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Teak vs. Fiberglass Platforms


WakeGirl

Which platform do you prefer on your Malibu?  

776 members have voted

  1. 1. Which platform do you prefer on your Malibu?

    • Teak, I love that classic look
      406
    • Fiberglass all the way
      370


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I've seen a lot of discussions over the years on this topic. When the first composite platforms for Malibu showed up, people seemed very resistant to it. But in the past year I've noticed a lot of people moving over to fiberglass. So let's hear what you think.

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Top Posters In This Topic

  • Bill_AirJunky

    11

  • Bobby Light

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  • areamike

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  • WakeGirl

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I don't think Teak goes well with the new Wakeboard specific boats.

Teak and a carbon fiber tower just won't work,teak and a fly high poll or footn boom will go together nicely.

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both have their positives

fiberglass is easier to care for, non slip, leaves a cool waffle pattern on your knees. that said, it can chip somewhat easily, heavier (harder when taking it off), leaves a black residue that gets tracked into the boat.

teak is more durable, looks better IMHO. downside is that it requires more care.

I prefer the teak...

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I have had two teak and one glass, hands down glass is my preference, my only complaint is the black mat gets real hot on a hundred degree day tied up to the houseboat. The lack of maintenance is a winner with me plus I like the look of the platform matching the hull color.

My Dos Centavos

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both have their positives

fiberglass is easier to care for, non slip, leaves a cool waffle pattern on your knees.  that said, it can chip somewhat easily, heavier (harder when taking it off), leaves a black residue that gets tracked into the boat.

teak is more durable, looks better IMHO.  downside is that it requires more care.

I prefer the teak...

Teak requires care? Surprised.gif

I'm just going for the natural look Crazy.gif

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I prefer the classic looks of the teak myself. It does require some additional maintenance but not really that much. Some of the newer color schemes don't mach up as well with the teak as fiberglas. However, teak is more durable and easier to repair and it's not some dang hot on the feet!!

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I voted for glass, primarily for the upkeep reason. I do really appreciate a well maintained teak PF (edwin - that looks awesome!), but I didn't have the time to keep up with it on my last ride. And weathered teak does not look very good at all.

That said...

I was just in my local proshop that happens to sell Nautiques. They had an '06 206 on their floor. The glass PF on it puts the Malibu PF to shame. While I don't care for the semi-circle shape of the Nautique PF, it is so much better finished than mine. The bottom of the PF is actually finished gel coat - mine still has rough edges shielded only by the cheap aluminum trim riveted around the perimeter of the PF. The SN PF has a true SS trim piece attached with screws.

As for the scratches with the glass - I'd have to agree, though I don't notice scratches nearly as much as I notice the chips around the edges. Mine seems particularly prone to this problem, as it appears there are voids between the structural glass and the gel in places along the top edge of the PF. The SN PF is designed with a larger radius edge, which I suspect is less susceptible to the voids.

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I was just in my local proshop that happens to sell Nautiques.  They had an '06 206 on their floor.  The glass PF on it puts the Malibu PF to shame.  While I don't care for the semi-circle shape of the Nautique PF, it is so much better finished than mine.  The bottom of the PF is actually finished gel coat - mine still has rough edges shielded only by the cheap aluminum trim riveted around the perimeter of the PF.  The SN PF has a true SS trim piece attached with screws.

The fiberglass platform on my 05 RLXi is a vast improvement over the fglass platform on 2 Thumbs 03 RLXi. The rough edges have been removed, the bottom side is smooth, etc. After looking at the fglass platform on the CC's at the boat show, agree with ya that they are a step above ours.

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I have one of each. The teak looks great if you sand it & oil it & sand it & oil it & sand it & oil it & sand it & oil it & sand it & oil it & sand it & oil it.

The fiberglass just looks good. And I put Traxx padding on it & now it feels good too.

Edited by Bill_AirJunky
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I used to be a die Hard Teak Guy but I can tell you that my next boat will be fiberglass. I also think that they look better on the new Wakeboard Boats.

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...

I was just in my local proshop that happens to sell Nautiques.  They had an '06 206 on their floor.  The glass PF on it puts the Malibu PF to shame.

...

Ya but you pay for it. I think I'll take my extra $10-15K and have a custom built platform that looks better.

RE 'Teak doesn't go well with some of the new wakeboard boats'

If the color scheme doesn't go well with teak, then I think it's ugly.

But that's just me.

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Teak all the way from my dining room table to the back of my boat!

I just love the color, texture and feel. I had enough of the hot black dimples on my previous boat to last for my lifetime.

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I bet duck poop cleans off a lot easier on teak than that rubber mat.

Well, I've never done a comparison myself. But I have had a friggin goose lay an egg on it, then the egg broke when it rolled under the mooring lines & went taught. All I did was hose it off. Doesn't get much easier than that. And it's a helluva lot easier than all the monthly maintenance I have to do on the teak step.

BTW, one reason why the swimsteps are not molded into the hull as you requested is the length limits on many lakes & in most every garage. In CA near where 'bu is made, tournament lakes are a dime a dozen. And many times they have 19' or 20' limits.

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It's all personal preference, and mine is Teak!!

Word.

RE the Correct Craft platform, totally agree. Heck, my '99 MB had a FG platform that was a lot nice in many ways than any of the Bu products. The big thing was that the edges were completely gelled all the way down & around the underside lip - no need for a metal molding of any kind, & because of that it was a lot kinder to bodies & bathing suits.

I love the teak look, but I've been on too many that are slippery & seen waaaaaay too many people fall on them. So many that it has been dubbed "Teak Slip". I know, I know, there are plenty of people that will chime in & say, "I've never seen that" or "never on my boat, it's how you finish the teak that's important". This is just something that I've observed over the years, & honestly, anything that I have to work that hard at to make look good as well as function correctly, no thanks. I voted FG.

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The fiberglass platform on my 05 RLXi is a vast improvement over the fglass platform on 2 Thumbs 03 RLXi.  The rough edges have been removed, the bottom side is smooth, etc.

I think I may have just identified a winter project: finishing the underside of my platform. I've ripped at least two swimsuits climbing up onto the platform the last two summers. Get's caught on a rough edge of the glass on the underside, or even on the rivets that are not installed very cleanly.

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The fiberglass platform on my 05 RLXi is a vast improvement over the fglass platform on 2 Thumbs 03 RLXi.  The rough edges have been removed, the bottom side is smooth, etc.

I think I may have just identified a winter project: finishing the underside of my platform. I've ripped at least two swimsuits climbing up onto the platform the last two summers. Get's caught on a rough edge of the glass on the underside, or even on the rivets that are not installed very cleanly.

Yeah, I've been considering this one for a while now, but I just haven't come up yet with a good solution. The cheap aluminum trim piece has to go.

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  The cheap aluminum trim piece has to go.

I was on a new Cobalt over the weekend that had a nice ss rail going around the platform. It wasn't too big, it was just right and looked nice. I wonder why they don't worry about teak surfers?

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Once Malibu got rid of the neutrail/beige hull color, there was no need for teak. Mine is beige with Polo and cranberry....fiberglass wouldn't look right, especially with the wood trimmed dash, wheel, and throttle knob. Glass looks good on colored and white hulls.

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The red glass step looks awesome on my brother's red XTI. Covered it in black/red Traxx & people who see it love it. He was out showin off on a Sky Ski at Boardstock last weekend.

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