Rejuvenating the swim platform

A Sorry Sight at the Stern

The swim platform of our Maxi Mixer was anything but nice when we bought the boat. The old flexiteek had started to delaminate and looked to be in a really sorry state. I almost felt like apologizing whenever we pulled up to a dock exposing the rear of the boat.

The flexiteek was slippery and had a very plastic feel. Unpleasant underfoot and an eyesore to look at. We decided to replace it with foam teak. I bought a roll of foam on sale. Emelie wasn’t too happy with the color, but we decided to use it anyway with the option to redo it later if it turned out terrible. Personally, I liked it.

From Scraping to Stepping in Comfort

The hardest part was removing the old decking. Emelie put in at least a full day of intense scraping before the platform was finally free of glue and plastic. She then made a paper template which we used to cut the new foam. By luck, the width of the foam boards was a perfect fit for the platform, so all boards could be kept in their original size.

I usually pride myself on buying the right materials and following proper procedures, but I have to admit I cheaped out on the 3M primer. It just didn’t make sense to spend as much on primer as on the entire roll of decking. With the material I have, I could replace the decking every year for the next 15 years if needed.

Placing the new EVA teak was a bit nerve-racking, but it came out straight and looked great. Standing on the new decking is now a treat for the feet, and sitting there to dry off has become a truly pleasant experience.