Here is what Challenger has done with the Z302. The swim platform is standard and it looks like it may be from swimplatforms.com

http://www.challengerpowerboats.com/302_fps.cfm

http://www.powerboatmag.com/content/view/204/3/
Check out the list price!:yikes:

This pic of the 250 FPS confirms they use swimplatforms.com. It has the small blue oval on the rear of the platform.

http://www.challengerpowerboats.com/08family_models.cfm

Good eye John! That's interesting to see how they're using swimplatforms as an OEM supplier! And wow, I had no idea the 302's were going for that much. Mariah's original price was around 30-50k less, and was much more well equipped and unique. No wonder they're not selling any!

Tell him that we can offer him advertisement on the site and homepage in exchange for an exclusive club discount. There are a lot of people on this board that would be interested in purchasing a platform if the price is right.

You can also tell him that the co-founder of the site is the owner of the blue 2001 252 Shabah that they had to design a platform for this past year.

My younger brother was the one that pitched the idea of a swim platform to my dad and made the argument for it. He wanted it because it would make getting the wakeboard on and off easier. I personally didn't see a need for it and thought bolting on a piece of fiberglass would ruin the lines of the boat. Boy was i wrong. The boat looks and feels larger and its so nice to sit on the platform out in the middle of the lake with your legs in the water. It really adds a lot to the boat and you will be impressed as well. You'll realize there's more use/need than you ever really realized.

And i'm not surprised that the stealership came in at about the price of the swimplatforms.com model. The factory Mariah one looks pretty ugly compared to how sleek the swimplatforms.com one is.

As i said, you wont' be disappointed.

I've sent them the offer. Obviously, I'll need to refer them to you and/or Chris if they're interested. The carrot is dangling in from of them, I'll let you know what they say! And thanks for throwing this offer out there for us members!

Swimplatforms.com has no interest in free advertising on our site. In fact, they have a 7 week lead time right now, and don't seem interested in expanding their business even more.

I also tried getting any sort of discount possible, and they acted as though keeping my original quote from last October was generous enough!

Looks like I'm paying $1500 and waiting 'til May! From what I hear, it'll be worth it. But between the slip, platform, payments, insurance, and miscellaneous maintenance/repair, I'm out $5000+ already this year and I haven't even seen my boat!!!

That's to bad Ryan. Thanks for trying though!

Maybe they will reconsider later on. From your comments Ryan, they sound a bit condescending and that won't help to create new customers in the future.

If you have a 7 week lead time then sounds like you should be hiring more people to increase your work force and ensuring you keep brining in orders to ensure the increase in labor is being used efficiently, thus decreasing lead time and keeping customers happy. People get discouraged when they have to wait that long for a product. They should be jumping at the opportunity for free marketing. Oh well, i'm just a college student, what do i know;)

I can say you won't be disappointed with your purchase. Once you get it on and get to use the platform, you'll wonder why you didn't install it sooner. And as far as money goes, there's a reason why boats are considered bottomless buckets in the water you throw money into:rolleyes:

The platform is shipping today!!!:) Total cost = $1502.00 and should arrive in 4-5 days. I'll do a write-up for the installation next week.

I'm a bit worried though... I want to do this myself to save some money, so I checked everything out last week to investigate an issue I knew I'd have. I think all the original Mariahs have this, but my Z212 has a "wall" between the engine and transom (it mounts the engine compartment lights, cables, wiring, etc. for a clean look). There's a decent size hole to work through on the port side to reach the bolts going through the transom, but only a tiny hole on the starboard side. I don't think there's any way of temporarily removing/relocating the "wall" during install, and I surely don't want to cut a hole so I can reach the transom. I'm sure I can enlist the help of my 7 year old daughter to do some acrobatic maneuvers... hopefully she can hold the hardware while I tighten somehow! You'll see what I mean from the pictures. Has anyone else had to deal with this wall for anything?

Indykoch,
I put a swimplatform on my Z260 awhile back. We really like it. They included decent instructions. I took my time, as I was working alone, and it came out fine.

The 'wall' in my boat appears to be the structural portion of the transom, just extended vertically to make it a pain in the ass to work around. I was able to squeeze in to the engine compartment and twist my head enough to look over the wall and get nuts on the bolts. Many bolts were placed without ever seeing the nuts or washers. Because the thru bolts are only thru thin fiberglass, they should have a spreader plate installed to disperse the load over a larger area.
I took a bunch of photos during installation. I will attach them here, maybe the admin guy will choose to move them, there are quite a few. I did it in the yard during a warm spell in January. I only needed help during bolt torqueing and when I was bleeding excessively from all the fiberglass cuts.
The platform was sealed to the transom with 5200, which I now regret. The 5200 is too strong. It will be replaced with the 4200.
Hope this helps.
steve (S.L.P.)