| Vol 3 - Issue 1 | September 1998 |
|
Naming Your Boat An Easy, Inexpensive, and Attractive Method By David Hendrick Assuming you've agreed on a proper name for your Hobie you've next got to figure out how to get that name onto the hulls. Here's how I recently accomplished this detailing a suggestion originally from Kim Miller and Gary Willcox. After selecting a name I printed it on the computer using my favorite font. Next I stopped in at The Copy Shop, a one room establishment in Luck Wisconsin, the town nearest to the lake I sail. (That's right: when I sail I'm just out of Luck) There I inquired about putting the name on self adhesive vinyl lettering. It could be done in four inch letters for $1.33 per letter. That would be $24 for two copies of MAINE SALE. They were willing to enlarge it to the larger size from my one inch letters. It took less than a week. They did not do an exact copy but chose a very similar font to the one I had given them. The product was solid black letters made from vinyl sandwiched between a four inch wide piece of masking tape and the typical waxy type paper typical of the backing for stickers. No instructions came with the signs. To apply I cleaned the aft most two feet of each hull and dried and degreased them by wiping them with acetone. After peeling the paper backing off the sign I carefully applied the lettering exactly where I intended it to be. There is no forgiveness here. You get one |
| chance. As soon as the letter hits the hull it is frozen in place, so be careful. After placement I rubbed over the exposed masking tape with my thumb and subsequently pulled the masking tape off revealing the completed naming. |
|
The lettering was available in quite a few colors and I was told that I could have silouettes of pictures included for additional charge. The copy shop made the name of their establishment out of this material. It has been on |
|
their front window for several years, through rain, sleet
and snow and looked like it was applied the day I saw it.
David Hendrick David.A.Hendrick-1@tc.umn.edu Back to Features |