Wave Sport Transformer T2


Disclaimer- The modifications described on this web page will change your boat in ways that the manufacturer did not intend. Any changes you make to any boat may have consequences that you need to consider. It is entirely possible that you will weaken the boats structural integrity or make it more difficult to get out of your boat in a pin. We are providing this information to show an example of what someone could do, not what what we recommend you should do. The following description is for informational purposes only. We are not responsible for your actions!

The Transformer comes with some well intentioned outfitting that for many people will just add discomfort and unnecessary weight. What follows is a total breakdown that takes 3.34 pounds out of the boat and adds some much needed foot and leg room.. Take what advice suits you and you feel that you are capable of doing. Forget the rest and paddle the boat as the manufacture intended. I only paddled this boat for a few minutes before disassembling for these mods but I can say that now this boat is perhaps the driest that I have paddled in a real long time.

To do all of the mods and outfitting in the following section you should allow 2 1/2 hours. Allow additional time if you do not have a band saw for cutting your outfitting or sawhorses to set your work on. Some of the items you will need include: 11mm socket, 3/8 socket or wrench, Phillips screwdriver. 1/4-20 nuts, plastic welding implements or duct tape and a band saw or outfitting saw.


The first thing I did to my T2 that I would highly recommend was to take the thigh hooks out completely. This allows your knees to go up further and wider into the pockets in the Riot style. The stock thigh hooks hold your legs in an uncomfortable position. The rotomolded thigh hooks also weigh a whopping 13 ounces each. Not counting bolts this is 1lb 10 ounces that you can take out of your boat very easily.

One negative of this mod that will make it not for everyone is that you will need to close the now empty bolt hole. The stock hole placement is in such a place that your leg needs to go there and you can not simply thread the bolt back in. Of course you can duct tape the hole (on both sides to be sure), don't worry I won't tell anyone. But to do it right you should weld the hole closed. Don't freak out welding is not as scary as it sounds on a small hole like this. If you really screw it up you can always go back to plan one (duct tape). Rather than go into detail here I put a brief tutorial on welding on a different page here.

picture of weld


Now the the plastic thigh hooks are removed you will need to outfit the knee area.

Put a 8 or 10 inch long piece of self adhesive 3/8th neoprene foam under the edge Then cut small triangle pieces to help wedge your knee in. The shape of the boat will do most of the work of keeping your knee in the pocket so don't sweat making this piece too perfect. Sit in the boat and place the small wedges into place. Use a heavy pen to trace their placement and then get out of the boat and glue them in place using good gluing technique.

in the bottom part of this picture you can see the size of wedge I used for the outside of the thigh hook brace area. For this you will need a piece roughly the shape of a hip pad that is upside down. Read more on this in the thigh brace section and also in the Liquid Logic Skip section.

knee area


The next step is to dissemble the front assembly of the boat and remove the front wall, bat wing, and foot block and track. This is the full demolition of the front guts.

Step one is to pop the front wall out. To do this take the elastic band and slide it over the top of the wall. The band is pictured in the picture below.


front assembly without the wall in place

To remove the bat wing use an 11mm socket coming from the underside on the ends of the grab bar.

Unscrew the bolts in the foot area with a #3 Phillips.

Disassemble the cam for the foot block tensioner by either coming from underneath with a #2 Phillips or from the top with a 3/8th wrench.


Re-assembling the top bolts. Go to the hardware store and get an appropriate size washer for the underside so that the screw wont get pulled through or leak. A standard 1/4-20 will fit well or you can use a washer from one of the other bolts that was removed that won't be needed.

In the picture below you can see how the screw/bolt is set up to be put in back in place. 1.Put the washer on the screw. 2. Cut a small square of 1/8th adhesive foam to make a gasket to keep water out. 3.Stick this through the underside and thread the cap nut back on.

assembling the top bolts

For the screws that were removed in the foot area I would recommend welding the holes closed (weight savings of 1 oz.) For a fast easy fix you can thread the screws back in and put a foam gasket on the back and a washer and a 1/4-20 size nut in a similar fashion to in the picture above.


Before reinstalling the bat wing. I cross-drilled out the outside surface areas. Any weight savings from doing this is almost not measurable. I would only recommend it if you happen to have your drill sitting right there. More on cross drilling here.

crossdrilling bat wing

Before you replace the bat wing make a gasket from 1/8th self adhesive foam and stick it to the underside of the boat. Then replace the grab bar and set the bat wing in place and re thread the 11mm nuts and washers back on snugly


Now on to The Feet.

Congratulations, the complete foot assembly and cam that you just removed took another 1lb 10.5 oz from the boat.

Here is how to make a foam foot block for your boat. If you have a band saw you can trim down the stock plastic piece to its bare element and and then set it on top of a 3 inch block of foam for tracing.

place plastic foot on a block to trace it

If this isn't feasible for you then take a look at the block pictured below and try to imitate the shape. Remember these key points. 1. you want it wider on the front (heel) half than you think. 2. you want NO support on the toes. Your toes can curl around the edge. Trust me on this. You can do all the pushing you need with your heels. Give your poor tootsies a break.

Note the slight wedge to the underside of the foot block shape. Before you glue the block in place you need to glue down a piece of minicell skinz


Prior to replacing the front wall you will need to add a little foam to the top of it to add some structural integrity that the foot track had been giving your previously. Place the stock wall back in place and feel up around the front of the bat wing to get an idea of how much foam you need to glue on to this.

While I was at it I decided to slice the wall in two and laminate sign board into it to increase the strength and stiffness. You can read more about this in the Dagger Ego section.

laminating signboard into the front wall


One more thing that you may find of use is to paint all of you tip screws and washers with a very bright color. This might help reduce the time you are rooting around for them on the river bank should you accidentally drop one..

pic of spray painted tips





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