16 guage stainless tube for wakeboard tower?

(jayc) · (jayc) **Join Date: Sep 2002** 05-17-2004, 9:23 AM

The prices for wakeboard towers in the UK are silly (about $1800 for a monster tower at the moment)

I can get 16 guage 2" OD stainless tube bent and welded nice and cheap. Will this have enough strength?

Going with a simple design like the flyhigh wakeboard cage with a hoop and 2 forward facing front stays.

Anyone care to comment.

(boarditup) · (boarditup) **Join Date: Jan 2004** 05-17-2004, 11:37 AM

You need a sch 20 minimum. Otherwise, you need to fill it with structural urethane foam for strength. Even then, I still think it will flex too much.

Loud Liquid just shipped a few towers to a UK dealer. www.loudliquid.com

(jayc) · (jayc) **Join Date: Sep 2002** 05-18-2004, 1:18 AM

Whats this urethane foam then?

I have seen a few people on inboardtalk have made towers from 16 gauge s/steel so I think it should be OK just not as rigid as some factory built units.

(boarditup) · (boarditup) **Join Date: Jan 2004** 05-18-2004, 3:49 AM

There is a very wide variation in SS strength. 6061 is one of the best for your application. The design of the tower has a lot to do with it. You are looking to have a straight piece almost as long as your beam. That is a long lenght. The urethane foam serves as an additional structural piece that adds rigidity and keep the tube from collapsing. Look at Monster Tower. Their design is curves and short straight pieces to make up for the flexible material. Joystick and FlyHigh use long strights and heavier components. You will be disappointed using lighweight components for a heavyweight design.

(jayc) · (jayc) **Join Date: Sep 2002** 05-18-2004, 4:34 AM

The top bar will be about 4.5' so not the full width giving an _ type design.
/ \
I will be using 2 front stays and a cross brace between these and the main hoop.

With the price it is costing I can easily afford to have another main hoop main up and add that in for extra strength.

(boarditup) · (boarditup) **Join Date: Jan 2004** 05-18-2004, 6:04 AM

Titan makes a good tower that uses an A frame design and some bracing. If you have the engineering capability, that design will be good for the light tubing. I'll take a few pictures of one and send them on to you.

(trace) · (trace) **Join Date: Feb 2002** 05-18-2004, 6:49 AM

6061 is aluminum, not stainless. 304SS is the most common grade of SS tubing, and is fine for towers. 16 ga is a little light for 2" OD stainless. if you can get 2.25" or 2.5", you'll be better off. triangulating the design as Karl alludes to above definitely makes it stiffer. even if you don't do something as obvious as the Titan's wishbone design, you can make the front arch smaller (shorter and narrower) than the rear, which makes for a better looking finished design as well.