Can you use a Ski Pylon on a 2003 Captiva 232?

Ken_Baum

I was looking to try wake boarding with my 2003 Captiva Rinker 232 and was wondering if it was possible to use a Ski Pylon like this on my boat:

http://www.overtons.com/modperl/product/details.cgi?pdesc=Fly-High-X-Pole-3-diameter&i=17753&r=view

I would rather not permanently mount a wake board tower due to expense and limited use as I'm in PA and we only get to boat 6 months out of the year. Any chance the table pole hole doubles as a pylon?

Ken

midweste

Hi Ken, 

Welcome to the RBOC forum! 

Firstly, I would search on line for pics and measurements of what a ski-pylon mount looks like installed in a ski-boat. It looks like it needs a 2.5" diameter pylon for it to function and seat correctly. The fly high quad pod may suit your needs better. 

Quote from the Q&A section of the O'tons website: "this item is designed to fit over an existing pylon that was installed on the boat by the boat's manufacturer. I know for sure that they are included on Mastercraft, Moomba, and Correctcraft brand boats, but I am not aware of whether your brand has one of these. They are usually three feet high or so and located over the driver's left shoulder slightly. If you have one of these factory pylons then this seven foot tall pylon will slide right over top of it and it would work. If you do not have this factory pylon you would need a different product called the fly high quad pod which is the same pole except it has four braces that mount down to your boat for support instead of the factory pylon and bow support cable the xpole has. For even more information about fly high products like the xpole and quad pod please visit this website:
http://www.fatsac.com/Barefoot/BarefootProducts.html"

I hope this helps and please let us know what you decide and how it works! Also, pics pics pics - LOL 

-MW 

Black_Diamond

The table pole hole will not be suitable for a tow point with out significant mouting upgrades I have to believe (backing plate for sure).  The hole for the table post itself is just a tapered fit too and likely to come out.

Michael T

First BD is 100% correct. If you don't do this right you will damage your boat, have an insurance nightmare and worst of all hurt the person being towed and maybe even someone in your boat. Do it correctly and you will be amazed by the pulling difference. I have been waterskiing for decades and know what I am talking about. If interested read on -  I have done installations similar to this in a dozen boats. A friend and I did this on this on a 232 Rinker with a Bravo 1 drive and a Mercruiser 502.  I think the year we did it was 1994. The boat had a long stainless steel bar across the back of the swim platform with a ski tow "eye" in the centre. This is how it arrived from Rinker, a typical and good installation at that time for general water sports usage. It was great for tubing but not good enough (it put the tow rope too low on the transom) for high quality slalom skiing or knee boarding (no wake boards in those days LOL). This is what we did. We undid the staples from the edge of the sun pad that covers the engine bay, cut a U shaped hole with the open end of the U facing the seat back and the rounded end facing the swim plaform. We cut the hole slightly bigger (I think by 1/2" to 3/4")  than the diameter of the pylon we purchased, for threeo reasons: to allow us to wrap the naughahyde back around the cut hole and staple it down for a very custom look, to allow us to open-up the sun pad with the pylon in place and to leave some room for the ski pylon to flex under side to side and back to front loads. At the time we had two installation options. Both involved an aluminum plate screwed to the inside of the engine bay at the bottom of the seat. I think it may have entended over the stringers but can't remember - we did similar things on a number of boats around that time - and I was 20 years younger LOL. I think we had the bottom plate custom fabricated for a pretty cheap price. It was a plate with larger diameter piece of aluminum pipe about three inches high and with a slightly bigger diameter than our pylon that was welded to a bottom plate that we affixed in the engine bay. It had a hole through it with a pin to lock the pylon in place. Up top we had two choices: a second bracket just below the sun pad affixed to the seat back or two arms that ran out from the pylon in a V to each side of the rear fiberglass coaming of the boat. We debated this partn of the installation for days - a clean look versus strength. We chose the latter for strength. All three attachments, in the enbine bay and both "arms" were quick disconnect.  We made a covered plug using the piece of sunpad that we had cut-out and covered it with a matching naugahyde for a custom look when the pylon was removed. It took a couple of days to measure-up and design and a weekend to install. It held firm for slalom skiiers, tubing, kneeboarding etc. I can't remember where we actually purchased the pylon from. There were a number we looked at in Waterski Magazine etc. There were quite a few to choose from. I do know that we were strongly advised (and it was good advice in retrospect) to NOT try to use a single fixed pole without the two side arms. We debated on the finished height of the ski pylon to get a compromise for slalom skiiers and kneeboarders. I think we chose a height that was about a foot above the sunpad. It was amazing. Great pulls for slalom skiiers and fine for kneeboarders and tubers. IMO it would have been a great height for wakeboarders too. We did go for a new item at the time which was a swivel head on the pylon - man we thought we were a big deal with that! LOL.  Of course, at the time, we were told that we were nuts, that it would look like sh*t and that it wouldn't work. Everyone who saw it was real impressed, even more so when they were behind it! What you propose is absolutely doable. In fact I bet today, 20 years after we did that install, there are some amazing new pylon rigs out there! Do your homework. Try mock-ups of different height pylons, look in your engine bay to see what is possible. Just take your time, do it right and you'll be 100% happy. Best of luck.  MT

Robyw1

Get a tower, much easier to deal with and best of all you can get speakers and never worry about losing your all-around light.


https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=1074757302552131&set=a.102844219743449.6578.100000536146131&type=3&theater

Michael T

If you buy a tower get one that has quick release pins to drop it for towing/transportation