Show me your Skipjack Open tower (or half tower)

[flytie]

Looking for a builder for a half or full tower this off season (which may have already began).

Show me your tower on your Skippy open and please tell me who built it.

Thanks!

 

[tbev]

This is our first tower, it will be powder coated next offseason when we redo gelcoat on the whole boat. It's not perfect, there are things we would do differently but we think it turned out pretty good. It's very stable, no rattles etc. The radar is about 13ft 4in. which is the tallest point when the crow's nest is folded back.

 

[flytie]

Thanks!

 

[flytie]

BTW, if anyone is looking for a stainless arch already built, Tony at Fishing Boats Unlimited in Costa Mesa has his show model he is looking to sell. 949-903-6220

 

[bent rodz]

 

[bent rodz]

View attachment 1432256

 

[whitecap72]

My driveway made hard top!

 

[woodfish330]

Greyshock

 

[flytie]

View attachment 1432257

View attachment 1432259

View attachment 1432260

View attachment 1432261

View attachment 1432262

Sick rig. Thank you for sharing.

 

[flytie]

My driveway made hard top!

View attachment 1432296

Looks great! Thanks for sharing.

 

[whitecap72]

Looks great! Thanks for sharing.

Thanks, we love our skippy!!

 

[justjoinedfishing]

My driveway made hard top!

nice work.. do you mind doing an arch for my 21 footer??

 

[whitecap72]

If I had the time, no problem. Between my job, making weights and fishing I just don't have the time.

 

[NotAnotherProject]

Are these all out of aluminum?

 

[flytie]

Are these all out of aluminum?

Not a lot if vendors wanting to build out of stainless I'm finding. Did find two but one wanted my first born for a very simple marlin style tower and the second is out to March and won't give anything but a verbal quote and still won't build a hard top. You have to source that separately, and that isn't turning out to be easy.

 

[TheWesNMads]

Not a lot if vendors wanting to build out of stainless I'm finding. Did find two but one wanted my first born for a very simple marlin style tower and the second is out to March and won't give anything but a verbal quote and still won't build a hard top. You have to source that separately, and that isn't turning out to be easy.

Crazy you can’t find a glass guy to build the top. It wouldn’t be too hard laying out a mold for it, are you super strapped for time?

 

[flytie]

Crazy you can’t find a glass guy to build the top. It wouldn’t be too hard laying out a mold for it, are you super strapped for time?

There was a "BD Hardtop Mold" that I chased all of the way up to SB but it was shortsightedly tossed. Big Mike is checking to see if they have a mold.

I could build and pop a mold if I had time but slammed until Feb. I've finalized the top/tower to two routes. One is leaning slightly stronger than the other, but still needs to get his stuff together.

 

[NotAnotherProject]

I’ve heard the price of the stainless tube is ridiculous but I haven’t priced it yet. I’m looking at building one at some point soon too.

I’d definitely prefer the stainless for maintenance but the price and weight may not be worth it. I’d guess a satin finish 304 would be the most economical. I’m not sure what the ‘standard’ material is for these though.

Building out of aluminum tube doesn’t seem horrible but I’d guess the price of anodizing or powder coating a monstrosity like that would be huge and may even make up for the initial material cost difference. I’ve been on board with bare aluminum before and your hands are black in the first hour. I do dig the look of some beautifully TIG welded aluminum over stainless though.

I saw a site for a place in Florida that’s making hard tops. They were all around 5k but are pretty cool - they had all the moldings for the electronics.

Contemplating making a simple top from door skin and/or FRP and fiberglass. Maybe a top coat of carbon fiber to prevent having to ‘finish’ it.

 

[flytie]

I’ve heard the price of the stainless tube is ridiculous but I haven’t priced it yet. I’m looking at building one at some point soon too.

I’d definitely prefer the stainless for maintenance but the price and weight may not be worth it. I’d guess a satin finish 304 would be the most economical. I’m not sure what the ‘standard’ material is for these though.

Building out of aluminum tube doesn’t seem horrible but I’d guess the price of anodizing or powder coating a monstrosity like that would be huge and may even make up for the initial material cost difference. I’ve been on board with bare aluminum before and your hands are black in the first hour. I do dig the look of some beautifully TIG welded aluminum over stainless though.

I saw a site for a place in Florida that’s making hard tops. They were all around 5k but are pretty cool - they had all the moldings for the electronics.

Contemplating making a simple top from door skin and/or FRP and fiberglass. Maybe a top coat of carbon fiber to prevent having to ‘finish’ it.

The two piece hard tops from Florida are nice but there is a tale on here of ordering one and it arrived in pieces. Replacement was the same. The Florida company is no longer shipping those tops.

One verbal stainless quote was about the same price as an entire aluminum top with the glass hardtop included. The problem is lead time is long because they are one of the only shops building in stainless any longer. Six of one...

 

[TheWesNMads]

I’ve heard the price of the stainless tube is ridiculous but I haven’t priced it yet. I’m looking at building one at some point soon too.

I’d definitely prefer the stainless for maintenance but the price and weight may not be worth it. I’d guess a satin finish 304 would be the most economical. I’m not sure what the ‘standard’ material is for these though.

Building out of aluminum tube doesn’t seem horrible but I’d guess the price of anodizing or powder coating a monstrosity like that would be huge and may even make up for the initial material cost difference. I’ve been on board with bare aluminum before and your hands are black in the first hour. I do dig the look of some beautifully TIG welded aluminum over stainless though.

I saw a site for a place in Florida that’s making hard tops. They were all around 5k but are pretty cool - they had all the moldings for the electronics.

Contemplating making a simple top from door skin and/or FRP and fiberglass. Maybe a top coat of carbon fiber to prevent having to ‘finish’ it.

I hear you on all of your thoughts. I wonder if powder coat would be much more than $1,000-1,500 for a structure this size. Probably would still be saving money, stainless is crazy expensive. I would do 6061 all the way on this, that has gone up too but not as stainless has. This is like 25-30k price category for custom work my guess with aluminum not far behind. What a sick rig it will be either way.

 

[flytie]

I hear you on all of your thoughts. I wonder if powder coat would be much more than $1,000-1,500 for a structure this size. Probably would still be saving money, stainless is crazy expensive. I would do 6061 all the way on this, that has gone up too but not as stainless has. This is like 25-30k price category for custom work my guess with aluminum not far behind. What a sick rig it will be either way.

Less than half of your estimate in aluminum.

 

[NotAnotherProject]

I hear you on all of your thoughts. I wonder if powder coat would be much more than $1,000-1,500 for a structure this size. Probably would still be saving money, stainless is crazy expensive. I would do 6061 all the way on this, that has gone up too but not as stainless has. This is like 25-30k price category for custom work my guess with aluminum not far behind. What a sick rig it will be either way.

 

[NotAnotherProject]

Yeah for sure. Tough to stomach spending that much on a boat that’s worth less than the tower ( at least for us with older boats)

Buying pre anodized tube might be the ticket but I don’t think there is any easy fix for the joints. I’d imagine if you don’t store the boat in a slip or have it right on the coast, bare 6061 would probably hardly ever build up any corrosion.

 

[flytie]

Yeah for sure. Tough to stomach spending that much on a boat that’s worth less than the tower ( at least for us with older boats)

Buying pre anodized tube might be the ticket but I don’t think there is any easy fix for the joints. I’d imagine if you don’t store the boat in a slip or have it right on the coast, bare 6061 would probably hardly ever build up any corrosion.

This one is my last one. It is my mini-Cabo. Haven't even started on the electronics package yet...

 

[NotAnotherProject]

This one is my last one. It is my mini-Cabo. Haven't even started on the electronics package yet...

Did they happen to give you any specs on the tube they were going to use (diameter + wall thickness)?