Wanted to share the pics of yesterdays project (4 weeks in the making). If you have never worked with Gatorstep, they are a hell of a customer-centric company. It took about 4 weeks from the time i make my initial online order to getting my product in hand. But, thats only because they make darn sure you are getting exactly what you want. VERY professional! I chose to go with Sharkfin over Black in the diamond etch pattern and the 3-piece swim deck. For anyone looking, make sure you use their website and really look at the template rendering for YOUR boat. There is quite a different between (in my case) the diamond etch for a T22 and a T23. Its not as simple a being 1ft shorter.
The install was pretty strait forward. It took me about 3 hours to do the entire boat (minus the bow pad and side caps). It would have taken longer, but i already had the swim deck stripped from installing a swim ladder. The swim deck alone can add hours to days depending on how well your old pad comes off. Once the old swim pad was removed, i used denatured alcohol and elbow grease to get rid of any trace of old adhesive (the outer edges are the worst part). I used warm soapy water and a scrub brush to clean the floor thoroughly. After that was completely clean and dry, i used Windex to prep each spot before laying down the pad sections. Lay all the pieces out so you can see how they will fit together. You will want to pay attention to how the gaps will line up form piece to piece. Its a judgement call that you will have to make to try to get everything square and even. Go slow. Check placement. Double check. TRIPLE check placement. And when when you think you have it where you want....pull the trigger and get after it!. The adhesive is VERY tacky. But as long as you dont push down on the piece you are laying down, you can easily pull the piece up and re-center as needed. Once you know its in place, be sure you push down firmly on the edges. You will REALLY want to get the edges sealed. Honestly, my finger tips are KILLING me today. But, im confident i will not have an issue with peeling/water intrusion under my matting. There are several YouTube videos out there about installing it, which was honestly as easy as the videos depict.
James
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T32 Gatorstep 1.jpeg [ 234.63 KiB | Viewed 28242 times ] |
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T23 Gatorstep 2.jpeg [ 248.49 KiB | Viewed 28242 times ] |
