Is the Metcraft tower a deal breaker?

[tige4life]

Hey everyone, looking at buying a Tige 21V or 23V, and I am aware of the reputation that the Metcraft tower has. Should I really look for one with an aftermarket tower, or should the theory of, "The tower has lasted this long, so it must be ok,' be applied? I know about broken welds, and bolts sheering loose. I also know that people have to constantly be tightening down bolts. I don't have that much money, and definitely could not replace the tower if something were to go wrong this summer. My question is, should I take a chance with the Metcraft, and do all preventative maintenance, and still risk losing the tower? Or buy a boat with a different tower, having the peace of mind that it will not break.

Thanks,
Logan

[UNSTUCK]

I have that tower on my 21v. The bolts come loose every 2-3 trips. I don't call that "constantly". It hasn't cracked at all. A new tower wont help us surf any better. Keep an eye on it and run it!

[chpthril]

Nope! Id buy the boat, not the tower. There are too many solid towers out there to let a good boat go just cause it had the metcraft. Honestly, I would go into the deal knowing I was going to replace it.

[Ruger761]

Brothers 2001 20i still has that tower on it. We just keep an eye on it for now. But I will say so far even as hard as we have pulled on it no cracks yet. But like Chpthril said just buy the boat if the deal is correct and plan on a replacement sometime.

[Dandy]

Anyone have pictures of the Metcraft tower? I have seen it mentioned several times but have no idea what it looks like.

[surfidaho]

If you find a nice boat buy it and replace the tower later. I did I used the Metcraft for a season (100+ hrs) with no issues once I put loctite on the bolts. Disclaimer: All we do is surf so my tower does not see much in the way of big forces. Both the 21v and 23v are great budget boats. I still have the old Metcraft in my shed so if you need parts let me know.

[davcoug]

Here is a pick of my boat before i replaced the tower. (because it broke) IMAG0467.jpgnew tower.JPG And then with the Indy tower i put on it. Fit in same holes and was easy to install.

[talltigeguy]

Hey everyone, looking at buying a Tige 21V or 23V, and I am aware of the reputation that the Metcraft tower has. Should I really look for one with an aftermarket tower, or should the theory of, "The tower has lasted this long, so it must be ok,' be applied? I know about broken welds, and bolts sheering loose. I also know that people have to constantly be tightening down bolts. I don't have that much money, and definitely could not replace the tower if something were to go wrong this summer. My question is, should I take a chance with the Metcraft, and do all preventative maintenance, and still risk losing the tower? Or buy a boat with a different tower, having the peace of mind that it will not break.

Thanks,
Logan

Logan,
This might not be what you want to hear, but there are dozens of items on your boat like the tower that can break at a moment's notice. Depending on how much you think an aftermarket tower would cost, I would not recommend that you buy a boat without 2K in the bank to fix it when one of those items fails. Having a boat can be a real pain. So buy a cheaper boat that you can use, instead of one that you can't use if you have an unexpected failure.

But the tower is not a dealbreaker in my opinion either.

[Bryan]

That tower is not a deal breaker unless it's a cosmetic issue for you.. My first Tige was a pre 2100wt with a metcraft on it. It wasn't even the updated version like the one pictured above. I didn't have those secondary vertical inside bars, which I assume were to add strength, and I didn't have those board racks.. Just pads on top of the tower and straps. I rocked that tower with hardcore use for 3 years with no issues at all. Just check the bolts every once in awhile, and she'll be fine.

[tige4life]

My brother and I are going in half and half on this boat, and we set our budget at $15K. Very difficult to find a V-drive for this, we know, but this will be the first major purchase for both of us.
To everyone else, the Metcraft seems like it is a good tower, as long as you tighten everything down. For my situation we would be doing 50% wake boarding, an 50% surfing. But if we have to replace the Metcraft, that sets us back on trying to be cost effective, considering a tower is $2-3K
Thanks to all that have taken the time to reply so far, talltigeguy, thank you especially for your words of advice. We definitely would have some money aside for repairs, but am trying to limit how much cash is dumped into this thing. I have seen many people go in on boats, and having it be a losing asset, because they quickly become a money pit.

[NICKYPOO]

All boats are holes in the water you throw money into. B.O.A.T. Break Out Another Thousand. Ect,ect, ect...

You'll never get your money back out but, that's not what it's about. It's a toy and you will spend more money on it. It's just the nature of the beast.

I had the old Metcraft. The really old one without the added supports or board racks. It for sure sucked but, it worked for awhile. I was very good about keeping it tight. It still shook like a MFer. That was the worst of it for me though. The mounts (feet) were the main factor with the side to side wobble. It's really bad. The vast majority of actual failures though were in the top (the ladder) section. Thoroughly inspect the lap joints up there regularly and keep them tight. As long as those are good, it should be ok for basic use. One thing I really didn't like doing with and would never recommend with that tower was towing a powerful wakeboarder. Novices and kids are no big deal for it but, get a big fella back there who is making some hard cuts into the wake and it's pretty sketchy. It'll shake and wobble really hard. Certainly NEVER hook a tube to it.

The way I would look at that tower now is that it's a bargaining chip. That tower is unsafe and he shouldn't even sell a boat with it on there. He has to come down on the price (at least a little) as it absolutely needs to be replaced ASAP.

[BurnMac42]

My brother and I are going in half and half on this boat, and we set our budget at $15K. Very difficult to find a V-drive for this, we know, but this will be the first major purchase for both of us.
To everyone else, the Metcraft seems like it is a good tower, as long as you tighten everything down. For my situation we would be doing 50% wake boarding, an 50% surfing. But if we have to replace the Metcraft, that sets us back on trying to be cost effective, considering a tower is $2-3K
Thanks to all that have taken the time to reply so far, talltigeguy, thank you especially for your words of advice. We definitely would have some money aside for repairs, but am trying to limit how much cash is dumped into this thing. I have seen many people go in on boats, and having it be a losing asset, because they quickly become a money pit.

Dude....when you are negotiating a boat price sure use the Samson price of $2-3k but like others have mentioned, you can get a solid tower for way less than that amount.....

Here is another shot of an Indy Tower....It's a solid tower that will cost you less than a grand (I got the bimini, racks, and tower for under a grand).....it's solid, it folds, its a good tower. I get it, dudes like Samson but you don't HAVE to put a Samson on there..

20150717_153903.jpg

[yllw20]

test drive the boat and you like it, buy it. Be sure to check the tower for condition at the seals. Also something to think of is the old towers didn't handle excess weight well and some newer ones too if you mount speakers in the wrong place. You are talk upwards of 50 -70lbs hanging there and bouncing and pounding with every wave on some set ups. And remember it is not a chin up bar either. Buy it if it performs on the water. have fun and boat on!