Removing wake tower

[Captain_Ron65]

So after taking possession of my boat last week, I found that the previous owner had liberally caulked around the tower supports and that one of the rear pins is stripped. So I can't lower the tower until I clean up the caulk so it will lift and pivot. The season is winding down and I'm thinking I'll just remove the tower until next season which has the added benefit of allowing the boat to fit into my dry storage slip). Has anyone removed their tower and covered up the holes temporarily? What did you use to cover them so that it looked decent (I'm not expecting it to look perfect). Any thoughts on removing the stripped pin?

Also, what size allen wrench to remove the tower?

 

[Captain_Ron65]

Should item 17 in the diagram, 2012 Yamaha 242 LIMITED S (SXT1800GL) Wakeboard Tower | Yamaha Sports Plaza come with the boat or was it an add on? I think these are supports for the tower when it is in the down position.

 

[AZMark]

Should item 17 in the diagram, 2012 Yamaha 242 LIMITED S (SXT1800GL) Wakeboard Tower | Yamaha Sports Plaza come with the boat or was it an add on? I think these are supports for the tower when it is in the down position.

Those might be the shipping supports. Mine were buried in the back of the boat when I got it but I could see those getting lost over the years.

I don’t have the same boat so don’t know what the holes look like but could you just use some white plastic like Starboard or a cutting board?

 

[Captain_Ron65]

If I can get these screw knobs off, I'll just remove the tower as it's supposed to be removed. One is stripped and the other won't budge. Anyone else have this issue?

 

[Captain_Ron65]

If I can get these screw knobs off, I'll just remove the tower as it's supposed to be removed. One is stripped and the other won't budge. Anyone else have this issue?

I had two of the knob screws that were completely locked in place. Had to saw off the knobs, grind flat spots on the bolts, and then use a plumbing wrench to get the bolts out. A total pain in the ass. I don't think they had ever been removed in the life of the boat.

 

[AZMark]

I had two of the knob screws that were completely locked in place. Had to saw off the knobs, grind flat spots on the bolts, and then use a plumbing wrench to get the bolts out. A total pain in the ass. I don't think they had ever been removed in the life of the boat.

That sucks, bad way to spend a day. I have seen other complains about those threaded tower bolts, but I think it was actually because they were coming loose underway. I think that's why they switched to pins that slide through the tower on some of the newer ones.

 

[Kaiser211]

Are you taking down the tower - I’m interested in buying if so

 

[Captain_Ron65]

I had to remove it for now, but I am looking for options for next spring that all me to keep the tower on. The wife does not want to sell the tower.

 

[Kaiser211]

NP - if anything changes feel free to let me know ?

 

[Captain_Ron65]

NP - if anything changes feel free to let me know ?

Hey it looks like I'm going to sell the tower. It will just be the tower, none of the hardware that is needed to mount it on the boat. I don't know what to charge but I priced them out and they are around $5500. I wouldn't ask that much. I want to replace the tower with the 242 limited bimini so if you have one of those we could do a trade with money to boot.

 

[Kaiser211]

I have a Bimini for a 2012 sx240 that is grey and nice. Def interested - do you have photo and does it have Bimini on tower?

 

[Kaiser211]

Photo

 

[Captain_Ron65]

Photo

The bimini is built into the tower. The frame is fine but two of the zippers on the canvas need to be repaired. It still deploys as it should but it isn't as tight as it should be without those zippers. I'll see if I have a pic, the tower is in storage at the moment. It is the brushed aluminum tower.