My Custom Tower Shade Build....

[STANG KILLA SS]

some of you may remember my $40 shade i built for my nautique
http://forums.wakeboarder.com/viewtopic.php?t=82753

well a little nicer boat now, means allitle nicer shade.

my mobius LSV came with the stock bimini thats just, well, gay. looks like it belongs on a bayliner and only really shaded the driver and passenger, plus you have to put it up and down everytime.

all the ones you buy were expensive and the less expenive ones were just generic and still $500+. so i decided to build my own.

got some supplys and headed to my buddy brads. have to give him credit for all the welding.

supplys:

4x billet tower clamps (bullet)
$100

3x 1"x10' conduit
4x 90* bent corners
1/2" steel tube
$45

nuts, bolts, and washers
1/4" x 1" aluminum bar
$35

2 yards Sunbrella Marine 80" fabric
$75

adhesion promotor and paint
$12

Total Invested: $267

final size is 61" x 63" or about 5' x 5', and took us right at 8 hours to compete.


http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/1786/shade1.jpg

http://img594.imageshack.us/img594/9594/shade2p.jpg

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/5082/shade3.jpg

getting the sides welded up
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/4783/shade4z.jpg

[STANG KILLA SS]

weld cleanup
http://img691.imageshack.us/img691/6793/shade5.jpg

http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/4990/shade6.jpg

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/1329/shade7.jpg

center bolt sleeves. weld in at the same angle as the tower. prevents the bolt from crushing the tube.
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/4672/shade8.jpg

[STANG KILLA SS]

welded nuts for the front supports. on the inside so there hidden from view.
http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/910/shade9.jpg

mocked up with the center bolts only.
http://img149.imageshack.us/img149/4458/shade10.jpg

i just finished weld cleanup, sanding and priming. painting as i type this.
ill keep the post updated as i go.

[you da man]

Dayum Cory, you've been busy.

[STANG KILLA SS]

yeah. we started at 1 on saturday, i got home at 10:30. lots of work. i hope its worth it.

[WaterBullDawg1980]

Keep us updated! Very cool project.

[brain_rinse]

I assume the clamp by the mirror and the other straight across from it will be moved up to the back bar of the tower?

[STANG KILLA SS]

no those clamps are shown in there final location. the 1/4" x 1" flat aluminum bar stock was used to make hard supports in the front and goes from the clamps to those welded on nuts shown in the second to last pic. you cant see the nuts in the last pic because the top front bar of the tower is blocking them from view. i thought i had taken a pic of it all assembled but i guess not.

i may add some straps to the back just for folks getting off the swin deck, natural instict is going to be to grab the back of the shade and swing in. its strong enough to not need them. but i want to be safe incase someone grabs it coming in.

[viking]

I can't wait to see the finished product :)

[brain_rinse]

no those clamps are shown in there final location. the 1/4" x 1" flat aluminum bar stock was used to make hard supports in the front and goes from the clamps to those welded on nuts shown in the second to last pic. you cant see the nuts in the last pic because the top front bar of the tower is blocking them from view. i thought i had taken a pic of it all assembled but i guess not.

i may add some straps to the back just for folks getting off the swin deck, natural instict is going to be to grab the back of the shade and swing in. its strong enough to not need them. but i want to be safe incase someone grabs it coming in.
That makes sense now that you explain it. So now I guess I'm just curious why you chose to support it that way instead of on the rear/back bar of the tower like the monster and z5 racks.

You're going to have a great setup when you're done and very inexpensive as well. Nice job!

[STANG KILLA SS]

the rear bar was the origonal plan but once on the boat it was just obvious im SO glad we moved it to the front.
#1 for strength, going down the road the front is what catches in the wind and would get bend up. the rear just follows like a streamer on a kite so to speak. not much chance of bending the rear from wind forces on the rear while driving.
#2 looks, the rear bar would have been 4'+ long, and right in the way of getting boards, talking to riders in the water, and in plain view of all the passengers. also the length wouldnt have been as strong, lots of side to side flex too. the front supports are only like 14"-18" long. the rear bar was my plan/idea all along. but after we did some thinking after it was in place with the center bolts it just made more sense once we could see it all to switch to front supports. im SO glad we made that change.

[jimmobius]

Looks good so far, is it covered yet? Pics?
Jim.

[STANG KILLA SS]

its painted now, but the sunbrella fabric hasnt come in. no worries ill post pics as soon as its done ;)

[STANG KILLA SS]

well material came in and sewing as begun! we got about a 1/4 of it done tonight.

http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/7097/sewing1.jpg

http://img517.imageshack.us/img517/44/sewing2.jpg

http://img638.imageshack.us/img638/7264/sewing3.jpg

http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/3447/sewing4.jpg

[moombadaze]

awsum diy, cant wait to see the final pictures

[STANG KILLA SS]

frame is mounted! for some reason the pics make it look small. but its nearly twice the size of stock and even bigger than the Z5 shade. its 5' x 5' and seems huge in the boat. getting its first test run to the lake tommorrow.

http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/8143/mounted1.jpg

http://img101.imageshack.us/img101/8656/mounted2.jpg

http://img190.imageshack.us/img190/9718/mounted3.jpg



and after our 3rd straight night of sewing the fabric is nearly done. all we lack now is the corners. need to be pied, hem'ed and velcro'ed.
http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/4939/mounted4.jpg

[STANG KILLA SS]

http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/9867/mounted5.jpg

[kaneboats]

Nah. Looks awesome to me. Nice work. Keep the pics coming!

[jimmobius]

Looks professional to me, you can be proud of it. It is amazing on how long it takes to do those projects . I have made my own bow , cockpit covers for the last 2 boats now but haven't made one for the moomba yet. Maybe this winter .. too busy with lake time now.
Jim.

[02Outback]

Looks great! I would like to place an order :) Ha!

[viking]

Hell ya! You taking orders??

[STANG KILLA SS]

hell no. its funny me and pops ( did the sewing) said we would mass produce these. but wouldnt charge a dime less than $5,000 :D and i agree. MAN its a TON of work!

took the frame and canvas to the lake today for a trial run. it did AWESOME. performed perfectly. no problems at speed on the boat. once we get the corners done the next test will be the big one.... highway test at 60 mph. we just took the fabric in the boat and put it on the frame once at the lake today.

[you da man]

Did you make Audrey polish the boat for the pics...it's looks so clean :p

[STANG KILLA SS]

nah, dirty as usual! flash makes it look clean :D

[STANG KILLA SS]

finally finished! man that top took 4 days of sewing. but its all worth it.
towed it to the lake for the first time this morning, even at 65 mph it didnt even budge. the fabric didnt wave, slap, bow, nothing just perfectly flat and still like it was fiberglass or something. just perfect. we did make sure when we were building it to have it perfectly level to the ground. so there was no angle when towing. that helped alot i think. im SO pleased. and it works great.

grand total invested out the door. $309

http://img825.imageshack.us/img825/2789/finished1.jpg

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/2631/finished2t.jpg

http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/5556/finished3.jpg

http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/1316/finished4.jpg

[moombadaze]

impresive work you did there

[newty]

Very Nice! Looks great!

[New Guy]

That looks Awesome! Definitely on my list of winter projects.

[jimmobius]

Very nice , good job. It is amazing how long it takes to do stuff like that. I do my own sewing on my covers , modifying them here and there. I have a wooden 4 x 8 table with a place recessed for the old sewing machine. It has worked well for me over the years . I have done my own bow and cockpit covers on the last 2 boats I have had before the Moomba . I really hate to drill and install snaps on the fiberglass on this one. I do need a bow cover for it and haven't gotten around to sewing one up yet. I saw one on a friend's boat and it went over the bow and snapped under the rub rail then went back to under the windshield with no snaps on the fiberglass.
Jim.

[rc5695]

looks great man!!!!!!

[viking]

$309..........I'm assuming that is parts and NOT including labor ($4691) right?
:)

[Lake Bound]

That is a very nice build! I like getting it a little higher as it is not quite as much of a head banger as the bimini. Very nice welding job too.

[saskyrider]

you gotta love people that aren't afraid to take an idea to the finish line!!! beautiful work.... looks very pro!!!

Geoff