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Do you have any experience installing/using a ski pylon in a Whaler?
I am thinking about adding a fixted height Swivel-Eze brand ski plyon to a 1983 Newport. Only plan to pull skiers, no tubes etc. If you are familiar with the Newport there is a rectangle shaped wood cover(?) in the center of the boat on floor within about a foot of the transum (covers a portion of the the trench-like drain trough which contains the steering cables and terminates at the stern with a removable drain plug). The thought is get/make a second wood cover and make it so the base of the pylon post attaches to the wood cover. The support arms would attache to the transum using the lift(?) eyes on either side of the OB motor. Object is do try and do this without drilling holes in the hull. Would be nice to come up with a way to attach the outside ends of the support arms to the nut-side of the lift(?) eyes without having to remove them so they could still be used for pulling a tube.
Does this sound completely out-to-lunch? To me the weak point is the attachment at the base of the pylon to the floor. The attachment of the arms at the lift(?) eyes seems much stronger. How much upward force does the base of the pylon post get pulling a 150 lbs slalom skier through a course? Would weight on the tow rope become downward pressure if the top of the pylon were tipped slightly forward (rather than vertical)?
I downloaded the Wood Locating Diagram for the 17' hull. If I am reading it right it appears pretty much the entire floor of the boat has plywood backing (see "L" "127" long x 48" wide x 1/2" plywood (note approx. outline)". Correct? Don't realy understand/cannot see "P" & "M".
Due to legal reasons we are not going to suggest anything in the way of Ski Pylons for this model.
I have seen a few fabricated in the past but not sure how dangerous they were.
Yes, that is the "Rigging Tunnel" that all 16/17 models have.
I have had the Swivel-Eze on several of my Outrage models. They are a good brand but you need to talk to an expert who can help you with mounting if you so choose.
I always used the Tow/Ski eyes on my Montauk when I owned it for 15 years.
