On 4/21/2024 at 10:36 PM, cowwboy said:

Did you ever get the platform mounted up?

I've been mulling it over all winter and I actually just started working on this project today. I'll post updates here to log my work. 

Today, I worked on pulling off the existing foot pad with a crowbar. I left a few scratches behind but this will all get covered up when I put a new pad on. This step was a little bit tedious but it wasn't as tough as I thought and the residual adhesive was minimal. With a little bit of Goo Gone and a drywall knife, I was able to clean things up like new. 

The next step is to to build backing material between the existing bracket mount and the edge of the platform since the bracket locations on my hull are wider. I don't have the supplies for this yet so I probably won't post an update for a while. I am thinking I will get marine plywood or HDPE board. I think this will be the trickiest part especially to ensure the platform is "balanced" on the brackets before drilling the holes through the platform. Even with attaching the brackets onto the boat and then resting the platform onto of the brackets, I can see how balancing it properly will be essential because if the weight is not distributed correctly, there is too much friction on the brackets. The implications of this is that although I can probably get it installed I may never be able to remove the platform! Might be more of an art than a science, will post an update when I have one. 

On 4/22/2024 at 6:03 AM, JeffK said:

Is that cool touch vinyl? I have heard it can cause issues with the cool touch. 

I have been told ceramic is completely fine to use on cool touch vinyl. Still be cautious and ask around first. 

I used Black fire pro ceramic in the start of the 2022 season. Seemed like the closest product I could find to a professional grade coating, took some time to apply but it flashed nicely and wasn't overly hard. Since then it has held up amazingly well, my boat is outside from March to November, and used in hard water, so it defintlyisn't babied. The only product I have used on it in the last 2 years is Boat bling hot sauce and it still looks great, you can tell it is starting to wear down but still very noticeable that it's coated. 

My previous boat had ceramic pro professionally installed and it was good but I definitely not any better considering the hype and cost of the product. 

Looks real nice. Congrats !

I am also curious to know what other ceramic sealants there are.