ive never wakeboarded behind a tower...

is there really that big of a difference?

seems like you would get pulled up better..

i bet you can get some serious air..

Not to be a smart a@@ but would everyone have one and be spending tons of cash on them if they didn't improve the ride?J/K. They make a huge difference.

stoked- that is correct. you can still get serious air without the tower, but its more serious with the tower. super serious. the higher tow point allows for more of an upward pull when you load the line with tension for the jump. i'm serious.

Lance seriously, are you saying you can get seriously big air with a serious tower and serious load on the line?

dude, ive got to get somebody to pull me with a tower!!!

dangit..

im getting serious air now....

you dont need a tower to get huget air. and your not going to ride any better if you do get to ride behind a boat with a tower. any difference will be nominal to a beginning rider and largely unnoticable. sorry to bust your bubble. get your fundamentals down then start to worry about a tower

i can bet money that i will boost a lot higher with a tower..

I'll take that bet.

Stoked - First piece of advice is to switch to a palms down grip (assuming that's you with the baseball grip on your profile pic).

ok....so the baseball grip sucks...

and im a kook...i know..

Stoked - you are welcome to come up and ride with us some weekend. I have an '83 Nautique 2001 with a tower. I know it isn't a brand new wakeboard boat, but the wake is awesome and you can see what riding behind a tower is like.

It is quite a ways to drive, but I just thought I would extend the offer.

Hijack......Fuel, how are you weighting that boat. I am riding behind my buddy's 96 Nauti and we are still trying to figure out how we want it weighted. I know it's a different hull but it's close. End Hijack.

fuel....yeah i would love to...

how far is that from beaumont....?

i dont care how old the boat is, as long as the wake is big...

Adam, it all depends on what kind of wake you want. All of the folks I ride with like a steeper wake so we weight the rear more. If you like a mellower wake, weight the nose more.

My boat may be somehat different from a normal 2001. My buddy and I had to replace the stringers, so we put four stringers in it rather than two. We also put six layers of fiberglass over the stingers and added a wood floor. The boat is a lot heavier than a normal 2001.

Here's how we normally weight it:

200 lbs of lead in the bow. 700 lbs fat sack in the back. A cooler on the port or starboard side (depending on how fat the driver is) and about 75-100 lbs. of lead by the driver so the observer can move it around to help even out the wakes. Usually 5 to 6 people (700-800 lbs of people). Boat speed: 22-24 mph. Line length: 65-75

I have weighted it like this (before a rat chewed holes in my sacks): 350 lbs of lead in the nose. 1200 Fat seat in the rear (filled to, guessing, only 900-1000 lbs.) Two 540 lbs. (These weren't filled up completely because the mashed against the sides of the motor box too much. I am guessing 350 lbs each side.) lounge pads on the sides. Plus 4 people.

With this setup, the wake is HUGE. But the boat is too hard to drive, wants to nose dive too much, and you can write a novel in the time it takes to get you on plane. Besides, I don't think that much weight is needed. It's not like we are throwing down Pro Tour level passes or nothing. Our normal setup provides a knee high wake or better.

A lot of folks recommend a 40/60 split (with 40% of the weight in the nose and 60% in the rear). I would start with that setup and then adjust according to your preferences. Hope that helps.

Stoked, it is quite a ways. Gatesville is between Waco, Temple, and Killeen.

A friend of mine is from Fred, Texas (outside Beaumont). I can ask him how long it takes.

Thanks a bunch Fuel, after reading that I realized something, more weight. Not looking for Pro level but knee high wakes would be killer. I knew about the 40-60 rule of thumb and it is a work in progress. Because we just have to be a little WT, we use salt bags for our weight. We need it for the water softener anyway so we buy it by the skid. Thanks again.

Adam, we used to use Sack-crete. We would leave it in the bags, wrap it in contractor trash bags and duck tape and put it wherever we needed it. It was cheap, but a pain in the ass.

I would get a few sacks for the boat. Weight the bow, and the rear for sure. You might want to weight the sides, too. Is it a Ski Nautique or a Sport? If it is a Sport, you can get the same wake as a Super Air (210), if weighted right. Either way, the wake should be killer on those boats, if weighed right. Good luck.

yeah i know where fred is...

yeah, ask him would you?

as soon as i get my student loan, ill swing out that way for sure!

like i said, im a surfer and have traveled the entire coast for waves.. i make florida and cali trips all the time in my car.

ill be up there when i get a break in school.

ill be a respiratory tech.

i can already see a 07 malibu sitting in the water..

Fuel,

We have a Ski Nauti and we have a couple of Fly High Side Sacs. Problem is my buddy let's a couple skiiers use the boat so we are constantly unloading the weight for them. BS if you ask me but it's his boat.

The biggest difference a beginner will notice with a tower or pylon is how much eaasier it is to get out of the water initially. After that, your edge skills will make a lot more difference than your tow height.

"Not to be a smart a@@ but would everyone have one and be spending tons of cash on them if they didn't improve the ride?"

Ron, are you saying the boat's stereo system improves the ride? Most folks have them and they spend tons of cash on them. A lot of things on the modern wakeboat are for vanity purposes or other non-wake purposes. Merely asking if the tower fits firmly into the wakeboarding enhancement category is a very valid question from someone who has never ridden behind one.

i didnt even know what they were at first...

i thought it was a big rack to hold wakeboards!

If you want to get huge air put that wakeboard in the garbage and go buy yourself a sky ski.