Ply wood ski boat wake cage

[morgo73]

Have just bought 1961 ply ski boat to do up. Is it possible to put a wakeboard tower/cage on it? Think it is the same shape as a rebel. Not sure though.

[marshmat]

It's possible to add such a tower to most boats over 17 feet. Welded steel or aluminum tube are the most common construction methods. The key to success is to have very big, beefy mounts with big backing plates where it joins to the deck, to spread the load out well (minimum of four separate mounting points). Mounts should be near structural bulkheads if possible. You might have to beef up the deck structure to do this. Do you have any photos of the boat that you could post?

[morgo73]

no photos of boat yet. Is only 14 feet. It has an inboard 6 cylinder motor. Being this small is there a possibility of capsizing it if I were to put something like this on it

[marshmat]

A 14-footer might have some trouble with this rig. In order to get the tow line mount high enough to do much good, it'll also be high enough to exert a pretty big moment around the boat's pitch centre. So when you hit the gas, with a boarder on the end (they make a LOT of drag), your bow could rise enough to be dangerous. Also if you had to make a sharp turn, with that boarder adding all that drag on the end, you could be in danger of rolling the boat farther than expected. Without seeing the boat it's hard to tell exactly what would happen, though. I think a 14 footer is a bit small for a tower to work- a pylon might still be suitable, though.

[morgo73]

thanks Mat, will keep all that in mind