So I am thinking about building a tower for the 2001 nautique I am about to buy. I really like the design of the joystick universal so I am going to copy that shape. My friend has built 8 towers before and he is willing to help me out. My only question is will 1.5 inch aluminum tubing be strong enough? The joystick universal uses 2.5 inch aluminum tubing. The reason I ask is because I found a place that sells adjustable flanges for 1.5 inch tubing.
No sense in copying it. If you wait until the offseason (oct-dec) you can pick up a joystick off ebay for cheap.....probably only slightly more than what it would cost in materials to build your own.
IMO, if you're gonna copy a tower to put on a nautique.....copy the FCT. I would still use 2" tubing though....1.5 will look too small.
The 1.5" will work depending on the wall thickness, but like Ryan said may look small. With a larger diameter a thinner wall tube can be used as well. The parts I got for my tower said they would fit 1.5" tube. I used 2" and was going to tig and fill to center the peices. It turns out the peices for the breakaway were actually 1.5" OD, and where the breakaway was exposed it was 2" and slid into my 2" tube perfect.
I built my tower and would NEVER do it again I mean dont get me wrong I love the look and I have intergated a bimini top (that I built)as well it fits my boat style nicely I think but for the money and time just not worth it 02 I guess its all a matter of what your time is worth good luck and post some picts when done JJ
I have to kind of agree with Jay. I just built one and it is very time consuming and you spend alot more money trying to find pieces than you tink you will. If you are going to build it PM me. I have a couple of contacts that will help you get mounting pieces and pieces to help it fold. If I were you I would look for 2" because I think it will look better. Here is a picture of what mine looks like. I like the final outcome and it is really solid and functions better than I even expected. It is pretty cool when people ask where I got it to be able to tell them I built it.
Thanks guys, I think I will just go and buy one ebay at the end of the summer like you said. I dont plan on having the boat finished till next semester anyways.
Leo- I noticed that you go to A&M...I'll be a freshman there next year. Are there any clubs that you're apart of and do you do alot of riding during the school year?
yes we have a club. Unfortunately very unorganize but a lot of young talent, we need more new guys to make it bigger. If I buy the boat, we will use it as a club boat.
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