RSSTower Accessories
As mentioned before, wakeboard towers were originally designed to offer a more stable elevated platform for attaching the rope. Additionally, they also eliminate the unsightly and obtrusive extended pylon cable and get the wakeboards off the deck and out of the way. Therefore, the first wakeboard tower accessory developed was the wakeboard rack to store the wakeboards on the tower. It didn’t take long for new wakeboard tower accessories like speakers, lights, mirror arms, flag holders and bimini tops to be introduced.
Each major wakeboard tower accessory component could easily have an entire “How to buy” guides like this one wholly dedicated to only that tower accessory. In this article we will only summarize the main points and will leave the rest of the detail to future guides that we are in the process of creating.
Wakeboard Racks
The most important wakeboard tower accessory is the wakeboard rack. The wakeboard rack was first patented by Wake Designs. Their first racks and almost all early racks looked like pickle forks and used bungee cords to secure the wakeboards. At that time, most racks were painted black, bent easily, damaged wakeboards, slipped out of position, and rattled and shook. Since then, wakeboard racks have evolved to the point where most are polished billet aluminum and some are chrome or anodized in order to eliminate tarnish, enhance style, and make maintenance easy. OEM manufacturers and quality aftermarket manufacturers have eliminated rattles, perfected the quick-release, and beefed up the design to protect the wakeboards and keep the racks from bending. There are also options available to hold water skis, wake skates, wake surfboards, and hydrofoils.
Biminis (sun shade)
Biminis are sun shades that have long protected boaters and skiers from excess sun exposure and heat by providing shade just where it is needed most. The great thing about a bimini is that it provides shade for the driver and anyone else who has had enough sun. Others can get their tan in the open bow, rear seat, or up on the v-drive deck.
When a boat has a wakeboard tower, the bimini is usually attached to the tower instead of to the boat or windshield. The main reason is that there are fewer and shorter bimini support tubing for greater rigidity and better looks.
Biminis are usually ordered along with a wakeboard tower so that they are sized to work together. However, with proper measurements, a tower mounted bimini can be ordered at a later time. If a boat already has a bimini before the wakeboard tower is purchased, it usually needs to be removed and replaced with a tower mounted bimini due to clearance issues.
Wakeboard Tower Speakers
Besides the wakeboard tower and the wakeboard racks, the wakeboard tower speakers are the next most important tower accessory for most boat owners. Music enhances the wakeboarding experience and has become an important part of a day on the water. No matter what kind of music one enjoys or at what volume it is enjoyed at, music from the wakeboard tower can add a new element to boating pleasure.
Some people associate a high powered audio system with wakeboard tower speakers that put out such high dB (decibels) that the people in the boat, in other boats, on the shore, and living nearby get blasted with volume that disturbs the peace.
While what is described above does occasionally happen and is the goal of a few, the majority of wakeboarders have an entirely different set of goals. Often there are between 4 to 12 people in the boat while one person is riding. The rider usually spends quite a bit of time putting on and taking off wakeboarding equipment and gear. For that reason, it makes sense to have quality music inside the boat, at the rear platform and deck, near the boat while swimming, at the dock, or lakeside a top priority. Many enjoy their tower speakers while prepping their boat and cleaning it up afterwards or during a boat detailing session. Chilling out on the boat with some good friends with great tunes is also very popular. We plan to develop a new Boat Audio Planning and Design Guide in 2007. Stay tuned.
Tower Lights
Wakeboard tower lights are designed for those late evening riding sessions when you need to dock the boat, get it out of the water, and clean it up after dark. In almost all states it is illegal to wakeboard or water ski after dark. Tower lights do not meet requirements for night navigation but can be used to supplement legal lighting. Lighting systems usually range from 4 to 8 lights mounted on a light bar. Most of these lighting systems support some combination of forward facing and rear facing lights.
Combo Speakers and Lights
By the time you include one or two sets of wakeboard tower speakers plus a light bar you could have up to 6 tower mounts. Combo speaker and light bar systems reduce the mounts down to two for the combined system and usually help to hide the many wires. Therefore the main benefit is to clean up the look and styling by combining all of the tower accessories on the top of the tower with a combo unit.
Mirror Arms
Mirrors on open bow boats are usually in the way or out of sight when the windshield is open. By adding an aluminum billet mirror arm to the wakeboard tower, the stock mirror can be moved out of the way while freeing up the opening center windshield. With this tower accessory, you can keep your windshield open and not lose your mirror. For many boats this is a very practical idea. For others it just looks cool.
Pre-wire for Tower Accessories
Several of the wakeboard tower manufactures offer a Pre-wire option for different combinations of tower speakers and tower lights. The pre-wire option includes a quick disconnect for towers that collapse so that the wiring doesn’t hamper the process. Running the wires through the wakeboard tower tubing gives it a very professional look. The quick disconnect is important on some collapsible towers.