I/O owners with towers...

After you installed a tower did you have to get a better prop, locker sack for tracking or any other recomended additions? I have a Sea Ray 190 with 220hp soon to have a tower. Am I going to need additional equipment to make it pull well?.

A lower-pitched 4 or 5 blade prop will help with speed holding. Tracking shouldn't be a problem. The more weight you add, the better your wake will be...be sure to balance the weight though, i.e. weight in back generally requires some weight in front (usually not 1-1 but more like 2-1 or something like that).

Oh, and all this has nothing to do with a tower. Same advice goes with or without the tower.

I noticed on another thread you talked about getting a foil. Did you ever get one? I was wondering if it was necessary to help avoid porpoising when the rider cuts out. I have heard different things. I was told that you'll need a better prop, weight in the center or bow, a foil or stabilizer, perfect pass, blah blah blah... I just want to know what's really necessary for a solid pull.

Idurnal,
I have a older sea ray 190 look in my profile with tower. I added a four blade prop before hand to help with hole shot and speed control. This was prior to the tower and I have had a 500 lbs sack in the front walkway and had no trouble getting up with the 4.3 V6. My prop is a 13.5 X 18 pitch four blade. I had a 19" three blade before. The only trouble is holding speed consistant. Good Luck let me know if you have any other questions.

And that is where perfect pass comes in. You can make do without a wakeboard rope, 5 blade prop, extra weight in the boat, tower speakers, board racks, sub, two amps, heater, dry suit, and perfect pass but i opted for these since it all makes the ride that much better.

Bob is right perfect pass is something I have been thinking about next. The Mrs. and I are thinking about selling the boat and looking into something else bigger due to we usually have more people with us. The boat had been great to us and we really don't want to buy something else and have trouble with all the horror stories out there. So if your looking to drop some cash for sure do the perfect pass or marriage saver as most call it. As for the porpoising I have not had that trouble but it may be related to the speed you ride at too. Good Luck

The tower should improve the handling of the boat on hard cuts as the tow point is more centered on the boat.Otherwise your boat will handle exactly the same as without a tower.

I have an I/O with a 7' pylon.

We usually take a straight run at the head of our lake. Tight turns with a board are interesting. One way the boat is fine, the other way she rolls into the turn a LOT. Sorry, I can't remember which way is good... I'm sure it's to do with prop rotation. Anyway, not a biggy but I think you'll fine you enjoy turning on way not the other.

The tower on my outboard actually seemed to pull the bow out of the water a little more. 1,000 lbs of weight & a S.E.300 hydrofoil fixed that problem.

I had an SE300 hydrofoil. It cut planing time in half but that's about it. It made the prop cavitate on turns more easily and its shape didn't really allow it to enhance the wake as I would have liked (it sat too far back so it was too high in the water when I trimmed up).

So I went to a metal place, bought a 24x12 piece of 3/8" stainless plate and made my own. The only tools I needed were an abrasive blade on my table saw, a grinder, a belt sander, and a drill. Oh, and a Dremel to clean up the inside corners (not absolutely necessary). If I had a high-speed polisher, I could have made it nice and shiny too. Cost me $30 and an afternoon. The labor pays for itself though when you hold your massive stainless steel "masterpiece" in your hands and think, "look what I made." (making stuff is cool)

Anyway, the new one works much better for shaping and enhancing the wake, it doesn't cavitate on turns, and it still planes in half the time. Highly recommended.

Here's a pic: