Tower for an I/O.....recommendations?
 

My neighbor has a 17' I/O (I'm not sure what brand it is) and he's looking for a tower for it.

Any first hand experience from anyone with aftermarket towers?
Any installation tips? (what to use for backing plates, how to drill gelcoat without cracking it, etc.)

Aerial, Big Air, Monster MTK and Skylon all look like possibilities. Trying to stay on the lower cost side of things, not looking to spend $2-$3K for a tower setup.

Definitely reinforce the fiberglass in the area the tower bolts through. Sand it down and add more fiberglass mat in 1'x1' patch. Those boats weren't designed for towers so the fiber glass is not thick enough in that area. Then use a a thin of wood and a washer to help distribute the load. Its not hard at all, it just sounds intimidating if you haven't worked with the material before.

just thought id share this just in case you (or anyone reading the thread) were thinking of mounting in the rear: DONT

mount it over the windshield as is traditional and not in the rear of the boat like sometimes seen.
a buddy of mine and i mounted his in the back, all thought there are some advantages to this there is a HUGE riding drawback. tower mounted in back means you lose 5 ft or more of rope length to aid in your pendulum swing behind the boat for edging.

Nothing better than shopping for a tower. I have a 20' bayliner and I bought an aerial airborne tower for it last year. I shopped around and got a package deal for $1400 with two speakers and board racks. I later added two more speakers. The install wasn't horrible but it was tough getting everything layed out and lined up properly. The instructions are very detailed and clear, however I did need a friend to help me install. I just used the backing plates that came with the tower and I haven't had any gel coat problems.. I used painters tape on the boat where I had to drill holes.

I am very satisfied with tower functionality and looks. I did have to go around the tower and tighten the set screws after the first couple sets. Now if only it made my wake bigger!!!!

Good luck, and here is a pic.

Monster Tower is pretty solid also, easy to install, just requires a few holes with a drill for the screws.

Check out OnlyInboards.com (shameless plug). Tons of towers to choose from and I'll package just about anything into a package deal that I will discount.

http://www.onlyinboards.com/Accessor...rd-Towers.aspx