Tower Knobs & MasterCraft.com Rant

[MattsCraft]

OK, here comes a rant – First off, let me say this – I Love my 2009 MC, have only been an MC owner since June of last year! This forum is fantastic, almost always great info and a good place to chat with other owners etc. Additionally, I want to mention accolades for the new Cincinnati MasterCraft dealership, great group of guys, knowledgeable service and support, if you are in the area I strongly suggest you look them up.

OK – The rant part – Why on the MasterCraft.com site in the “Contact Us” section they only have these options:
Athletes, Schools & Teams
Brochure Requests
Factory Tours
Lottery & Sweepstakes Information
Website
I would like to write them with regards to what I consider a manufacturing/quality issue on their tower parts; I don’t think these options fit the bill. I know this forum is moderated and hope this post does not get me banned, but feel this is important to mention to MC, especially when I have spent this kind of coin for a toy!

OK, so here is the issue, the tower knobs have a plastic knob over a metal threaded sleeve. ( See Photo) The threaded sleeve tightens down over the bolt, if the knob is over tightened, or the tower flexes in a lot of choppy water etc., creating a bind on the bolt in the tower, the knob will unwind from the bolt, leaving the bolt in the tower. This has happened to me twice, the first time I had to get my tower collapsed late on a Sunday night, as I was traveling the entire following week. My only option was to grab it with a vice grip, ruin the threads and get the tower folded. The second time, I used some lock tight, let it sit overnight and this seemed to work. Both knobs have been replaced under warranty, what about next year, etc. etc. My understanding is these knobs are not cheep!!!

My suggestion is this, why on earth don’t they just Drill & Pin them, I can not think of why after they are threaded on, you would ever want to remove the plastic hand knob from the bolt shaft? In the off season I am going to have a machine shop do this, of course this will void the warranty, however I can’t imagine once this is done, having a knob failure!

Moderators and dealers, please get this suggestion over to the engineering folks at MC, that’s all folks, thanks for listening, I will shut up now!;)

[flipper]

Sounds like a valid request to me. I hope they listen, and take care of you

[craig3972]

I believe the knob is anodized aluminum. you can tell by the knurling.
I think the answer is that it costs more money to drill and pin (or set screw) - i have had mine come apart as well. Another solution would be to have left hand threads inside the knob
The other thing about those knobs - they have no lanyard attachment to the tower... and they dont float

[MattsCraft]

Craig - no they don't float, I have a tower mirror knob 30' under in the lake. Funny story, was cruising down the lake, saw something fly by and thought, "what the heck was that?" Finished the day, went to take down the mirror, ahh yes, that thing flying by was my tower mirror knob!!!:rolleyes:

I believe the knob is anodized aluminum. you can tell by the knurling.
I think the answer is that it costs more money to drill and pin (or set screw) - i have had mine come apart as well. Another solution would be to have left hand threads inside the knob
The other thing about those knobs - they have no lanyard attachment to the tower... and they dont float

[endl]

Before reading this my suggestion was use Loctite, expoxy ect. Mine has never bound up so tight it would not come loose, nor has the plastic handle backed off the threads. You might trying putting something in the holes that will keep the bolts from locking up.

[SaltwaterMC]

The knob is metal, not plastic, but I agree that it is irritating when you go to take the tower mirror off and the knob comes off but the stud stays in. I have always been able to double nut the stud to back it out, and if you have enough threads exposed I would recommend going that route as opposed to vice grips. However, I have found that once you extract that stud, if you double nut the stud and then secure the stud in a vice (with the vice clamping down on the nuts, not the threads of the stud) and then put red Threadlock on the threads where the knob screws on, tighten the knob down onto the stud with a pair of channel locks (with a folded towel in between the channel locks and the knob as not to damage the knob) and let the thread lock set up, it usually takes care of the problem. I hope this helps.

[rgardjr1]

I had one knob come off last fall when I collapsed the tower for winter storage. I used two nuts to back the stud out and then put red locktite on the knob side of the stud.

[2RLAKE]

good points ... there are some of the MC factory guys lurking quietly on here so i am sure they will see this ... great suggestion. If you want to come to Loveland, you can use my drill press and drill them yourself

[craig3972]

drilling thru aluminum into stainless (especially onto a round surface) can be a real pain - lots of broken drill bits

[gwpowell]

OK – The rant part – Why on the MasterCraft.com site in the “Contact Us” section they only have these options:
Athletes, Schools & Teams
Brochure Requests
Factory Tours
Lottery & Sweepstakes Information
Website
I would like to write them with regards to what I consider a manufacturing/quality issue on their tower parts; I don’t think these options fit the bill. I know this forum is moderated and hope this post does not get me banned, but feel this is important to mention to MC, especially when I have spent this kind of coin for a toy!
;)

I hear what you are saying and totally agree. Why do MC have a contact us page at all? They never reply. I have spoken with the MC VP of International Sales about this over a year ago. He informed me I needed to go through the dealer which is fair enough if you have a good one. But the point is, why do they have contact us details on their site if they don't intend to reply. It is frustrating if you don't know they wont reply. Why don't they change it too... "To contact us please get in touch with one of our dealers" and have a list of them.

[TMCNo1]

On the "Contact Us" page use, http://www.mastercraft.com/company/contactUs/website, like everyone else and send them a message through it and someone should get back with you. Unfortunately during these economic times and the limited number of CS/Warranty/Technical people at MC it may take some time. Product problems and concerns are supposed to be addressed though your/a dealer and they will contact MasterCraft with issues they can't resolve for you.

[JohnE]

Don't bother trying to contact MC directly....but do give your dealer your thoughts.

Taking my boat home from NC in February I hear a big clunk around midnight....13 hours into the trip. Turned out to be not only the tower knob but also the T bolt (for lack of a better description) that it threads into. My only explanation is that a c-clip must have let go or else was never installed at all. So I feel your pain.

My advice is to loctite everything and forget about it.....

[TOO-TALL]

The tower knobs on my 2003 x2 have a pin cross drilled thru the knob and threads.Wonder way they changed it?

[wakedoc]

Have also had the same issue of the insert coming loose - (locktite should fix it - I hope).
But I have also had the two knobs with the internal thread which hold the top of the tower clamps together (09 X1) partially strip the thread. There is still enough (just) to get one and a half turns on, but I am getting concerned it will get worse (I have to lower the tower to put the boat away) - anyone else have this issue? - and a possible fix (apart from getting new ones - not sure if the threaded inserts can be replaced).

[Kingsley X-1]

on july 7th 08 when i was driving my boat home from Tampa. I got about a hour and a half down the road and port side aft lower knob fell off the tower. it was good that there was no one behind me on the interstate...how bad would that suck to have a tower knob come flying into your windshield at 85mph? i know they were all tight when i left BAWS because i watched the guy tighten them down...needless to say MC sent me a new one in the mail free of charge. i havent had ne problems with mine sense but i dont have to fold down my tower when it is in the lift at the house.

[Sodar]

The tower knobs on my 2003 x2 have a pin cross drilled thru the knob and threads.Wonder way they changed it?

I believe that those knobs are for the older style towers. My 2007 Mini-Tower also has a pin cross drilled, but my tower is the older style XTP tower and the actual knob is plastic.

The newer towers have the aluminum knob and lack the crossdrilled.

[tachyon]

Nice looking knobs, curious why they aren't permanent on the threaded shaft? If you aren't able to find a solution for this, let me know and I can make up a few sets of knobs for your towers. I've been making these knobs for the older Correct Craft Super Air Nautique FCT, and could definitely anodize them, etc...

Tachyon Motorsports Correct Craft Flight Control Tower Knobs (http://www.tachyonmotorsports.com/knobs.html)

Best of luck!

http://www.tachyonmotorsports.com/images/Watersports/Knobs/knobsideview600.jpg

[medicmoose]

I actually had an issue with my trailer and did not receive an adequate resolve from the dealer so I sent a request for assistance through the "Contact Us" portion of the MC website...I think it was under the "book a tour" heading. I received a very prompt reply from Tommy Connor. He (and others) have been very helpful in answering a few other questions I have had for them as well. I'm far more impressed with the responsiveness from MC than I am from the dealer!!

[JohnE]

Issues like this still should go through the dealers. The good dealers will take care of things, and get the message to corproate. Granted the bad dealers won't.........but I think the bad dealers are being gradually corrected.

[scott023]

Issues like this still should go through the dealers. The good dealers will take care of things, and get the message to corproate. Granted the bad dealers won't.........but I think the bad dealers are being gradually corrected.

I find it disturbing how many "bad" dealers we hear about on here. You'd think when purchasing a six figure toy (in some cases) the manufacturer would have 5 star dealers only.

[Dan_Lorenze]

This thread just reminded me that I need to get another knob, one fell out.. You would think with all that trick stuff that Mastercraft by designs have they would offer some custom billet anodized tower knobs, an item some of us could use.

[jdl xstar]

$70 for 1 (one) tower knob??? Thats what i was just quoted from a dealer to replace one of mine. Parts on boats ain't never been cheap but come on!

Last weekend I had to take the tower down to get under a bridge and one of the knobs at the base of the tower legs was stuck- really stuck. So in the process of trying to unscrew it, the plastic knob came off and the bolt was still stuck in place. It took some heavy duty pliers to finally get the bolt screw out.

Can I repair the knob by putting some sort of adhesive into the knob and then hammer the bolt back into it? Would rather that than pay 70 for a new one.

[coz]

$70 for 1 (one) tower knob??? Thats what i was just quoted from a dealer to replace one of mine. Parts on boats ain't never been cheap but come on!

Last weekend I had to take the tower down to get under a bridge and one of the knobs at the base of the tower legs was stuck- really stuck. So in the process of trying to unscrew it, the plastic knob came off and the bolt was still stuck in place. It took some heavy duty pliers to finally get the bolt screw out.

Can I repair the knob by putting some sort of adhesive into the knob and then hammer the bolt back into it? Would rather that than pay 70 for a new one.

That's just flat out wrong....why anyone would pay MC that kind of money is beyond me :confused: The after market tower manufacturers prices are anywhere from $8.50 to $17 and they don't break unlike the MC knobs (god know there's been many a thread on these things)

[06' X-2 R8R H8R]

Speaking of knobs....Where can I get two of the smaller ones for the 06 tower that are located right above the windshield where the arm part of the tower folds down to the front of the boat. IM me if anyones knows and TY

[Thrall]

Can get the tower knobs at the dealer. The ones you're asking about are $54, last I bought one.

[jbkriss]

Hahahahahahaha. I read this thread a while back and wondered when this was going to happen to me. Well, my question was answered this weekend. Went to buy some loctite (red) today!

[Smoothie]

These are Mastercraft Knobs. So of course they are worth that amount. Not the first time I have been shocked at how MC prices things. I love my boat but come on the rubber inserts for my tower racks 7 buck each. Tower knobs at that. Thats what you get for owning the Mercedes of boats. Try to see how much it is to replace your stickers on the side of your boat. Thank god I have an understanding dealer that takes care of things fairly.

[MattsCraft]

Funny how these posts come back around. I mainly solved my problem by purchasing a 12' canopy, so now I do not lower the tower!:D I also found nuts at the hardware store (same size & thread count) I keep in the glove box, this way if one of the knobs spins off the stock I can just put a double nut on and crank it out with a wrench.

Last year I lost a tower arm knob heading down to Norris, TN. Had no idea until we stopped and the backup light on the trailer was popped out.:rolleyes: I thought man that is strange, put it back in and did not really think about it until we launched the boat and was missing a knob. Apparently it rattled loose, flew under the trailer wheel and popped out the LED light pod, man can you imagine that thing coming toward you at 70 mph? To make a long story short, this was a trip from hell, 100 miles into the trip we blew a water pump at 5:30 AM on a RAM 1500 with only 26,000 miles on it. Towed 30 miles to a shop, luckily my wife had a friend with a truck that lived close, picked up the boat from the side of the highway and we were back on the road by noon. Of course Dodge did not want to pay for the tow and repairs since it was not performed by a dealer!:rolleyes: Yeah right, find a dealer close, open on Saturday and will get you back on the road by noon!!! Anyway, they did cover part of it. I still think the pin idea would solve the problem.

Really looking forward to a less eventful trip this year!!!

By the way, my dealer "Cincinnati Mastercraft" hooked me up on a new knob, these guys are awesome!

[Dad 2 3]

For those of you who are looking for a reasonable off the shelf replacement, you can get an assortment of plastic, Aluminum, and Stainless from companies who specialize in jig and fixturing supplies. A company I have used over the years is Carr Lane. WWW.Carrlane.com

A sample of a screw on replacement in stainless is shown at the following link.

http://www.carrlane.com/Catalog/index.cfm/27825071F0B221[URL="http://http://www.carrlane.com/Catalog/index.cfm/27825071F0B221118070C1C513E111D081B0006280B1713050 245221E0107070F1A3C3B285352435A"]

Not as fancy as the knurling, but it's reasonable.

Grainger (which is in all 50 states) also has a good selection. A knurled stainless example for <$7 can be seen here: http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/items/4X033?Pid=search

I don't know what bolt size in question is, but there's plenty of options to choose from and there's plenty of local platers (annodizing being one the techniques) who for a reasonable price could turn an Aluminum set of knobs red, blue, black, etc.... to give that custom look for still less than MC is charging.