Paul,
The new Boss Adjustable Tower is a universal tower that will fit almost any boat and includes the great quality Boss mounts. Hopefully this week we will add new images with the tower mounted on a boat in the water so you can get a feel what it looks like. If you have seen the Barewest Mini Tower or the Joystick Roll Cage. Both of these cost more than the Boss Adjustable Tower.
I wouldn't recommend a local fabricator if you can get the Boss Adjustable Tower for such a great deal. Boss makes great towers.
On an older boat I would recommend to build up the area where the mounts go. Some people epoxy a 1/4 inch thick piece of marine grade plywood to the underside where the mount backing plate goes. However, on most boats newer than 1990, there is sufficient fiberglass to mount the tower without modification.
The Boss Adjustable tower can be mounted to the deck or on the side of the boat. I would pick where the fiberglass is strongest and where you can find a flat surface for the mounts.
Give us a call tomorrow and we can go over some of the other considerations.
At $695 with free shipping and no sales tax this is a bargain. If you consider the Wakeside Award Points, then that drops off another $70 and takes you down to effectively $625 to your door for this tower!
Mike Hellweg
http://www.wakeside.com