New surf platform

[Sublimer23]

Not an original idea here at all, but have seen where a guy used 3/8 steel and powder coated and put Gatorstep/seadeck on it when he was done. Free ballast!

That's a pretty good idea. But you would need the whole neighborhood to come over and help you remove you swim platform. Haha

[Chugh2o]

New surf platform

Made quite a bit of progress these last few days.
I decided not to use a router on the edges. Reason was because I do not have one and never used one before. I also tested just sanding some edges and it ended up really good so that is what I did. I sanded all edges so they were somewhat rounded and corners rounded enough to my liking. In the photos it is hard to tell they are rounded but they are rounder plenty for me.
Then I fiberglassed and epoxied the bottom first to get a little practice before do the top. I bought the tape for the edges but once I had the bottom sheet laid out I decided to just fold over the edges and it ended up being much easier and faster. This came out much better than I expected and was very happy with it. We used the black tint which definitely made it darker but since it was applied on a porous surface it was not completely black...yet. Next coat will be with only epoxy and will smooth everything and become black. If not for some reason I will just paint it.
Next I sanded the rough edges with 220 grit by hand to get it a little smoother. Then I glasses the top of the swim platform. This time I wrapped the fiberglass around the edge to the bottom because I didn’t want a seam on the edge. I was very happy with the way this turned out as well.
That’s where I’m at right now and will probably be able to finish by this weekend. So far I am happy with using the fiberglass. This thing is super solid. This weekend I will sand the fiberglass then put a finishing coat of resin to smooth and color the platform. Then just mounting it up and testing and if I like it I will order some Eva flooring to put on it.
Any recommendations for cheaper gator step style pads for the platform?

Here are some pictures of the progress

Glued and screwed together

Bottom glassed

Top glassed

Overlap from top to bottom from edge



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[Chugh2o]

Also if anyone has recommendations for the mounting holes and screws let me know.
My plan was to pre drill and then put life seal sealant into the holes before putting the screws in the keep water from getting to the wood.


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[hcooperrn]

Look up some videos on glassing surf boards -- you can see how the edge banding and top/bottom layers are done to keep it clean. I've seen several methods, all come out really clean. I've made a couple of boards now and tried both as well -- edge banding first, then bottom, then top; and bottom/top/then edge. For me, it depends on the look I want on the board, they both came out clean in the end.

[Zackdogg]

Looks awesome bro. Glad you figured it out, and used the fiberglass. Not sure what you’re using for tint, the stuff we use is TAP. Looks like you’ll need quite a bit more to turn it black. If you’re going to add a layer of epoxy, I’d sand it with like 36 grit, to give the new epoxy something to bite on to. I think your plan for bolts sounds pretty solid, as well.


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[Chugh2o]

Looks awesome bro. Glad you figured it out, and used the fiberglass. Not sure what you’re using for tint, the stuff we use is TAP. Looks like you’ll need quite a bit more to turn it black. If you’re going to add a layer of epoxy, I’d sand it with like 36 grit, to give the new epoxy something to bite on to. I think your plan for bolts sounds pretty solid, as well.


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Thanks Zachdogg! I’m hoping this next coat of epoxy will really turn it black.
Were you thinking of using bolts and thru bolting the platform to the brackets? I was going to pre drill a small hole then use heavy wood screws and sealer to put them in kind of similar to my stock platform.


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[Zackdogg]

Thanks Zachdogg! I’m hoping this next coat of epoxy will really turn it black.
Were you thinking of using bolts and thru bolting the platform to the brackets? I was going to pre drill a small hole then use heavy wood screws and sealer to put them in kind of similar to my stock platform.


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For sure! I thru-bolt everything, the thought of screws holding anything together drives me insane.. what I would probably do is drill them, and use a carriage bolt to mount them. You could even do it before the next coat of epoxy, then re-glass the whole top, or even just over the carriage bolts, and bury them.. even if you had a little lump there, the gator step would hide that pretty well. It would be a pretty bulletproof setup.. I have been accused of over-engineering things a million times, but I’m also pretty rough on stuff, full disclosure.


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[Zackdogg]

Thanks Zachdogg! I’m hoping this next coat of epoxy will really turn it black.
Were you thinking of using bolts and thru bolting the platform to the brackets? I was going to pre drill a small hole then use heavy wood screws and sealer to put them in kind of similar to my stock platform.


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For sure! I thru-bolt everything, the thought of screws holding anything together drives me insane.. what I would probably do is drill them, and use a carriage bolt to mount them. You could even do it before the next coat of epoxy, then re-glass the whole top, or even just over the carriage bolts, and bury them.. even if you had a little lump there, the gator step would hide that pretty well. It would be a pretty bulletproof setup.. I have been accused of over-engineering things a million times, but I’m also pretty rough on stuff, full disclosure.


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[Chugh2o]

Update: I’m getting really close to being finished and ready to test it out on the water.
I got the second coat of epoxy rolled on the bottom to smooth everything out and give it a nice finishing look and feel. I did try to use the black resin tint but it just isn’t strong enough so I have given up on that. The plan will be to paint it black before I put the gatorstep on.
Then I drilled the holes to thru bolt the brackets to the platform. I’m using 1/4 x 2” stainless carriage bolts that I set in the platform then filled the holes on top of them with epoxy to be even with the platform
Next few steps to finish it off will be sealing the bottom side of the bolt holes then one last sand to get everything even. Then the final gloss coat of epoxy on the top and edges before we mount it up on the boat and test it out.


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[Zackdogg]

Looks awesome man! It feels good when you jump into something that you don’t have a bunch of confidence in, to start, and it turns out killer. I personally wouldn’t know, because most of my projects go sideways quick, but that’s the word on the street!

What were you using for tint? I can’t think of a project where I’ve ever used straight black, but we use a lot of greys, which we mix black and white tint for, and I can get a super dark grey, with barely any tint. I’m really surprised that’s all you could get out of it.

Either way, nice work!


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[SONIC]

Looking good!

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Epoxy-P.../dp/B06XD39K55

A few drops of that in your resin and it will be black as night. One drop in a 32oz mixing cup will make it grey.

[Chugh2o]

Looking good!

https://www.amazon.com/Black-Epoxy-P.../dp/B06XD39K55

A few drops of that in your resin and it will be black as night. One drop in a 32oz mixing cup will make it grey.

Thanks SONIC!
That’s actually the exact same stuff that I bought. I used 3 drops on my first coat and right when I started to mix it in the cup it was crazy how dark it got so fast. It looked like it was plenty. When I poured it on to spread it it did not have the same color unless it was applied super thick.
Last night I did the final coat on the top and even put 4 drops in. By the time I rolled it on it was darker but not black and you can still see the wood through it. This project has came out much better than I expected and I’m very happy with how smooth everything is especially the corners. Other than it not being black until I paint it, it came out really well.
Tonight will hopefully be the first test to see the wave and how it performs on the water.
I did order some cheap gatorstep style flooring that seemed to be good quality other than the adhesive on the back was not great based on reviews I read. The plan is to use some contact cement or spray adhesive for a stronger bond. I figured for $40 might as well try it and see how it holds up.

This is after the final coat on the top and edges


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[SONIC]

Yep you;d need more like 20-40 drops to get it to be opaque black. Oh well looks good!

Give spraymax a look
https://www.66autocolor.com/Auto-Tou...spm-164909.htm

Get the 2k, and it's a real automotive grade 2 part paint vs the stuff you'd grab at HD or lowes.
It's got a little bulb on the bottom you break to mix it with activator.

[Chugh2o]

Got to try out the swim platform the last few days and it’s worked out great.
First of all I love the shape and look of it on the boat and it will be even better when I paint it and get the gatorstep on.
The wave was a little bit different than my old wave but not in a bad way at all. I did notice that the water was not being disturbed by the platform anymore but the bracket itself was causing a line to still be on the wave. The wave felt like it had more push and felt much firmer. We are still trying to dial it in but I’m not disappointed at all so far.
I have had to add much more bow weight than before as well since the smaller platform is causing the back end to be deeper and make a steeper wave. We have been running close to 1k in the bow and it’s working pretty good. I have large Enzo style sacs in the rear and my lockers are gutted. We run the surf side full and off side about 75% and the bow is full with an extra 500 lead in the bow and 100 lead in rear surf side. With a suckgate mounted far back and low on the step. I have a few more things I might try but the wave has been great. I will try to take more pictures of the wave next time we are out


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[gumby]

Looks good!!! It's going to look great when you get the gator step on. I assume you got the bottom done as well? So do you feel like the line in the wave is from the platform or from the bracket? or a bit of Both?