'A' frame\wakeboard tower

[tue]

Me again!!

I was thinking of having a new 'A' frame made that could be used a wakeboard tower aswell. But am a bit concerned about the stress on the frame and mounting points by towing a skier.

Would fitting 2 extra bars from the frame to the floor further in side the boat help take load off the transom mounting points. (I've seen sport boats with big stress cracks around the fixings for their towers . ) The bars could be removeable for when I'm not skiing .

[benjamin]

On my boat the previous owner fitted deadeyes in the deck port & starboard just abaft the jockey seats and welded corresponding s/s eyes to the top of the A frame . I have had 2 lengths of dinghy rigging wire made up with eyes and a bottle screw at one end and a hook at t'other. I have not tested the arrangement in anger yet (weather this last week in Cornwall was too foul!!) but believe this should convert the shearing force of a towed skier at least partially into a downwardfs load on the three substantial bolts holding the A frame on each side of the transom. The arrangement can be rigged / unrigged in 3 minutes with no tool more elaborate than a short steel bar to tighten the bottle screws. I will keep you posted on how it works in due course. Hope this is of some help.

[ribraff]

Another idea is to strap in an old windsurfing mast, preferably carbon fibre and a line going to a bow eye, you get quite a bit of flex in the pole with a big inertia kick when you carve off the wake, the results can be scary!!!