OK, here's my installation on my 2005 TZX190...
Disclaimer #1... Be aware that your boat may be different even if the same model, so don't take any of my pictures or measurements as gospel!
Disclaimer #2... Be aware that for Skeeters anyway, you will be <u>voiding</u> any warranty coverage for the "immediate area" of this modification.
Disclaimer #3... I advise you to wear some type of mask when cutting fiberglass - the new asbestos! Also a good idea to wear a long sleeve shirt to keep the fiberglass off of your skin so you're not itching for a couple of days.
The first things I did was to remove the front pedestal & seat, remove my TM pedal and removed the front console to clear the work area and give me access.
Take a close look at the underdeck picture below:
One thing I almost screwed up on was the support for the front pedestal mount. There is an encapsulated (in fiberglass) wood plank under that front pedestal. It extends from the front edge of the front storage compartment about 15 - 16". I took an idea that was already posted and used a stud-finder to locate the edges of that plank. Place some heavy paper (I used the template that came with my FlatFoot) over the carpet to allow easy sliding of the stud finder over the carpeting. What I did was to lay down a 'grid' of blue painters tape on the carpet in the general area and marked the location of the edges on the tape with a pen. I repeated 3 times to make sure I wasn't reading the "ridges" in the deck material.
Once I knew where that was, I looked for the crossbrace that runs side-to-side across the very front of the deck and marked that with tape as well. To find the exact center of the deck I 'snapped' a chalk line that was stretched from the empty pedestal mounting hole to the front navigation light socket. This gave me the center line across the front & rear tape markers that I layed out as above.
What I found was that on my deck the rear edge of the front crossbrace was 3" back from the front edge of the deck, and I had approx. 18" between that and the front edge of the pedestal support. In my case that gave me about 1/2" of clearance to split front and rear!
So I measured everything again, marked the center of my template at taped it down where I thought it should be then measured again. Then I taped an outline of the template.This first picture shows the template in place and outlined:
Next I trimmed the tape holding down the template and lifted it up, exposing my "cutting zone". In this picture you can see where the pedal was located.
The tray moved the pedal back almost 5" from its previous position, which actually works out OK for me. You will find that when you remove your TM pedal and just place your foot on the floor from your regular fishing position your foot will be about 5 or 6" back from where you used to prop it up onto the pedal!
Next came the the first hard part... Take a deep breath, and cut out the carpeting using either a singe-edge razor blade or a sharp drywall/utility knife:
No Going Back Now! Don't talk yourself out of it! You'll be fine and its more than worth it!
I used a hand-held jigsaw to cut mine. I've read where folks have used angle grinders, 'Sawzalls', and circular saws as well so whatever you have available will work. I can't recommend anything other than what I used for blades and this is what I found. After going through a 3-pack of very agressive blades and only getting the hole half-way cut, on my next trip to Home Depot, I found this Carbide Blade for a jig-saw. It cost around $6 but I wish I had found this the first time, because it cut very easily (just take your time) and there's virtually no wear on the blade after finishing the cut:
I also took a hint from Jgun and held my shop-vac right at the blade as I was cutting. This kept the mess down substatially.
Your first step if using a jig saw will be to drill a hole at each corner of the hole. Only one really has to be big enough to get the saw blade into to start your cut. With the four holes drilled, take another deep breath and start cuttin'!
And here's how your deck's gonna look:
<FONT SIZE="12">WHEW!</FONT>
What I found after making my cut is that I was about 1/4" farther back than I wanted to be and came pretty close to the front edge of the pedestal supportbut fortunately I did not cut into the fiberglass "capsule". If you miss on yours, it shouldn't be too much of a problem, just remove a little bit more and re-do the fiberglass (supplies available at Tap Plastic or West Marine, etc.). [Note: You'll probably want to trim a bit more off to make room for the layer of fiberglass you'll be laying down over the wood.]
The picture above also shows the lack of an open 'drain pipe' leading back to the bilge area. The TZX190 has what appears to be a tube but it is sealed over all the way to the front. More on the drain later.
Since I had some left over 3M 4200 sealer from my KeelShield installation I used that to seal up the edges of the fiberglass and the now exposed foam that fills the ridges in the deck material:
The picture above also shows you the front crossbrace I mentioned. It is above the cables you see and below the black (sealed) line at the upper right section of the photo. You can see I could have gone another 1/4" forward and not been so close to the pedestal support.
From here the rest is easy. For the drain, I aquired some extra tubing that would reach back to the bilge area. On the TZX190, there is a hole located under the front edge of the rear-most deck storage compartment. I threaded the tubing back between the storage compartments and the rod locker. (Kind of hard to see in this picture - you can only see a short section of the tube):
I loosened both storage compartment liners to be able to reach in from the front compartment , grab the tubing and shove it down the hole while lifting up the rear compartment liner. Couldn't get a picture of the hole (my storage liners are riveted in on the strut side!!!) but I took a picture of where the hose comes out by lowering my camera into the cockpit floor drain:
Next I trimmed the tubing to length, stuck it onto the drain nipple on the bottom of the tray and used a nylon cable tie to hold it in place:
You're almost done! Only things left to do now are to place your tray in the hole, drill pilot holes for the mounting screws and screw it down. Then center and mount your pedal to the tray! You may want to apply some silicone or other sealer under the lip of your tray. Mine was a snug enough fit that I didn't feel it was necessary, plus it'll be easier to lift it up if I ever need to!
Here's the completed project!
<FONT SIZE="6">Before:</FONT>
<FONT SIZE="6">After:</FONT>
This is a must have modification for any boat! The hardest part is making the cut! Good luck with your installation, feel free to PM me if you have any questions!
'05 TZX190/175 HPDI
Modified by CA Ken at 11:36 AM 1/13/2007
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