Carbon Illusion Tower's

Hey I dont know if its any of my business and Im not trying to stir the pot, but I have been hearing "RUMORS" that Malibu has been having trouble with the carbon tower's is this true?

You're probably talking about the Blade tower. The Illusion is made by a different company. I haven't heard anything about recurring problems with the towers themselves, but I do know that they are no longer offering that tower because of the problems they were having getting the company to deliver them in a timely manner. Seems a shame because I think it's a brilliant method for making a tower and the look doesn't get more unique and stealthy. I hope that tower will somehow make a comeback either as an OEM or as an aftermarket item.

I do not know about any "troubles" but can tell you that they are no longer offered from Malibu. I do not know the exact reason but had heard this from themalibucrew.com and also from my local dealer.

Not quick enough.

last year I toured the plant in Merced and was told pretty point blank that if I did get a Malibu don't get the CFT becuase they were over loaded on the customer support side with issues or like David said the supplier not delivering in a timely manner. I also like those towers. Hope they can pull somehting out.

They had one at the boat show last year. Good concept poor implementation. The build quality looked pretty bad, none of the seams were aligned very well. I was considering buying a Malibu at the time and was told not to consider that tower.

Imm sorry my bad Yes the Blade Tower, So the resaon is not a cracking issue but a supply issue. I think the carbon blade is a cool tower. I saw some of the things Mike was talking about. IMO they were no big deal. The finish of the tower near the edges and seems needed a bit of detail work but over all the tower looked and felt soild. I to thought it was a unique looking tower and liked how it intergrated the speakers into the tower. I heard people crying about the 5k upgrade for the blade. LOL Anyone ever go shopping for a Carbon Fiber bycycle (Road bike frame) Way less carbon fiber and still $5k

I've never heard of a cracking issue (which doesn't mean there wasn't one). In fact, I was never able to find anybody that even had a Blade tower. I posted on here before I got mine to get some feedback and didn't get a reply from anybody that owned one. That should have been my first clue that the supply was scarce.

I did end up going with one and I'm not sure what you mean by the finish on the edges. I think the finish on mine is super clean and there are no visible edges. Where the two pieces of the tower come together, it has a rubber molding that covers the seam. Mine was fully painted as well.

I saw the same boat as Mike at the Nor cal Show last year. The big black molding was right at the edge of som carbon work that looked un-finished and rough. Like I said it was no big deal. Then there was some peices that looked like patch work. The pattern was un even where the fibers either stretched in a cross pattern making it look un even. Most carbon peices can look pretty un even or ulgy and then the last or top peice is more of a show piece that looks even with no distortion in the weave. Im sure if they were to do that it would be a $10 upgrade.
Dave how many blade towers do you think were made/sold

I agree with David. I have an '06 VLX with the CFT Blade tower. The fit and finish is very good and there are no concerns with the strength of the tower (as rumored). My only complaint is with the mounting of the board racks. It's screwed directly into the carbon fiber tower without any metal plate backing.