Hey guys, <BR>Have a 98 prostar 205dd and I'm looking to put a good looking tower on it, such as a zeroflex. I spoke with a dealer and he said they would not warranty the work as the hull was really not set up to hold a tower. <BR> <BR>My question is do I keep on dealing with a pylon, or is there someway I can make a tower work and make it secure. <BR> <BR>Thanks for any info!!

The hull will handle a tower with no problem. I put a Boss Swoop Tower on my previous boat (1993 MC Prostar 205) and it worked out great. Almost all towers come with reinforcement backing plates that go under the hull. If they don't, then you should put something under the hull to spread out the pressure of the tower. Other than that, your boat will handle a tower with no problem.

Yea, I had a prostar 190 with a tower and it worked great. I think the dealer probably wants you to buy a V-drive from him so he can make some $$$$ off of you.

Had a 92 205 w/ a tower. You need to tell your dealer to quit blowing smoke up your ass.

Riley, although the boat was not designed to hold a tower it is built like a tank and will take any tower out there today. They have insurance to keep so they need to be conservative. You'll find many people that added all kinds of towers to that boat with no problems.

Here is my buddies 205 DD with a Samson Tower. He's had it for over a year and has had no problems with the stress of the tower on the hull. Dont remember the year of the boat though. <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/209827.jpg" alt=""> <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/209828.jpg" alt="">

It amazes me what dealers tell people. I cannot imagine how a knowledgable person can tell a customer in good faith that the boat could not handle a tower. Regardoless of the situation, liability or not, that is B.S. Gives MC dealers a bad name. Would have been awesome if they had a 205 back in the garage getting worked on that had a tower

When your dealer says that its not setup for a tower he may be right. You can look where your tower legs would go and I don't think you will find the backing plates in the fiberglass there. I know MasterCraft now laminates all boats with tower backing plates whether they get a tower or not but I'm not sure they were doing that in '98. This is probably what your dealer is talking about but just didn't explain. You can add a tower but make sure you get some aluminum or steel backing plates to spread out the force as mentioned above. If you don't you could have some spider cracking or hull issues down the road...

Riley, You have to remember that the older boats aren't designed for a tower. I went to a friend to reinforce mine. The deck and hull are only held with pop rivits. A simple glass job, $50 is all you need and all is good. If you want more info let me know. Mine is a '93, check profile..

<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/biggrin.gif" border=0> <BR>Oh man, you guys don't know how happy I am to hear about this! And I am soo diggin' that Samson tower. I'm checking their site now...about how much for that model? <BR> <BR>About installing, would you guys get a dealer to do it or who would you recommend? <BR> <BR>Thanks for the input!!

If you have a local dealer your comfortable with they can be a great way to get the tower done with minimal effort. If your handy you can do the istallation yourself. Samson makes a great tower and I've heard only good things about them, I'd expect Samson would be a great resource as well if you do the install. Post pics when your done.

Riley, I wanna say he paid around 2k. Its a solid tower and I dont remember it having any flex. He lives in my hometown so I only get to ride with him every so often.

Richard, I've got an almsot identical boat (96 PS 190) the tower has been on it for approx 3 years...no special fiberglass reinforcement. Standard installation and I've had no problems at all

Peirce, do you know where your friend got his bimini? What brand? The one in the pic has a lot of clearance for a tower mounted bimini. I like that. thanks

Richard, I am not sure but I will give him a call.

Do most towers not come with a backing plate of some kind. I'm pretty sure that my Titan did, because I know that it has them and the dealer that installed it didn't charge me any more for them. BICBW <BR> <BR>Daniel

Riley, <BR> <BR>Alot of shops that install towers doen't warranty them just because they don't want to be liable. Most towers come with backing plates, and you can reinforce the fiberglass from underneath. The best way is to get some 1/2" marine plywood and fiberglass that and the backing plates. This will give alot of support. Also we've put our towers on that style of boat plenty of times and have had no problems what so ever. Hope the info helps. <BR>

riley, Check the new demension before you do anything. <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.wakeside.com/page/W/PROD/new_dimension_wakeboard_towers/new_dimension_mastercraft_wakeboard_towers" target="_blank">http://www.wakeside.com/page/W/PROD/new_dimension_wakeboard_towers/new_dimension_mastercraft_wakeboard_towers</a>

<a href="http://www.newdimensiontowers.com/galleries/mastercraft/1996-1998_Prostar_205.html" target="_blank">http://www.newdimensiontowers.com/galleries/mastercraft/1996-1998_Prostar_205.html</a>

Our 97 X-Star (same hull at the Pro Star 205, DD) originally came with a pylon, but got rid of that and installed a tower last season. My dad and I installed it ourselves, but looking back we figured it would have been worth having the dealer install it. There is no built-in fiberglass reinforcement underneath where we mounted the legs, and we did have some spidercracks develop. To remedy this, we put a metal plate underneath the problematic leg with holes drilled into it for the screws, and hammered the plate to a slight curve to sit snugly against the underside for more support and stress dispersion. <BR> <BR>But yeah, that is total poo poo what the dealer said. In 98, they started making the X-Star in two colors and could come with the original boxy-ish style Zero Flex tower, so that is really silly to hear someone say a 98 Pro Star 205 couldn't handle a tower. <BR> <BR>Good luck finding one that fits your needs! <BR> <BR>- sweet pix of that white 205 <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0> <BR> <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/212974.jpg" alt=""> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/212975.jpg" alt="">

just an observation... every time i see cracking around tower feet it is on mounts that attach to the side of the deck. i don't think i've ever seen cracking problems with top mounts. it makes sense too because side mounts introduce additional stress on the deck from torque. every time the boat hits a roller, the weight of the tower is trying to twist the mount off. given the same tower and conditions, top mounts will always have lower combined stress than side mounts.

oh, and i've put towers on my last 2 boats with no issues. first was a 92 MC PS190, and my current is a 96 VLX. neither was "made for a tower". they were top mounts with large aluminum backing plates, and 1/4" rubber gaskets top &amp; bottom between the metal and fg.

Those mounts look very small. <BR>The way I read the post they did not put backing plates untill they already had the problem.

yeah, they do look small. also, i'm not saying that there aren't good side mount designs - just that i've never seen cracks on top mounts.

Trace, I was thinking the same thing recently. I think top-mount is a better idea, since the back feet are pressing straight down, and the fronts pulling up. No side torque.

thats hilarious. I wonder what they would have said if I pulled up w/ my '86 MC!!! <BR>