Tower Flex?

Hey guys I finally bit the bullet and got a New Dimension tower for the 2001.

I am very happy, although, there are a few issues with the finish.

So the question I have is how much flex should I expect on these? It's not a wet noodle but its also not super rock solid. This may be do to the thickness of my top desk or just the way it is.

Any info from you guys would be great.

TIA

Derby

Oh yah I plan on downloading pics but I want finish dialing her in before the big show.

(Message edited by derby on April 29, 2006)

I have a NDT too and when we got the tower installed at there factory I asked wayne and he said there should be some flex so it doesn't crack the gel coat.

Wayne was a very early innovator/fabricator in the tower market and he knows what he is doing and you should be fine.

Traditional factory towers (it's all changing now) were 1-7/8" tubing with nearly vertical sides. You can greatly improve the stiffness of a tower with larger diameter tube or/and the sides leaning toward the center like on our tower and the Titan which are far stiffer than traditional factory towers.

We did FEA stress modeling of them all. The factory towers have a lot more movement, by design, but all materials, even glass, can flex to a point before it fails. All towers we analyzed were well within structural limits for normal loading.

One note is the more weight you add (speakers, lights, girls, racks, boards, etc) the more flex you can expect to see.

My $0.02, with free shipping until the end of the month :-)

Thanks Bill,

I really have no doubt about Wayne's skill and engineering. There are too many happy customers for reference. That’s why I called on him.

Basically, it’s a new tower on an older boat and really I don’t know the degree of flex I should expect, or if the flex is due to the thickness of the deck or the design of the tower.

Actually, a few days after the install, with the filler completely cured, it’s feeling pretty darn good. But, until I yard on it with a few hard cuts, I'll still be a little nervous about hurting my girl. I guess I am just looking for a little reassurance. Thanks!

Thanks, for the offer of free shipping but Wayne gave me an offer I could not refuse. Not to mention, I wouldn’t think about putting another tower on my Nautique. Yeah, I’m one of those guys. CC forever!!!

D


(Message edited by derby on May 04, 2006)

You did make sure the fiberglass reinforcement cured first right?

Thanks for your concern....I havent had the boat in the water yet. My body is on blocks for a little while longer.

But I did use it as a base for my come-a-long when I pulled out that stump in the front yard. Does that count?



Kidding of course...peace out!