I added a wakeboard tower to an 18ft Four Winns 2 years ago. I ordered it from BIGAIRPYLONS.com. They have a winter deal that is basically $100 off so it ends up $795 plus $90 shipping. I installed it myself. It has been the best thing ever for our little boat. I am considering adding an ESP soon. The tower installation was not as scarry as I thought it would be.

The ESP falling below the water has never been something I worry about.
The back of the ESP does touch the water for a few seconds while getting on plane.

Here is a pic of how high the ESP sits above the water (OK, with little weight on the boat & at the front)



I am a bigger size guy, and I don’t recall coming close to the water when I step on the ESP. I suppose if me and three other guys my size were sitting on it, it may “sink”.

I rafted up with three other boats a few years ago. All the families spent most of the time on the four ESPs. Mostly on the back of CMJ’s Monterey 248 (the big boat of the bunch). So another unfair comparison – but if you are rafting up, the weight is distributed along all boats as people travel from one to another. Also (no expert here) I assume that people congregate on the biggest boat – we did.

So... worrying about the ESP touching the water or submerging has never been an issue for us – but that may be because of the way we use the boat.

Nice save there LL

Yeah mine sits a little lower that that due to the molded platform set-up. I don't have an on-water pic, but here's a couple on the trailer. Never had an issue with the platform in the water when moving, as soon as you hit the throttle, all the water is pushed away even at no-wake.

Thanks for the pictures guys! It really reinforces the fact that I want to add the swimplatform. It looks as though I have nothing to worry about. It is just a matter of how I want it to look. Anyone else have pictures of their swimplatform or tower that they could post? (With it being winter here in Wisconsin, it is great to see warm weather pictures!)

jim698, any chance you could post of picture of your tower on your boat? I like the looks of their Vapor Tower and their current price is very attractive. Have you had any issues with yours? Any advice for installing?

LL, have you noticed any performance changes since adding the platform? Do you have any more bow rise on take off, slower time to plane etc? I see that Hawkeye has the smart tabs so I am assuming he has not noticed any difference. I guess I am wondering if smart tabs would be needed. Am I over analyzing all this??

I did not notice any major performance downfalls. I am sure the added weight on the back did something negative, but (and not promoting a 3.0) my 18ftr always got on plan easy enough, w/ or w/out the platform. Trim tabs? Never considered them & don't plan to. But I am not a constant boat improvement guy. Factory is good 99% of the time.

I hope I did not come across as a "feel my pain, add a platform no matter what" type guy... but I say: do your research, if factory works - go with that, and start with the ESP on your boat.
It is a big advantage on a small boat – it didn’t miraculously make ours in to a new boat, but it added square footage for sure.

After the ESP, worry about trim tabs and water toy storage. Just my thought.

Wasn't looking for a save, but...
Still, add a couple hundred pounds to the bow and middle and a few hundred to the platform and I am still OK. Can't wait till the summer, so I can prove that

I have a couple of pictures of the tower on my computer here at work. I have never tried to post pictures here before. I can give that a try or you can pm me and I will gladly email them. The tower is as solid as a rock. No rattles, squeaks or anything. Slolom skiers even love to use it and that puts quite a bit of stress on towers. The only thing I did differently during installation is put some large steel plates inside to spread out the strain on the fiberglass. I did the whole thing by myself except lifting into position a couple of times.

jim698, just sent you a PM! Thanks for the offer!

Added both in the pics in my sig.

Platform is from www.swimplatforms.com and the tower is from eBay. I'd have to look up the manufacturer's name as I don't recall right now. Both will help in making your boat larger.