Hey All, Tony sent me pics of my boat with deck on and the wings cut off. I know these things fly but seriously wings. Ha. Starting to look like something now. Think you will all be interested in the stern/transom.[ATTACH=CONFIG]536532[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]536533[/ATTACH]

Would you mind sharing the key differences, pros, and cons of a flat deck model for those of us that love skaters but don't understand the difference?

thanks

Hey Stim, Ill start and Im sure Ill miss something as this is my first Skater purchase. Im sure others will chime in. Both boats start from the same hull mold. Im told they come out of the mold at 30 foot 8 inches thats why this model is sometimes referred to as a 308. The most obvious difference is the FLAT DECK. If you compare the classic to the flat deck the deck is actually much flatter other than the windshield. The flat deck also has a full wrap around windshield on it. One drawback about the flat deck is because of the windshield set up the boat is a few miles per hour slower than the classic which has smaller windscreens as an option instead. Flat deck windshield blocks more wind. I don't mind the trade off as I am a bit older now and have no desire to deal with wind in my face at 100mph. Ha. Also if you look at my build process it appears to me that they cut the sponsons down in the front before they lay the deck. It looked to me like the classic has a higher profile. maybe someone can confirm that. On the flat deck when they attach it to the hull it is done in a fashion where there is no seem. This looks nicer but being there is no rub rail you have to be very careful when tying up to anything as it is easy to damage the sides/paint. My build is also a wide body which means they cut the boat in half and add 10 inches in my case before they put it back together. The reasons for this is not only a stabler ride but it allows the boat to pack more air. This can add a little top speed if you can get it to go fast enough to take advantage of it. I know there is probably more but I've gotta go eat. Ha. My stern is a first build on an outboard which I can add about later. Steve.

Thanks for the reply, I get the desire for a full windshield, being beaten with wind can get tiring, can a full windshield not be installed on a standard skater?
Im excited to see your build completed

.


NB,

I like the way your transom was finished off....notch-less

if ever you/next owner wanted to convert this to an I/O, all that is needed is to remove the outboard boxes, realign the stringers and you'll have an awesome wide-body cat platform for a pair of LSx engines without having to close the notch.

I'd proly keep the boxes and use 'em as an outdrive cover.


Can't wait to see this beauty in Barnegat Bay :)

...and the Atlantic Oooo


http://i1238.photobucket.com/albums/.../IMG954497.jpg

.

Hey Stim, There are people on this thread who have done there own custom windshield on some 28 footers and came out really great. There is a new thread on the Skater forum that is a custom flat deck/windshield total custom work redeck/rerig. It looks very interesting and Im sure will come out awesome as the guys on this forum are a wealth of knowledge and tend to be perfectionist when it come to their boats. What you are talking about is generally done after market as Pete, although he will build almost anything on his boats custom at a price, seems to not want to alter his molds or add that type of thing. Wouldn't surprise me if he added some type of windshield option on the classic model in the future. That boat would be really nice but then there'd be no reason to order the flat deck version.

Hey Noli, Thanx for the insight. I never thought of that. I had talked about that if I were to move up really liked the 338 fatboy. Maybe I could just send the boat back to the factory for a rerig instead if that time comes. Not sure if it would be that easy. Ha. it never seems to be.
Pete built the rear this way to fit his rigging plan. We didn't really discuss it but being the transom is reinforced it allows him to hang the motors farther back. Sounds like thats what he would have liked to be doing all along. The farther back the motors are to a point the better the boat performs both handling/trim and
speed. Its actually being finished with the intent of hanging a heavier motor than 505 lbs. Wink wink. Hence the transom reinforcement. Don't think I would have done it otherwise.

You are going to love the wrap around its the only way to go make shure you put two hatches on the deck for easy entrance under the deck mine has one in the middle and a pain in the ass to get in and out of keep us posted this is realy one the best parts of building a skater[ATTACH=CONFIG]536750[/ATTACH]

Hey Jim, If you look at one of the deck pics a little further back you can see they have already cut two hatches in. Think they went ahead and did it that way because it is a wide body. If I was building a standard width i think it would be great to do anyway because like you said it would be much easier getting in and out when it is closer to being over the sponson. Thanx for your input. Steve.

Hay steve no problem got any other questions feel free to call me