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-   -   My Custom Tower Shade Build... (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=781290)

stang_killa_ss 07-05-2010 4:16 PM

My Custom Tower Shade Build...
 
some of you may remember my $40 shade i built for my nautique
http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=82753

well a little nicer boat now, means allitle nicer shade.

my mobius LSV came with the stock bimini thats just, well, gay. looks like it belongs on a bayliner and only really shaded the driver and passenger, plus you have to put it up and down everytime.

all the ones you buy were expensive and the less expenive ones were just generic and still $500+. so i decided to build my own.

got some supplys and headed to my buddy brads. have to give him credit for all the welding.

supplys:

4x billet tower clamps (bullet)
$100

3x 1"x10' conduit
4x 90* bent corners
1/2" steel tube
$45

nuts, bolts, and washers
1/4" x 1" aluminum bar
$35

2 yards Sunbrella Marine 80" fabric
$75

adhesion promotor and paint
$12

Total Invested: $267

final size is 61" x 63" or about 5' x 5'

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/1786/shade1.jpg

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/9594/shade2p.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5082/shade3.jpg

getting the sides welded up
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4783/shade4z.jpg

weld cleanup
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/6793/shade5.jpg

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/4990/shade6.jpg

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1329/shade7.jpg

center bolt sleeves. weld in at the same angle as the tower. prevents the bolt from crushing the tube.
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/4672/shade8.jpg

welded nuts for the front supports. on the inside so there hidden from view.
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/910/shade9.jpg

mocked up with the center bolts only.
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/4458/shade10.jpg

i just finished weld cleanup, sanding and priming. painting as i type this.
ill keep the post updated as i go.

07-05-2010 5:42 PM

Now that is very cool!

99_slaunch 07-05-2010 6:06 PM

Nice work cory! I guess you don't like the bimini.

stang_killa_ss 07-14-2010 6:22 PM

well material came in and sewing as begun! we got about a 1/4 of it done tonight.

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/7097/sewing1.jpg

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/44/sewing2.jpg

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/7264/sewing3.jpg

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/3447/sewing4.jpg

wakeboardin2k4 07-14-2010 7:07 PM

subscribing

bruizza 07-15-2010 8:26 AM

Looking good so far!!!

ottog1979 07-15-2010 8:34 AM

Got to LOVE this kind of DIY!

colombiansurfer 07-15-2010 9:35 AM

Where did you order your fabric from?

stang_killa_ss 07-15-2010 10:36 AM

www.outdoorfabriccentral.com

colombiansurfer 07-15-2010 11:04 AM

Thanks Cory!

Slideways 07-15-2010 3:37 PM

Looks like its being sewed while on the frame. Is that right? Does it come apart? Looks sweet either way.

On another note, I think if I were to do one of my own, I would make the top have a bit of a shape to it. Like the two middle pieces bow up to give it some head room.

stang_killa_ss 07-15-2010 4:36 PM

no being sewn off the frame. will be completely removable.
yeah i thought about that, the problem with bowing is wrinkling, puckers, etc that it creates in the fabric. double compound curves plus non stretch fabric is not a good combo.
ill give up 4" of head room for a nice tight flat fabric with no wrinkles (hopefully!)
ive got the shade quite high, i can stand straight up if i just bend at the neck a hair.

saceone 07-16-2010 4:26 AM

cool project,can't wait to see it installed!

stang_killa_ss 07-16-2010 7:22 PM

frame is mounted! for some reason the pics make it look small. but its nearly twice the size of stock and even bigger than the Z5 shade. its 5' x 5' and seems huge in the boat. getting its first test run to the lake tommorrow.

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/8143/mounted1.jpg

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8656/mounted2.jpg

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9718/mounted3.jpg

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/9867/mounted5.jpg

and after our 3rd straight night of sewing the fabric is nearly done. all we lack now is the corners. need to be pied, hem'ed and velcro'ed.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4939/mounted4.jpg

smitty1258 07-17-2010 5:28 AM

really great job on the bimini !

stang_killa_ss 07-31-2010 1:13 PM

finally finished! man that top took 4 days of sewing. but its all worth it.
towed it to the lake for the first time this morning, even at 65 mph it didnt even budge. the fabric didnt wave, slap, bow, nothing just perfectly flat and still like it was fiberglass or something. just perfect. we did make sure when we were building it to have it perfectly level to the ground. so there was no angle when towing. that helped alot i think. im SO pleased. and it works great.

grand total invested out the door. $309

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/2789/finished1.jpg

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2631/finished2t.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5556/finished3.jpg

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1316/finished4.jpg

wake77 07-31-2010 2:03 PM

That's awesome work man.

andrewjet 07-31-2010 6:08 PM

1 Attachment(s)
Cory I have been wanting to do this for a year now and Im fixing to start on mine since Its going to be 105 tomorrow. Im making my own Z5 pretty close to yours. Does your tilt? I might need to call you brotha (my last name is Mitchell). lol. Jet

stang_killa_ss 08-01-2010 5:34 AM

yes mine does tilt. but i dont plan to use that. mine will just be used as shade, not storage.
good luck and post up a thread when you start.

99_slaunch 08-01-2010 1:06 PM

Cory have you thought about removing the decals on your boat. I think it would look real clean with out them. Even a updated decal would be cool. Just a thought. Those front brackets would look sweet with a strut and heim joints.

stang_killa_ss 08-01-2010 2:31 PM

everyday i go out. i hate them. just dont have the time. and ive got a vinyl cutter so i could do my own custom graphics to go back on too. i really want black accents or swoop stripe.

factorykitted 08-02-2010 6:16 PM

looks sharp. but 309 plus your time = you could have bought one for the same or cheaper

stang_killa_ss 08-03-2010 7:23 AM

not even close. this size, quality, and sturdyness and custom fit. theres no way. thanks for your opinion though.

wake77 08-03-2010 8:20 AM

"looks sharp. but 309 plus your time = you could have bought one for the same or cheaper"

How can you say that? If he took time off work (non-paid), then maybe, but I doubt he did. So what, I can mow my grass, but since my rate is 50.00 an hour, I think I'll sit on the couch and watch TV all day instead and let the kid down the street mow it for 49.00.

stu929 08-03-2010 8:45 AM

Looks awesome great pride in what you are doing and it shows. Def disagree about the idea of getting one cheaper. While yes you could probably order a cheaper on would not have the build quality or fabric quality you have here plus as you said the size is also something to factor in. Looks great!

Think you should market them use the pic where your girl is laying on the back of the boat... :D

factorykitted 08-03-2010 10:24 AM

i think it looks killer and i agree its probably better quality and more sturdy than one you can buy elsewhere. i meant that 4 days of sewing plus the time if took to weld everything and construct it.... if it took 4 days just to sew it then how many days did it take to do all of the other work? I think i would spend my 4 days off doing something else rather than sewing...

ozzgood 08-04-2010 5:15 AM

I have a tower bimini and yours looks alot stronger .. The concept of DIY and it coming out as nice as yours did makes it really cool no matter what the cost...

cwb4me 08-04-2010 5:54 AM

cory it looks great. sounds like you have alot of people interested in diy project now.

metalic_era 08-04-2010 6:12 AM

3 Attachment(s)
I started building mine the same time Cory did and I have $350 in mine. It's the size I wanted, It mounts the way I wanted it too, and Nobody made one like it. Plus I would rather pay more to build something myself and Know that It will last than to pay someone to import something from China.

gunz 08-04-2010 6:55 AM

Is that 1" EMT,aluminum,or stainless?

Nice job,plus you get the rush of doing it yourself.

gravity 08-04-2010 10:30 AM

josh can you please post some pics of the mounts to the tower. it looks great and so does corys, good job guys

metalic_era 08-04-2010 11:42 AM

Chris
The mounts are DIYWAKE.com tower clamps and i bought 7/8 aluminum tubing an S/S outside eye ends to connect the front mounts and tabs welded on the rear. I will post some pics for you in a few days when i get to my boat.

Corey
Looks great
by the way I'm liking the Shane the more i ride it.

Jeff 08-04-2010 12:13 PM

Can you guys comment on head room placing the bimini above the tower vs below?

I know that there are a lot of variables but I prefer the look of the lower option. I'm 6'1" and don't want to be banging my head into the top if I forget to duck though.

metalic_era 08-04-2010 12:24 PM

I'm 6'4" and I like the lower look but my head just clears my tower and with the monster tower the front legs are narrower than the rear the shade wouldn't have covered much. I was looking at the Monster cargo Bimini and it's 48" wide i would had to mount it 4 to 6 inches down from the lower bar for it to clear the front legs. I like the look of Cory's for that but it wasn't an option for me. That's the nice thing about DIY is you build it to fit and work for your needs not buying something universal and settling for the end result.

stang_killa_ss 08-05-2010 11:40 AM

thanks everyone! no worries, theres a rotten egg in every bunch ;)

steven: definatly proud of our work. and lol at the gf pic.

brian. yeah its very sturdy. so sturdy youll notice there no rear supports. its beefy.

ricardo: its 1" galvanized steel conduit. then painted.

josh: glad your enjoying the shane. it took me some time to get used to it too. once i did i didnt want anything else. i LOVE the fin design. really works, not a gimik.

Jeff. this was the big delima for me. height of shade. the higher you go the more head room you have. but also you lose shade exponentially. so its all about trade off. final location i can stand knees locked, back/pelvis straight, and just tilt my neck slightly and stand straight up. to be honest i wouldnt mind it a bit lower for more shade. but now since building it we ride at 7:45 am so the shade is kinda useless :D ironic huh?


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