Ideas to lower heavy tower by yourself?

I need to prep the boat by myself. I need to raise and lower the tower without anyone around. The tower is fricking heavy with 2 rev 410's. Does anyone have a creative way to lift and lower it without any help. I need to lift, lower and be able to install a couple of hand tightened bolts. This is outside so no garage roof to lift from. Thanks for any creative ideas!

My titan tower has two 410's and it gets lifted and lowered every trip into the garage. I do it like you would a dead lift. I stand on the top edge of the back deck to raise it and once up walk down the seats and bolt it up. Knowing your tower could help.

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My tower folds to the bow end of the boat. I get a rope attached to the tower pylon, stand in the bow, and pull it towards me using the rope. Once it gets halfway there, I catch it and let it the rest of the way down. I reverse this process to raise it: just lift it up and push it, and when it starts leaning the other way, I use the rope to let it down into place gently.

I can't dead lift and hold the tower while standing up the side supports and install the 4 hand tighten bolts. The tower is an Axis A22. I is a very easy takedown but needs 2 people. One to hold the tower up and another to flip up the sides of the tower and install a bolt knob.

I'm going to have the same problem with my malibu illusion tower. I've read where you can get stiffer springs?? Idk how much of a pain they are to replace though


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Cut a 2x6 the length of the floor to bottom of tower. Lift it up and slide the 2x6 between the 410 pods and roll tide bolting in the supports. Other than that, it's a 2 person job. I had my tower down when I ran 12 gauge thru it and it was hard enough getting everything lined up with 2 people.

Ask the neighbor for a hand?


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Here is a pic of my tower. If yours is similar then this method might work for you.

Never mind. Just read that yours is an A22.

Mine was so damn heavy that while I planned to raise and lower every time I used the boat, I ended up paying $400 for 4 canopy leg extensions to raise the lift so I could leave it up all season.

Not only was it very heavy. But when it rotated from up toward the bow it was too high. You could not walk it form the cockbit toward the bow. And from the bow you could not grab it without it falling toward you. Very scary as it headed toward crashing into the bow.

Originally Posted by dvsone79

Here is a pic of my tower. If yours is similar then this method might work for you.

What decal do you have back near the transom? Do you have any pictures?

I have a 99 MC 210VRS and looking for ideas to replace the faded original ones.

This is my solution to about the same problem.

That is quite the device. Can you describe how you use it? I can see how you hook it up to the tower, but then somehow you walk with it and go up the handles? Is there a point at which you prop it up and then let go and move into the bow to lower?

I never let go. It is a heave in both directions.

From the tower down, on the bow, I lift the tower by hand until the butt end of the wheel barrow handle sticks on the floor. Friction keeps it still for the moment for me to let go of the tower and grab whichever handles I feel like on that occasion. Then ... the movement has to be pretty fluid. I lift the tower up [by heaving it up with the tower tool] from the bow until it [the tower] reaches about over-center ... then I have to walk swiftly underneath and continuing it [the tower] arcing over center until I can stabilize [the weight of the tower] in the helm area. After managing the swing of the weight of the tower over-center, it is an easy [to manage a] slow drop [of the tower by the tower tool] until the connections dock.

In the reverse, the bungies are key to holding the tower tool on the tower cross-bar while I get ready to push the tower up ... and again over center. Again, making the movement fluid is key. If I walk forward under center while the weight of the tower is aft of over-center, I'll never be able to pull it **back** [forward]. So .. I have to push the tower slightly over center ... and then walk swiftly under it to catch the weight of the tower after it has swung forward of over-center.

One, that is an awkward moment. Two, the lowest two rungs have been the most surprising innovation. When I get close to the bow, I rest the weight of the tower tool on my thighs with the lowest two rungs landing on my thighs. All is simple after that ... I can re-adjust my grip to land the butt end on the floor again. Then I just grab the tower to lower it on top of the beams of the bow.

As the first picture shows, I just leave the tower tool strapped on during storage.

Thanks you are smarter than me. I never figured out. The catching the tower weight as it swung towards the bow scared the Holy hell out of me.

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I raise and lower the tower myself and it has 2 pro 80s and a 485. One of the reasons i am able to do that is because i dont have a bow walkway, there is a step and it is "playpen" seating up front.

This allows me to reach the tower when it is at its highest point.

Couldnt you guys simply build a platform that goes in the walkway to let you reach it?


Its heavy but it isnt unmanageable. Im not strong by any means.

I kind of tried raising myself up. I brought in the boat one time to test like 3 or 4 milk crates to walk along to simulate being higher up. Mine is very thick heavy aluminum. And it was still too high.

How about using a tie down strap set to length just past the point where you need to switch sides. That way you push it up, then move to other side, unhook and lower.

That would work. I could not perfect it with one person because when you move into the bow it would be hanging by the strap and I could not figure out how I would then release it from standing in the bow area. The strap would be going toward back of the boat. Plus I figured sooner or later I would drop it on the bow. But that might work....I just personally could not do it.

Put the release latch on tower side instead of back? Or perhaps instead of connecting on top of tower, wrap around the top and connect it lower - wherever within reach.

The release would be too high off the boat floor to reach. I thought about it. Jonathan has only solution I have ever seen and even that sounds scary. Took me a while, but I found the pictures of the mesh tarp I used on the sides of canopy after i raised so I did not have to lower and raise the tower.

Originally Posted by RanchDweller

I need to prep the boat by myself. I need to raise and lower the tower without anyone around. The tower is fricking heavy with 2 rev 410's. Does anyone have a creative way to lift and lower it without any help. I need to lift, lower and be able to install a couple of hand tightened bolts. This is outside so no garage roof to lift from. Thanks for any creative ideas!

I had a notched pice of 4" PVC pipe. Had it so that it would be in the vertical position, put the tower on it, and attach the sides. I had a rev 3some

Re: that's why I said move the release and attachment point down instead of on top. Anyway, what about rope with standard locking pulley setup? Ok I'll quit armchair qb'ing now, in my case I'm just tall enough to transfer the tower up/down.

Originally Posted by rottenland

What decal do you have back near the transom? Do you have any pictures?

I have a 99 MC 210VRS and looking for ideas to replace the faded original ones.

Mine is a '99 205v. It's the stock Prostar 205v decal. I'll try to find a pic of that part of the boat.

greatlakesskipper.com has a bunch of the old style MC decals. Click on the decals tab and then Mastercraft.

You can also have something custom made from 3dlettering.com.

Originally Posted by 99Bison

Re: that's why I said move the release and attachment point down instead of on top. Anyway, what about rope with standard locking pulley setup? Ok I'll quit armchair qb'ing now, in my case I'm just tall enough to transfer the tower up/down.

Ok i see, looked at 2013 a22 specifically, there's literally nothing in front of the top of the tower... Looks like a tie/pully if need be to the front eye or cleats is an answer. Then just stand in front pull the tower toward you with the rope.

The tower on the A22 does not flip over the front of the windshield. It lowers to the back bench seat by the motor. So really the tower lifts from seat height to around 7 ft. I need to lift the tower "vertically" 7 ft and while holding it in place flip up the side supports of the tower and bolt them in with hand knob bolts. The tower is too heavy for me to lift and hold 7ft high and place a 2x4 as temp hold up at the same time.

With 2 people, one person lifts the tower and holds it in place. 2nd person lifts the side supports. They are on a hinge and lay perpendicular to the boat when laying down. Install 2 each hand knob bolts to the tower. Super easy with 2 people. I am just missing the 2nd person.

Ok, pulley it forward with locking pulley, then do side supports?

Simple. Tie a rope to your bow eye, pull it to the tower pylon. Make a slip knot so you can adjust the length of the rope. When you lift the tower up, pull the rope tight and let it rest there while you attach the leg supports.

I did this on my old boat, worked great.