Titan Tower for '97 Sport Nautique

I'm in the market for a tower for my '97 Sport nautique. Unfortunately in the UK, my choices are really limited to Monster or Monster, neither of which I want to put on this boat!!!
I would love to go for an FCT or New Dimensions but the shipping costs are going to be huge as they cannot be flat packed for shipping to the UK. That then got me thinking about Titan towers, anybody have anything good or bad to say about them? Cheers.

Titan towers are awesome.I put one on an 86 Sura Comp and it worked great.I gave them a width and they sent it to me for $1500,but that was about 6 years ago.I think you can get one for $1100 now.Nice looking,quiet,solid.

I put a Titan on my 94 sport last year and we've been very happy with it. It's a very solid tower no creaking or swaying. I've even had friends with brand new boats comment on how quiet and solid it is. The look is different than the stock style NDT but I personally like it and have been very happy with my decision. I added a pair of monster board racks and the mirror mount.

Monster and Titan look a heck of a lot alike imo.

I'd go with Monster based on cost.

For years I have read Monster tower owners say how great their tower is. When I lived in Seattle, there was a guy on Sammamish who had a SN with a Monster on it..... for some reason it was crooked.

This summer I met a Monster tower owner, and he hates it. He said he'd never install another one again. We rode in the boat briefly & the thing bounced over every bump in the water. The owner told me he doesn't trust the tower enough to load it up with boards & speakers, much less a foil.

I have the Titan II, and it's loaded with over 140 lbs in speakers, foils & boards & the thing is rock solid. The Titan has to be the strongest tower on the market. It's a bit funky lookin, especially with nothing on it, but load it up & it rocks.

i have a loud liquid on my 93 sport nautique and i love it! i have had boss and pro flight towers this one is built of very high quality and i think u could easily take it apart and ship it over seas.

Speak to Mike at wakeboard towers UK. He can source most any tower so you don't have to have a monster if you don't want.

(Message edited by jayc on November 19, 2007)

Thanks guys. Kyle, one question for you, the rear mounts for your tower are quite far back, was this personal preference or was it required to fit your tower?

another possibly daft question, what is the difference between the Titan Series 1 and Titan Series 2 towers, they look pretty much the same to me?}

HERES mine.

one of the best towers i have owned in my opinion.

have owned boss, pro flight, monster.

I ride behind the v-drive version of that quite a bit with a Titan on it. I'm 99% sure it's a '97 super sport, but I've been wrong about things before. I'm a big fan of the Titan towers, have on my '06 wakesetter too!

Sorry to interrupt. Just wanted to jump in after reading what Bill K witnessed. If anyone has ANY problem with their Monster Tower, please give us a call at 877-778-6937, email support@monstertower.com or just pm me. Thanks.

From what I've heard from different people on my home lake Monster towers are super solid and damn near bomb proof I personally don't like the way they look but I would take functionality over looks any day just my .02

Brooke is correct my boat is a 97 super sport. Love the titan tower. Also put one on my last mastercraft. I have to take mine up and down to get in and out of the lift and I can do it by myself in about 20-30 seconds. Plus its rock solid.

Wow, thats good customer service for ya..... thanks for jumping in Tom. I'm going to pass your name along & hopefully you guys can nail down the issue with Steve's tower.

Al, the difference in the Titan I & II is the curve in the rear bar. I don't think there is much difference otherwise, other than they don't make the Titan I any more.

Al, there is a minimum recomended distance between the front and rear mounts. I don't recall what the measurement is exactly but whatever Titan recomended I used. I couldn't find a good picture of the rear mount but it is slightly behind the center pylon. When I was deciding what tower to go with I was worried that the Titan tower would interfere with slalom skiing but it hasn't at all. I bought my tower from wakeside.com if you have questions they were very helpful.

Bill K is right that the Titan II has a curved rear bar where as the Titan I does not. The Titan II is also $400 more and as far as I know both are still for sale on wakeside.com.

The Monster does move some when hitting rollers or if the lake is really choppy. I would assume this is better than having something too rigid and transferring the shock into the gelcoat/boat gunnels. My Monster is solid, and is silent. It uses heim joints at all four corners (similar to links in a rotorcraft drive or airbag setup in a car). The heim is made to move to keep the mount from having to take that energy.

I DO have issues with the racks not staying tight (no matter how much I torque them) and turning when hitting rollers, though they have never dropped a board. Maybe I should call about that.

Here's the joint and mount.


Here's mine installed.

A major difference between Titan & Monster is the joints at the top corners of the tower. Monster towers have joints built into the tower up there so that that they can be adjusted for a variety of boats. Titans are one piece, bent specifically for a boat's width & have very little adjustment. So Titan has to have measurements for a wide variety of boats & make adjustments to make different width towers. But the end result is the Titan has much less movement. If your boat hull is flexing, then I suppose the tower should be able to flex with it. But sturdier boats that don't flex as much would actually have cracks in the hull started by a tower that is moving all the time. The only think the heim joints do is keep the tower foot angles from changing as the tower moves....... so it's always flat on the boat fiberglass. Towers with more joints need to have things tightened up periodically. And all towers, especially loaded towers, should be inspected around the tower feet & welds from time to time.

Moving towers cause numerous problems, fatigueing the welds till they crack or break, cracking the fiberglass near the tower feet, slinging the rope into the boat (even a good non-stretch rope). And with all the weight guys are loading up there, speakers, lights, racks, etc., a moving tower can cause those things to fail too, and maybe come crashing down. The proof is out there, Metcraft's old towers that were on Tiges & Calabrias....... junk. Way too much movement. Mastercraft's tower with the swivel racks in 2007..... way too much movement, hence the brackets their adding to the towers. These cross braces would strengthen almost every tower out there, and should probably be added to most of them. Check this video out.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7314075993144713846

And there are plenty more.

Andy, the loud liquid tower looks nice. How much side to side flex do you get on this tower. I've spoken to some people who suggest they may move a little more than other aftermarket towers?

As others have noted, the biggest difference between a Titan tower and other universal style towers is the fact that a Titan will be custom manufactured for your particular boat. Using dimensions that we have on file or that you provide (we have them for a '97 Sport) the tower is made from custom bent 2.25" stainless steel tubing to fit your boat perfectly. The result is an incredibly strong and rigid structure that doesn't flex, rattle, shake or move when running through rough water or while pulling a rider. That difference becomes especially apparent when the tower is loaded with a lot of accessories.

The other benefit of a strong structure is the ability to isolate the tower from the deck of the boat through the use of heim joints. These flexible mounts securely attach the tower to the deck, while at the same time, allowing for adjustability during installation and easily collapsibility for storage.

There are a few unique differences between the Series I and Series II towers. The most noticeable different is the subtle bend in the rear hoop of the Series II. It's a small change that makes the tower a little more elegant, but does not impact stability or performance at all.



There are numerous minor details in the hardware used to secure the tower to the deck as well. On the Series II, all of the bolts thread up into the mount from the bottom, which makes for a very clean, unobtrusive look.



For comparison, the Series I mounts have holes machined in them that bolts drop through. It's a small difference, but makes the mounts more streamlined and easier to clean on the Series II.

Both the Series I and Series II towers collapse easily and can be lowered by a single person. Thanks to the unique design that joins the front wishbone and the rear hoop at a single point, this is the easiest tower to collapse that I've ever seen. The Series II though can be collapsed without the use of tools thanks to a quick release system with a safety backup. The Series I on the other hand requires the use of an allen wrench to remove a single bolt, which makes the Series II more convenient if you must frequently lower the tower.

Wakeside offers both the Series I and Series II towers, and can ship them anywhere in the world. Give them a call if you have any questions about placing an order. The Series I is $1295 and the Series II starts at $1695. That's only $100 more than the Monster tower, which is a small premium for a tower that is custom made for your boat.

Feel free to contact us if you have any other questions.

Jason
www.titanwake.com

Nice customer service Jason - Good to see people giving honest, non-bashing advice

I have some questions for you and will contact you this week or early next.

Regards,

Mike Dovey
Wakeboard Towers UK

Wow, more info in that one post than I've seen. Thanks Jason.
My own Titan II is very solid, even in the chop, and even though it's carrying like 140 lbs in speakers & foils on it regularly.

Check w/ a nautique dealer, if there is one near you, we picked up a FCT for $300 for our SSN.... they had an old on in their warehouse, was a great deal

Mike-

There are a lot of great products on the market, we just want to see people get good products with great customer service (plus it doesn't hurt that we think ours are the best ). Contact me any time if there is something I can do for you.

Nice vRide Bill, I've always loved Dark Blue and Ebony together!

Jason
www.titanwake.com