 2017 and love it. I’m having a couple of small problems. One is folding down the tower so it fits under my dock. The manual simply says “pull the tower all the way down”. But it doesn’t stay down at all because of the gas struts. I’ve had to use two straps to keep it down (one attached under the passenger chair and one to the back handle). Am I missing something? I MUST be missing something.

Correct if I’m wrong but it’s not the struts that are the problem but the cables that provide the tension which I assume to be attached to a spring of some sort. Couldn’t you put a clamp on the cable if it’s in the folded down position?? Of course guy doesn’t want to fray the cable. It seems a kind of cowboy way to do but, you could just cut a piece of wood to fit at the bottom hinge of the strut to the tower. Wood wouldn’t scratch anything and you could paint it to match if you like. I’d say that would beat your strap idea and be a lot cleaner and you would only need to do it on one side.

 

[Rylee44]

The cable just has a small weight on it, it isn't attached to anything like a spring. The rebound comes from the gas strut...

 

[wheaties82]

My 2017 Limited SE is the exact same way. I went back to the dealer and got the shipping braces that bolt in and use those for getting it in storage...

This.

 

[afdouble]

Anybody got a replacement idea for the rubber lanyard in the picture that holds the cotter pin for the wake tower? Mine finally rotted and broke.