Swim Step UPGRADE Ideas for 98 X-Star?

My teak wood swim step tore off at the brackets so I am looking to either upgrade the entire platform or fix the existing one. The next best upgrade option is going with the replacement folding-style brackets so the entire step will fold up for easier storage & safer trailering.

I am looking for input for the replacement/upgrading of the entire step. The research I have already done online left me unimpressed. My boat is a 1998 X-Star. It is basically a Pro-Star 205 with taller sidewalls and came with, I believe, the identical swim step and bracket mounting setup of this era of Mastercraft.

My thoughts are that a rounded edge type full fiberglass style step would be a great useful and stylistic upgrade. I have already completely replaced the interior vinyl, carpet, and wet sanded the exterior fiberglass to make the boat new again.

The original teak step is challenging to keep looking decent as it quickly fades to gray. It looks very bad on an all new looking boat & replacing the brackets with OEM may not prove to last very long if the step gets loaded up heavy again. (floatilla with 5 or 6 people)

Any ideas and pictures would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks and happy boarding and skiing. See you on Lake Washington, Lake Sammamish, or the Columbia River soon!

Rod
425.390.4582

[east tx skier]

You can start scouring dealerships for older glass platforms. With proper care, teak should not go gray that quickly unless it is getting some serious sun. In that case, covering it can make it last the season with little maintenance. It's your boat and your choice obviously. But I'm a fan of teak.

[vision]

It really depends on your goal. I ride on friends boats who have rubber and fiberglass platforms. Each ride seems to start with instructions from the boat owner on how to gently get off the platform as to not damage the platform. They still have marks on the fiberglass or peeling rubber, so I understand their concerns.

I just slide off my teak without a care. I do not worry about kids or adults scrapping their board across the platform. Does it scratch? Yes. Does it get dirty and turn brown? Yes. But all I do is clean it once a year, maybe oil once a year (or less) and sand any scratches and it looks brand new. Like east tx skier said, keep it covered when the boat is not in use and it should take many years to bleach to grey.

So if you want a platform that looks perfect all year and do not mind babying the platform, probably fiberglass is the way to go. But if you want easy to maintain and functional, I would vote for teak.

There was a previous thread on faux teak. Less maintenance, although I am not sure it is as repairable as real teak.

[east tx skier]

I recall reading that the lifespan on the teak looking stuff for the glass platforms had an expected lif of about 5 years.

[JohnE]

I'm a fan of the teak also. How about posting a pic of the damage?

[TXMC-06X2]

I am also a BIG fan of teak. I do not know if you are a big surfer, but it has been said that the glass platforms affect the surf wake due to the lip on the bottom of the platform. I have not heard anything about them affecting the wakeboard wake though. Just some food for thought!