Wakeboard towers, like any other product, have evolved over time through continuous innovation, new materials, and new computerized manufacturing techniques such as CNC equipment and computerized engineering simulations. Like other products, each manufacturer and designer learns from all the prior designs which create an environment of intense competition, with many new designs being improvements on the good ideas of the past (the “leap frog” effect). The good news is that the consumer ultimately wins with better, more innovative and technologically advanced products at lower prices.

Below are some of the recent changes that have resulted in major improvements in the quality of wakeboard towers available.

Tubing Diameter
The first wakeboard tower, introduced by Correct Craft was built from 1 7/8″ outside (OD) diameter tubing. Most early manufacturers, such as Pro Flight and Skylon also adopted this size tubing because it is readily available. Titan changed the rules with 2 1/4″ OD stainless steel tubing, which forced other manufactures such as Skylon and Boss Accessories to introduce 2″ OD tubing on their Swoop Towers. In late 2002 Mastercraft raised the bar again with the ultra fat 2 7/8″ OD Zero Flex Flyer tower. Boss, Pro Flight, Skylon, and Xtreme Towers have all increased tubing diameter to 2 3/8″ OD on many of their towers in order to keep up with this trend toward larger tube towers. How “fat” is too “fat” remains to be seen and the look depends on the size of boat. 2 7/8″ OD would look out of place on a 17′ recreational boat to most people, so in the end it is subjective.

Aluminum vs. Stainless Steel
A skillful wakeboard rider can transmit hundreds of pounds of force to the wakeboard tower when loading the line during edging into the wake. That torque requires not only a well designed tower, but also very strong tower materials. Aircraft grade aluminum tubing (usually 6061 or 6063) has an incredible strength to weight ratio which makes it the most popular candidate for tower construction. Stainless steel is 300 percent stronger than aluminum at 1/2 of the tube wall thickness but is much heavier, which is why Titan’s tower designs are incredibly strong, but also slightly heavier than their aluminum counterparts. Both materials are strong enough to resist the pull of a rider with proper tubing diameter and wall thickness.

Aluminum tubing is now available to the tower manufacturers in a brushed aluminum finish. The price ends up not much higher than power coat for a very shiny “bling” looking tower.

Although most manufacturers use aluminum, stainless steel has some advantages in salt water and severe weather applications. Additionally, stainless steel also has the ability to be polished to look virtually identical to chrome, but is extremely durable - think of the low maintenance required on bow rails or common stainless silverware. Currently Titan uses stainless steel tubing exclusively on their wakeboard towers.

Cross Members
Two-piece swooped cage style towers and many OEM towers often include 2-6 horizontal cross members to the side and the top of the tower to add strength and to make the tower more rigid. Cross members on the sides of the tower are a great place to mount wakeboard racks.

Cross members can be either round tubing or oval tubing. Many tower manufacturers use a smaller diameter tubing for the cross members than they do for the main tower tubes, so if you are ordering wakeboard tower accessories, make sure you measure the diameter of the tubing where you will be mounting your tower accessories.

Several OEM wakeboard tower manufacturers use oval tubing on the side cross members for a stylish look that also offers increased mounting surface for wakeboard racks. Skylon Swoop Classic towers use a 1 1/4 by 3 inch oval; Correct Craft (Nautiques) Flight Control towers use 1 1/4 by 4 inch oval, and Supra and Moomba towers use 1 1/4 by 2 1/2 inch oval.

Most universal adjustable towers that collapse flat have eliminated the horizontal side cross members and have increased tubing diameter to make up for the lack of extra support that cross members add. Some wakeboard racks double as a removable cross member to make a tower more rigid.

Weld Quality
The quality of the welds used to build a wakeboard tower is one of the first indicators of the overall quality of the tower. Most OEM wakeboard tower manufacturers have highly skilled welders which is one of the reasons they are awarded OEM boat manufacturer contracts each year.

In order to achieve near perfect fit and finish, Titan has implemented a robotic welding solution. The welds are completely uniform and Titan saves on the cost of labor at the same time.

Mounts and Mounting Locations
Wakeboard towers have been designed to mount on top of the deck (gunwale), on the side of the hull or some combination of the above based on both the boat design and the tower style.

Many mounts are polished billet aluminum and add some interesting detail and bling over a fixed base plate mount. Articulating base plate mounts are generally machined billet aluminum, sometimes with intricate shapes, utilizing a ball and socket or “Heim” joint.

It is important to pay attention to the location and quality of the tower mounts, as they can either enhance the look of a boat or cheapen the overall fit and finish of the tower installation and boat.

Tow Spool
There are two prevalent types of tow spools on wakeboard towers today; fixed and rotating. Most tower manufacturers use tow spools that swivel when the rider edges from side to side to decrease the amount of wear and tear on the rope. Titan accomplishes the same result as more expensive ball bearing heads with a molded UHMV (snowboard base material) insert which slips over the billet tow spool. Some towers still use rigid tow spools that depend on the rope to “slip” on the aluminum spool.

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