Tower Uprights

[da.bell]

Okay, I have already emailed Tige (last night) about this to see what they have to offer but also wanted to post here. I am having a problem with the Tower Uprights and the paint chipping off where the tower and the uprights meet. I have to take the tower down to store the boat in the carport.

Q1) Is anyone else having the same problem?

Q2) If so, what did you do to resolve this (touch-up paint will work but that will eventually chip also)?

Thanks, David

p.s. I am thinking about having the uprights stripped of the paint. I know that would solve my problem but want to see what others are doing.

[Tequilasun]

I've had a similar issue as well. I don't take the tower down that much though.

I plan on having those uprights re-powdercoated in the future. My issue isn't that bad, honestly you probably wouldn't notice mine unless I pointed it out.

I thought about putting many coats of clear coat on that portion of the uprights, kind of like multiple wear layers.

Now that I think about it, how about some of that 3m clear film stuff they use for car bras? That might work well.

[chpthril]

After touch-up could you coat the ends with something like this? Or that stuff you use to re-coat plier handles or something.

I don't now man, just phishing

[da.bell]

Thanks for the reply.

The issue is that the paint is already thick enough that I am 100% sure that the tower and the upright connections are already a tight squeeze. This is causing the chipping.

But, thanks for the info. I will take a better look at it and see what I can do and wait to hear what Tige has to say. This seems like a problem to me but I am still not complaining. I love my Tige......

[da.bell]

Chpthril: The fit is already tight. The stuff they put on tools might be too much and then the uprights will never fit.

Any more thoughts?????

[Jeff T]

I had the same problem starting to happen. I ended up selling the boat before I had a chance to try to fix. One thing I was thinking was to use a thick, clear fingernail polish to coat the edges of the paint chip. I was hoping this would bond it to the metal enough to keep it from chipping further.

Check to see how much play you have between the upright and the base. On one side, I had JUST enough play to raise and lower the upright w/o the painted surfaces touching. Once I noticed the problem, I started being real careful and the problem never got any worse.

[da.bell]

Jeff, thanks for you suggestion. The way this seems like it is going, I am going to take the uprights and remove the paint all together.

But, the bright side to this is that if I do remove the paint, it might look like a new boat again....

[da.bell]

Okay a quick update from Tige.

> Thank you for contacting Tige directly and the issue you have is
> because of the raising and lowering the tower this is a normal wear and tear
> item. Unfortunately powder coating is a durable finish but due to friction
> it can crack and flake in that area. Unfortunately your dealer is correct
> and it is not covered under warranty. If there are any questions please
> contact me.


So, I either have to find touchup paint (I emailed them back asking about this), buy new uprights without the powder coating, or have the current powder coating removed..... Wow, too many options!!!! Any opinions now?????

[Jeff T]

How difficult is it to remove the uprights? If it were me, I would start with the cheapest first. If you like the color of the uprights, start with touchup paint. If it turns out, that saved you time and money. If not, then you have nothing to loose by pulling them off and stripped. I'm willing to bet it will be cheaper to have the current uprights stripped. That would probably be option 2 for me.

[da.bell]

Picture of my boat

Isn't she beautiful????? Even thou there are chips in the uprights...

[da.bell]

Jeff, I would agree with you. I just have to convince the girlfriend now that they need to be stripped. I think the boat will still look good without the blue uprights anyway.....

[Jeff T]

It definitely will. That is one beautiful boat. I almost went with a blue and white color scheme on my 07. You should def post an intro in the GD forum. Show that boat off to everyone.

[wannabewakeboarder]

Isn't she beautiful?????

Very

[da.bell]

Well, one last email from Tige and they said:

1) Contact my dealership for new uprights if that is what I want to do, and
2) Touch up paint needs a hazmat license to mail so they do not offer this service and I would need to see someone local for this

Well, I'm back to square one again and where I should have started in the first place. Tigeowners.com...... Ya gotta love it....

###############

Cost of new uprights ==== Probably $500
Cost of touch up paint ==== $50
Cost of owning a boat ==== Priceless

[dogbert]

Hey, at least it comes with a support group, albeit somewhat disfunctional