Wakeboard tower assembly

A wakeboard tower assembly, comprising:

• a towing assembly including a pair of vertically extending arms and a cross member extending horizontally between the pair of arms and configured to support a tow rope for towing a user behind a watercraft;
• a base assembly pivotably supporting the towing assembly between a lowered storage position and a raised in-use position;
• and
• a pair of cylinder assemblies each configured to bias the towing assembly from the lowered storage position toward the raised in-use position, each cylinder assembly comprising:
• a cylinder including a first chamber configured to receive a fluid and a second chamber separated from the first chamber and configured to receive a pressurized gas;
• a shaft telescopingly received within the cylinder between a retracted position corresponding to the lowered storage position of the towing assembly and an extended position corresponding to the raised in-use position of the towing assembly;
• a first piston fixed to the shaft and configured to cooperate with the cylinder to divide the first chamber into a first portion of the first chamber and a second portion of the first chamber;
• a second piston fixed to the shaft and configured to cooperate with the cylinder to divide the second chamber into a first portion of the second chamber and a second portion of the second chamber, wherein the second piston includes a port providing fluid communication between the first and second portions of the second chamber, and wherein the pressurized gas biases the shaft from the retracted position toward the extended position;
• a return passage configured to provide fluid communication between the first and second portion of the first chamber, wherein the first chamber and the return passage cooperate to form a closed loop;
• and
• a solenoid valve operable between a closed position that prevents fluid flow through the return passage and fluid communication between the first and second chambers of the first chamber thereby preventing the shaft from moving between the retracted and extended positions and the towing assembly from moving between the lowered storage and raised in-use positions, and an open position that allows fluid flow through the return passage and fluid communication between the first and second portions of the first chamber thereby allowing the shaft to move between the retracted and extended positions and the towing assembly to move between the lowered storage and raised in-use positions.

A method of operating a wakeboard tower assembly, comprising:

• providing a towing assembly configured to support a tow rope for towing a user behind a watercraft;
• providing a base assembly operably supporting the towing assembly between a lowered storage position and a raised in-use position;
• providing at least one cylinder assembly configured to bias the towing assembly from the lowered storage position toward the raised in-use position, the at least one cylinder assembly comprising:
• a cylinder including a first chamber configured to receive a fluid and a second chamber separated from the first chamber and configured to receive a pressurized gas;
• a shaft telescopingly received within the cylinder between a retracted position corresponding to the lowered storage position of the towing assembly and an extended position corresponding to the raised in-use position of the towing assembly;
• a first piston fixed to the shaft and configured to cooperate with the cylinder to divide the first chamber into a first portion of the first chamber and a second portion of the first chamber;
• a second piston fixed to the shaft and configured to cooperate with the cylinder to divide the second chamber into a first portion of the second chamber and a second portion of the second chamber, wherein the second piston includes a port providing fluid communication between the first and second portions of the second chamber, and wherein the pressurized gas biases the shaft from the retracted position toward the extended position;
• a return passage configured to provide fluid communication between the first and second portion of the first chamber, wherein the first chamber and the return passage cooperate to form a closed loop;
• and
• a controllable valve operable between a closed position that prevents fluid flow through the return passage and fluid communication between the first and second chambers of the first chamber thereby preventing the shaft from moving between the retracted and extended positions and the towing assembly from moving between the lowered storage and raised in-use positions, and an open position that allows fluid flow through the return passage and fluid communication between the first and second portions of the first chamber thereby allowing the shaft to move between the retracted and extended positions and the towing assembly to move between the lowered storage and raised in-use positions;
• and
• repositioning the towing assembly from the lowered storage position to the raised in-use position by operating the controllable valve from the closed to the open, applying a upwardly directed force to towing assembly, moving the towing assembly from the lowered storage position to the raised in-use position, and operating the controllable valve from the open position to the closed position.