ZeroFlex Tower Pads...

[b33nine]

ND? Does the process require having a pretty elaborate setup in pulling molds off the tower?

[russlars]

A fellow MC owner came up with another idea for making your own tower pads and I copied him. These are made from material purchased from a shoe repair shop. It is the spongy sole material found on a lot of "comfort" shoes and is about 5/8" thick. I just set them under the tower leg, marked them, cut them out with some heavy duty scissors and then sanded them smooth with a belt sander. I may cut these down a bit more but I think they turned out pretty good for just a few bucks. When you tighten the bolt it sucks into the material and conforms it to the hull.

Old pad in it's contorted state and the new pad made and installed:

[nickespi]

Great work, russlars!

[russlars]

Originally Posted by nickespi

Great work, russlars!

I spent some more time on them last night smoothing them up and beveling the edges. They look even better now and I know they will outlast those flimsy gaskets that come with the tower and have already been changed out once. It's a pretty easy and cheap fix.

[nickespi]

My tower has started digging into the hull and I need to fix this with a quickness.

[M-Funf]

Guys,
Bad news. My molds have now deteriorated to the point that I can no longer mold an acceptable set of pads. I have been molding all week, and they are just not up to the task.
To make new molds is very expensive, and I don't have the orders to cover the cost of the molds and materials, so for the moment I'm out of the tower pad business.
That said, I hope to change that in the near future, and may be in a position to order molds again. When I get there, I'll reach out again to gauge interest. If there's enough interest to cover the cost of the molds, I can take the risk and order a set to continue.

I didn't start making these to make money. I started this to help out a buddy who had crappy tower pads. It was a fun project, and from the start I said as long as I don't lose money (just my own time), I'd continue to make them. It's just not the best time right now.

Jeff.

[Hogwild]

With M-fun's molding process being put on hiatus, I too went to a shoe repair shop and got some rubber that I could use for pads. Just in case anyone else wants to give it a shot, you should ask for the soles that they put on orthopedic shoes. I cut the pieces out and sanded them by hand pretty easily. The rubber compresses really well once the bolts are tightened and look like they will hold up nicely. They may not be as pretty as M-fun's, but they are a heck of a lot better than those from the factory or ND.

[Hogwild]

I took some pictures of mine for those interested. I didn't exactly do a Martha Stewart job of trimming them up because I was in a hurry to get out on the water, but I'm sure I'll clean them up some this fall.

[jrg81]

Originally Posted by Maristar210

M-Funf has made some replacements out of a durable material and Sodar has a set on his boat.

PM one or both of them.

What is this durable material? abs plastic?

[BarefootWisco]

I have a 2006 197 mini tower and wonder how much for a set of four pads??
I need to replacement them and they look great!!

Thanks
Rob