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98outback
03-16-2007, 08:20 PM
I am fixing to install my monster tower on my 98 outbacl. The directions say to add fiberglass to the underside of where the mounts will be mounted if the original is less than 3/8" thick. Does anyone know what the thickness is on these boats or how to add fiberglass to it. Also if anyone has installed this tower and would like to give me some pointers it would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

jburnside
03-17-2007, 10:06 AM
I installed one on my 2003 Outback LS and did not need to add any glass. I am pretty sure you will be OK. Most tournament boats have more glass than than typical runabout IOs. Give the guys at Monster Tower a call, they were always very helpful when I had questions.

As for tips... get 2 people to help you position the tower so you can determine where you want it to be mounted. It was a pain trying to do it with just one extra person. When you are positioning the tower for looks also keep in mind where the tower will fold down into the boat. Lots of M.T. owners want their towers to fold down and rest on the back seat. The wider you make the legs (front to back) will help stabilize the tower and keep it from coming loose down the road. I know this because I have been on several other boats with M.T. towers with a narrower stance than what we had on ours and their towers seemed to lossen up after every day on the lake. Make sure you protect the hull with masking tape for all of your positioning and measuring. Make sure you run your drill in reverse when you drill the holes through the gel coat, It stops it from spider cracking. If you have specific questions send me a PM or just post it up, I'll try to help.

NH Moomba
03-18-2007, 12:54 PM
I have also installed a MT on my 2000 Outback LS (purple one on MT customer photo section). Definitely aim for it to fold down onto the back seat. When I do that and then swing the two arms together, it forms a perfect arch over the ski pole that holds the cover up . Also double check before you drill that you won't run into any stiffening ribs up near the windshield. I think the glass is plenty thick in that area but just to be sure, I bought a cutting board made of UHMWPE plastic and cut it into 4 pieces. I bought some marine sealer/adhesive at West Marine and slathered the back side with a generous amount to fill in the boat curvature and then placed that under the aluminum plates. It helps to distribute the load and I have yet to get any spider cracks. Make sure you countersink the ge l coat just a bit so that if a mounting bolt does shift, it won't hit the brittle gel coat.

Check where the top deck screws onto the hull on the inside of the rub rail and make sure there are plastic strips that the screws are going into. I was told that earlier models did not have this and that it was added to accommodate towers.

Andy

98outback
03-18-2007, 10:19 PM
Could you pleae be a little more descriptve on the part where the top deck screws go through and have a plastic strip. this is very good info from both of you and I want to do this right th first time. I appreciate it. I did not install the tower yet as I am a little nervous. I want to make sure the fiberglass if thick enough.

NH Moomba
03-18-2007, 10:46 PM
I'm sure somebody else on the board would know if your boat had the plastic strips I am talking about. When I bought the boat used from the Moomba dealer down on Lake Norman, I mentioned I was going to add a tower and he looked inside and said it was ok because I had the plastic strips. Basically, the boat is molded in two halves and then screwed together by a boatload of thread forming screws. The rub rail is really a trim piece to cover this joint. If you look up under there from the inside, you should see screws every few inches all around the perimeter. The plastic strips I am talking about are just black plastic backing plates that they thread into. On mine you can see the screws penetrate through the strips sometimes. It helps distribute the load and keeps the screws from stripping out. Those screws are taking all the stress from the tower when you bolt it to the top deck. If the boat wasn't shrink wrapped, I would send you a picture.

The dealer had just picked up the Moomba line so he might not have known what he was talking about. I was scared to drill that first hole in the boat - like Curly Joe always said "I cut it 3 times and it's still too short!"

Andy

zabooda
03-19-2007, 12:14 AM
My 98 Mobius (same boat as the Outback with a tower) has some reinforcement at the point the tower attaches. I have the stock tower and you can look into the storage compartment and see the reinforcement and it looks like plywood that has be fiberglassed in. Inside the storage compartment follow the hull all the way to the top and you may find a 4"x8" piece that hangs down lower than the rest of the boat. If it is there, hopefully you can attach into that section, otherwise you need to reinforce the backside where your tower connects as other people have mentioned. The more stout the reinforcement the less chance of overstressing the hull and that requires spreading the force over a larger area which would be the biggest piece of reinforcement material that can fit flush with the boat fiberglas. Good luck.

Wolf-
03-19-2007, 09:43 AM
I am fixing to install my monster tower on my 98 outbacl. The directions say to add fiberglass to the underside of where the mounts will be mounted if the original is less than 3/8" thick. Does anyone know what the thickness is on these boats or how to add fiberglass to it. Also if anyone has installed this tower and would like to give me some pointers it would be appreciated. Thanks in advance

I have installed 2 monster towers.
One on a 88 bayliner and the other on a newer Searay.

In both cases, I bought 1/4 treated plywood and fiberglass resin.
Routed the edged of the plywood so there were no square corners on the hull side. Built up the inside of the hull with resin, while wet, put the wood in, and a little resin on top to hold it. This gave the back plates a nice surface to come up flush against. Be sure that the surface of the wood (final resting place before the hardening of the resin) is as parallel to the outside hull surface as you can make it.

Running your drill backwards is a MUST! This is the only way to keep from chipping out the gelcoat.

Carry your wrenches with you your first outing. Check the bolts every hour for the first hour or so to make sure they are tight.

And as mentioned, call or email the Monster crew. Great guys.

98outback
03-19-2007, 10:18 PM
I do have the black plastic that ws mentioned above. Also the fiberglass if thicker where the factory tower would have mounted. But since the MT will not mount in the same place i have started to ad a couple it layers ot fiberglass cloth and resin to each of the mounting points. So far i have added 3 layers to each. I plan to ad about 2-3 more oer mount and i will be ready to install.

JoeTechie
03-20-2007, 11:11 AM
I'd skip the extra glass layers and put in the plywood layer as Wolf stated above - much stronger than glass alone.

-J

98outback
03-27-2007, 08:55 PM
Thanks to everyone for the words of advice. I ended up adding pt plywood and the fiberglassed over it. I will post some pics as soon as I take some.

docholiday
03-27-2007, 09:35 PM
Hi all,

I installed my monster tower on a mastercraft(soon to be sold - any takers?) using a couple of aluminum strips as backing/reinforcement under the originanal fiberglass deck.
Bought the 3"wide(or so) X 4'+ long strip of aluminum(probably 3-4 mm thick) and cut into usable strips that fit underneath. I figured aluminum was better than wood(no rot)
I realize you already completed your install( i just signed up tonite), but thought i'd give some info in case someone else reads this for research -

Either way the monster tower is a great product - i was very impressed with its construction.

-doc