What do I need to make my I/O a good tow vehicle??

Hey all, just thought I'd get some advice from some of ya'll that are more experienced in the wakeboarding boat department. Now, don't laugh when you read the following!

I have a 1977 Cobalt 19' Tri-hull I/O with a Mercruiser Alpha I/O and 302 Ford, which has been bored out some giving it around 230hp. The boat is in mint condition, and is great as a ski boat/cruiser, and has worked well teaching me most of the basics of wakeboarding the past 2 years. However, I'd like to pimp it up a little to be better suited for a boarder. I know it's a task, but I'd like to try.

The problem is, I'm in medical school right now, and living on a tight budget consisting entirely of student loans, so I don't have but maybe $1k or so to blow. What do you think my best bet is to make it more boarding-friendly?

I can play around with the trim, pull the bow up and sink the transom, and at about 18-20mph produce a pretty decent wake size. However, I still struggle to pull a W2W jump (I know I'm not the best boarder out there either, that may be most of my problem!)

Saying the above, what would ya'll recommend I do? Tower, fat sacs, or what? As I said, it's got plenty of power to pull anything, we regularly have 2 slalomers or 2 boarders behind us. Also, if I got a tower, I would like one that either folded down completely, or un-bolted easily so I could still store the boat with the cover on it. Is there anything like this that would be affordable for me? I apprecaite all ya'lls help!

I have a Joystick tower on my I/O $750...I would start with a tower

Trade in on A V-drive

Fat friends to ride in the back of the boat are a good substitute for ballast bags, and easier to move around to tune the wake.

Take lots of Twinkies.

If you don't have fat friends, take a LOT of skinny ones.

If no skinny friends, then after you get the tower, get the bags.

http://bigairpylons.com/Wakeboard_Pylons.htm

Good Pylon for $310 shipped. Depending on how much ballast you can handle and still be able to pull your boarder and not buy a new prop, add about $300 for a couple fat sacs and a pump. Throw a hydrofoil on the outboard unit for $50 to help you plane faster. There's the basics, you have $340 left for gear, gas, maint., whatever. Good luck.

I really appreciate all the advice guys. David, I wish I could trade the boat in, but the cash flow will be near zero for a few years, and secondly, my Obsessive-Compulsive brother loves that Cobalt like his own son (the reason why it is kept in such great shape) and would never let me trade it!

I believe I have a hydrofoil on the outdrive, it is a Whaletail XL, old, but I believe it does the same purpose.

Do ya'll believe that a tower is the most important thing to getting bigger air, or is a fat sac/increased wake size more of a factor? Also, I am worried about possibly damaging that Cobalt (my brother would go crazy!). Would a tower or pylon ever cause damage to the fiberglass hull? I am 6'3" 225.

Really appreciate all ya'lls help, advice, and links ya'll have offered!

Tower, maybe, would be a good idea to reinforce the area behind the tower feet with some plywood and lay some fiberglass over it. Pylon, No, it is not attached to the fiberglass except at the tow eye in front. Go with a tower or pylon first, then start adding weight to get a good wake if you don't have the people power.

Get a tower over a pylon. It's a few hundred bucks more but it's worth it. Mounting a Pylon will be more of a challenge and potentially more damaging to your boat. A tower also looks cooler and isn't in the way of passengers.

About your wake to wake, you should be riding above 20 mph. Clearing the wake at 18 mph is really difficult unless you're riding a 40 foot line. You just can't get enough speed. The wake will be smaller at 21 mph but you can overcome that with fatties(people) or sacks.