Howdy all, I am seriously looking for a good design welder to put a custom T-top on my 19' Sea Ranger and saw Whodat Towers folks at the Portland Sportsman's show. They have a custom fiberglass top 7'2" long which they have put on several boats such as Grady White and others, but no Arima's. They look pretty good to me. The tower they had at the show was very well done. They encouraged me to bring my boat up to Olympia to create the design, then bring it back again later this spring for the work. I'm looking at a design similar to what Streamfixer has on his, but in the anodized aluminum w/o powder coating. I like the hard top concept I think.
Has anyone had them do any work for you, or a friend. If you had any experiences, I'd appreciate your opinion, pro or con. Also, if anyone has a great welder who has done this sort of thing, I'm all ears. I live just east of Salem, so someone closer would be great. Last year I tried several times to contact Saltboss to get something started, but no luck. Please take a look at the Whodat towers web site and see what you think of their work. They are a small shop, only one boat at a time, but the quality seems to be there. They also told me that they will soon be doing all the work for Definance...
Some of the things I'm looking for is:
I want a top that I can leave up to run at freeway speeds
Interior and aft LED lights
Grab rails
Drop curtain that drops behind the sleeper seat
Wired for Radar
Rocket Launchers
Highest quality Strata glass or other plastic in upper windshield with smile zipper or other method to open easily
Any other ideas or suggestions would also be appreciated. Looks like it may cost up to 4K, but I'm looking for quality mostly. This is a big investment for me so I greatly appreciate your knowledge if you care to share, either by email or phone. (Rick five 03 nine 49 seven 309)
No experience w/ Whodat, but here are some other options...
Fish-On Arch...
http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-130402778326443/captains-package-visor-combo-uni-arch-free-shipping-21.jpg (http://ep.yimg.com/ay/yhst-130402778326443/captains-package-visor-combo-uni-arch-free-shipping-21.jpg)
Atlantic Towers makes something similar:
(http://www.atlantictowers.com/images/content_photos/collage-fwa.jpg)
WhoDat has an outstanding reputation on "other" websites.
I have not personally seen their work though.
If Defiance is plannkng on usingvthem exclusively then they must be pretty darned good....
:twocents:
I had them do a rocket launcher arch on my Sea Legend when I still had that boat. They do nice work. Seems like a lot of people are using them now with a lot of it word of mouth work so I think people are happy. I'm on the boat up north so it's hard for me to post pictures from here but if you do a search the pics might still be on this site.
rbreckel
I think that Whodat does very nice work. If you have them build a t-top,you will not be disappointed .They built a tower for my 19sr last summer,go to their web site, fiberglass boat photo gallery to see pictures of my arima with tower. Besides custom building a tower that fits the lines and shape of the 19sr they mounted the radar, vhf and point 1 antennas, LED deck light, anchor light, they ran all the wiring and hooked it all up for me. Nice people that will communicate with you and do prompt quality work.
Dean
Rick
Pictures of skipT in my gallery, or drop by for new ones any time. Lots of creativity and thought went into it with - IMHO - GREAT results.
StreamFixer
Feel free to PM me and I can tell you my experience with them to help you during the process just in case. I just had work done by them. I can show you pics too.
Umm isn't this post two years old :shrug9: who dat is one of the best in the business. They do very good work and stand behind there product. Who dat is a small family run business that understands customer service. I had my tower built last year and it exceeded my expectations.
Here's a link to my pics
http://www.arimaowners.com/index.php?topic=12626.msg147858#msg147858
Just trying to help potential buyers to help prevent a similar circumstance. They made a great tower indeed. Customer service? You can PM me. I will not post anything negative on forums.
2 years old but an easy google hit too. I am by no means suggesting not to use them. I will just provide feedback and help during the process of getting a build going from my own experience.
Pm sent :beerchug:
Streamfixer has just about the ultimate top on his boat. Fully functional but very light- I think Defiance would do well to offer something similar as a standard option.
Yeah, I'm curious how the huge chunk of aluminum weight is going to affect my boat handling etc. Seems ok with heavy crabbing/shrimping gear on my hard top so I hope it's ok.
And I talked briefly to my local Jacobsen's marine shop and they said they have a really good person/company that does custom work for their fancy Gradys and I'd suspect Arimas. In hind sight, I should have really shopped around instead of believe the interweb......and start the process way earlier before everyone is so busy trying to make the highest $$$$$$ customers happiest. And I'm not saying that's what happened. Nothing negative. (That's what reviews sites and the Better Business Bureau are for) I just want to be :gone_fishing: and cruising.
I purchase th fishon uni towers and the weight is minimum.
And the cost was probably way way less......a couple thousand less for a full tower possibly?
Flying Arima.......what did you pay for your rack?
Darren
Quote from: Marine40 on July 26, 2017, 11:06:33 PM
Flying Arima.......what did you pay for your rack?
Darren
I can't remeber exact dollar figure I think my grand total was $2,700 installed w/ tax. Every tower is gonna be a little different depending on what the customer wants. I have 6 rod holders, 2 net holders, mooring light, antenna relocated, radar pad, and a deck light installed and wired. A lot of people bicker about the price but don't realize how much time it takes to build these custom arches. If you call who dat and schedule a appt the owner Jim will sit down with you and design a custom tower that fits your needs. I have had my tower for a year now and don't regret spending the extra money on a quality tower that is fully welded that will last a lifetime.
In ancient times (When Brook was thinking about getting into tower building) my tower structure cost $2000 plus the canvas work. That was a frame only with 2 net holders, powder coated and three light/antenna/radar mounts. My rod holders were later bolt on. My gallery shows the tower before canvas. The whole thing, with canvas, cost around $4K including a drop back canvas that covers the cockpit.
StreamFixer
Jim never sat down with me until it was time to pay. He was too busy with stuff. Complete opposite experience with Bob at Agate Pass Marine when I got my boat bottom painted. I was very happy with his service/work and gave him a gratuity. I'm happy to pay for good work AND good service.
I rewired the RI10 connection for my radar because Whodat didn't wire it like I wanted and agreed upon. I asked to have the cable shortened and they said no problem. Didn't happen, so I undid their work, shortened the cable following the guidelines in the manual, added a new RJ45, and wired it like I previously asked. I'll also have to add some 4500 sealant to their mounts, otherwise, water will intrude - mounts aren't completely flush and gaps aren't sealed appropriately. Details matter especially when you pay $$$$$$
I finally got a chance to take my boat out last night in some heavy winds and chop. The boat didn't seem to handle much different with the extra top weight (maybe a tiny bit more rocking) and the tower rod and net holders are great and very functional. Giving credit where credit is due. It's a nice arch. I installed an AP and tried it out while fishing for the first time too, wow! amazing utility.