Swim Platform Cut-Down Project -Tips and Hints Appreciated

[skiguy]

My winter project this year is to cut down my too grande teak swim platform on my 05 22v to (hopefully) improve my surf wake.

For those of you who have done this project I would appreciate any tips or lessons learned.

My first question is, does the platform really negatively affect my wave? We run slightly listed with a surf gate and notice the edge cutting into the wave a little bit but I cant tell for sure if it’s impacting the potential wave. I do know that some folks on this forum have done this project and I’m sure you had a good reason. Also, all the newer boats these days come with small platforms so there must be a good reason, right?

I know teak is super dense and hard. Do I need a special blade for my handsaw? ... or a special saw altogether?

Does sanding work? I want to bevel the new edges I’ll be creating. I remember running a belt sander across the platform last year when I was restoring the teak and noticed how little the coarse paper was really doing? Am I better off with a router?

Thanks,


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[boardman74]

I would suggest running the boat without the swim platform once and see what effect that has on the wave.

[Wagonhound]

i'm not sure the 22V teak platform is worth cutting, they're already pretty small. My friend has an 06 and I don't recall that is cuts into the wake as near as much as the one on my RZ2 did before I cut it down. It does clean the wake up, but from a performance stand point it still surfs pretty much the same as it did before.

[duffymahoney]

22v and 24v have giant swim decks, I cut mine down a long time ago, helps the wave a ton. I would do it in a heartbeat again. Platform cuts into the wave and makes a distinct line.

I used a skill saw, then router on the edges, then lots of sanding, still works and looks great. Here is how I did it.

http://www.tigeowners.com/forum/show...ing-mod-thread

[Ditch Doctor]

i Had a fiberglass swim deck on my 05 20V. I fabricated a new fiberglass deck that matched the width of the supports on the deck. It made a huge difference in our wave. Allowed us to add more weight and made the taps more adjustable while surfing. As stated above, I would do it again in a heartbeat. It still wouldn’t hurt to give it a run with the deck off just to verify.

[skiguy]

I would suggest running the boat without the swim platform once and see what effect that has on the wave.

How will I get back in the boat when i'm done surfing? :-)

[duffymahoney]

I actually got the idea years and years ago by surfing without a swim deck!

[BCRider]

Make one out of plywood first for all of your testing. Then cut the actual once ready to proceed.

[jslayde1]

Make one out of plywood first for all of your testing. Then cut the actual once ready to proceed.

Good advice here ^^. I cut mine down in increments so that I didn't cut too much off...

[talltigeguy]

How will I get back in the boat when i'm done surfing? :-)

I think that you will be OK to step on the TAPS plate, and bet you can make it up from there with the surf rope, or a hand from a homie in the boat.

[Jetdriver]

Haven’t cut one but I’ve refinished a couple. I see no reason a skillsaw or even a jigsaw wouldn’t cut it just fine. Just make sure to remove screws as necessary to avoid cutting into them. After you cut it you can use a grinder with a wood disc on it to form the shape perfectly. I used a grinder for a little of everything when I was building custom log furniture, very versatile tool.
As far as sanding goes-Start out working it with 60 grit and work up to 120. If you go too fine it will make the deck slick as snake s*$t after you refinish it. You wanna leave a little tack to it.
BTW Starbright teak sealer is much better than regular teak oil IMO.
This deck was completely grayed out and warping on the edges when I got it. Lil edge grinding, sanding, some extra stainless screws with wood glue and voila. Any of your screws that are lose back out and fill the hole with wood glue then screw them back in by hand so you don’t strip them out.
Top pick is after finishing the sanding, I forgot to take a pic of the poor thing in it’s neglected state.

7658AFC2-E3C6-449D-B518-58450AE89786.jpg

6448B520-795E-4355-9E9D-C7F630A3F1A1.jpg

[skiguy]

Just finished my swim step project. Not too tough of a project thankfully. My handsaw made the cuts no problem and a little work with my belt and hand sanders smoothed all the edges. Finished with a teak sealer.

I refinished the support brackets underneath the platform as well. Just used a paint stripper to get the old paint off and prepped with a light sanding and a wipe down with mineral spirits. I used a black semi-gloss Krylon spray to finish. They came out looking new.












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[duffymahoney]

Looks awesome and almost identical to mine!

[jslayde1]

That does look good! On my 22v, I ended up cutting the corners off - they were still getting in the wave. If your not listing, you probably won't need to...

Something like this:

[skiguy]

That does look good! On my 22v, I ended up cutting the corners off - they were still getting in the wave. If your not listing, you probably won't need to...

Something like this:

I run only slightly listed so I’m hoping the size reduction will be sufficient to keep the corner out of the wave. We will see.


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