Here is a prime example of how a custom tower comes together here at WhoDat Towers.
We got a call from the owner of this North River Boat saying he was interested in a tower. We go over the basics, like how each tower is made out of anodized aluminum pipe, that the price of the tower isn’t dependent on the tower’s leg configuration, how each of our custom fishing towers comes with 6 rod holders, and that when properly designed our custom towers are perfectly family friendly so you can tow skiers and wake boarders. Next, we talk a bit about pricing, install, and scheduling. Now, here comes the kicker. We started discussing about what options he was interested in. “Options” he commented? Then we were like “Yeah, we are a total custom fabrication shop. You don’t get a certain model “as-is” or a “tower in a box.” This is YOUR tower.” Well, that’s when everything changed. Over the next several minutes we discuss what similarities have existed between our custom towers and that we now call them our “options.” From extra rod holders, to hand rails, radar mounts, remote spot light mounts, deck light, anchor lights, net holders, speakers, tow pins, GPS & antenna brackets, flag pole & camera mounts, fold-over & breakdown kits, amongst many others. After that, like so many of our customers, we didn’t hear from him for a day or two (sometimes it can be weeks or month) while he scoured our fishing tower galleries (not only the North River Gallery but the Hewescraft, Duckworth, Weldcraft, etc. ones as well) trying to get an idea of what options he wanted. Then when he was ready, he gave us a call to give us an idea of what options he wanted and to schedule building his tower, which we did for around 2 weeks later.
Typically, we schedule boats/customers pretty tight. Most times from when a customer calls to have their tower custom fabricated, we schedule them to bring their boat into our shop 2-3 weeks down the road. “O, I have to bring my boat to your shop?” A person doesn’t have to, but they are going to get the best possible product if they do. We realize that bringing a boat to Olympia from Yellowknife, NT Canada; Kalispell, MT; or Sacramento, CA and everywhere in-between isn’t exactly feasible, so we have ways to get someone that custom WhoDat Tower they want and deserve.
Once a customer reaches our shop, we spend anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour going over their tower, boat, options, wiring, install, pricing, as well as a slew of other details. The day the boat gets to the shop is the day we start working on it. It starts with taking a variety of measurements that will be used as a template to design the tower. The measurements, in combination with our extensive boating, fishing, and tower fabrication knowledge, as well as help from a user-friendly CAD program, allows us to make detailed shop drawings to be used by our fabricating personnel to quickly and accurately build the client’s tower. Once the tower has been mocked up, it is dry fit on the boat to make sure it matches the boat, the client’s needs, and our exacting standards. After the tower is fabricated, it goes to quality control & install. The entire tower is thoroughly cleaned, checked for blemishes, the welds are painted, pre-wiring is completed, and all lights, antenna, radar, etc. are connected. The tower is then installed on the boat and securely fastened to the gunnel, cuddy cabin, fly bridge, etc. This whole process normally takes 3-5 business days. After the tower has been completed, we contact the owner and schedule a time for them to come pick up their boat and newly installed tower.
The morning before a boat with it’s new tower is scheduled to be picked up, we pull it out to the front of our shop, take some pictures, double check & make sure all tower accessories are properly functioning, and give it a final tower inspection. When the owner shows up and sees their boat transformed with its new tower, there is not a better feeling for us. We go over any needed instruction, make maintenance recommendation for the tower and any accessory, finalize payment, hook them up, then watch them drive away.
Here are the pictures we took of this particular customers North River with a Custom, anodized aluminum WhoDat Towers combination fishing and wakeboard tower installed.
