Vinyl Boat Name

[jtsailjt]

We're renaming our boat and want it put on boat in vinyl letters. I've read the other threads that I could find on this subject but none of them that I found are very recent. I see that some folks have recommended Fastsigns and speedysigns on other threads but there isn't one of either of them nearby. I'm a BOATUS member and they advertise that they do boat lettering and their site allows you to choose your font and play around with different effects yourself and we've designed a name and font we really like on this site. I'd like to use them but wonder whether they use a high quality vinyl that will stand up for several years. Has anyone out there had experience with BoatUS lettering on their boat, and how is it holding up so far? Thanks!

[tex105]

Not with BoatsUS ,but I put vinyl letters on my boat in 2006 and there still in great shape.

[glenn.225]

Not a lot of options with fonts or colors (black or white) but Staples and hardware stores have stick-on lettering. Cheap and pretty durable, I use them around the Club and a few use them on boats.

[sailorboy1]

I've used the BoatUS letters on my last 2 boats without any problems.

[fjwiley1]

With your "Location", you should be able to have a commercial "sign company" make your boat name in Vinyl as well as apply it for a reasonable cost.This was what I did 3 years ago and it has withstood the Florida sun without any fading.....

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by fjwiley1

With your "Location", you should be able to have a commercial "sign company" make your boat name in Vinyl as well as apply it for a reasonable cost.This was what I did 3 years ago and it has withstood the Florida sun without any fading.....

Any local sign maker can do the job. Any font any colour, any shadowing etc. It's quite simple now. Just a few keystrokes. And I'll bet the signmaker is cheaper than any boat lettering specialist.

[Stu Jackson]

We have a company out here called Tap Plastic. They do that lettering. We put ours on in 1998 and it's still going strong, except for where I used On & Off (a horrible product, FSR is much kinder) on the transom one day. You should be able to find a local plastic shop to make it. I developed our lettering on MS Word Draw or MS Paint, and brought the file to them on a disk (1998 remember!) and it came out great.

[Ken Andersen]

I used BoatUS back in 1997. Dark blue vinyl letters have held up well in the Florida sun.

[Ukeluthier]

I used the Boat US service for lettering for my catboat and its dinghy about a year ago. Quality product and fast turnaround at a reasonable price.

[jtsailjt]

Wow, I appreciate all the responses and done so quickly. What a great resource all of our combined experiences are. The cruising community certainly is a helpful one! Besides all the "just for fun" boat related topics we discuss, no matter what the question is, it seems like someone out there has seen it before or has had an experience that can help guide you in the right direction. Thanks to all of you for sharing your experiences in response to my question of just a few hours ago!

[sailorboy1]

For me the reason I din't get my mine locally was that when it came right down to it the time to go to the local place and leave my order and then go back later and pickup wasn't worth it as opposed to waiting a few days for the online order to arrive.

[jtsailjt]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

For me the reason I din't get my mine locally was that when it came right down to it the time to go to the local place and leave my order and then go back later and pickup wasn't worth it as opposed to waiting a few days for the online order to arrive.

Yeah, I was thinking something similar. There is a "local" (1.5 hours drive) sign shop that does a fair amount of boat names and they have a good reputation, but we want a Celtic type font and in our opinion, theirs isn't quite as nice as the BoatUS Celtic font that we really like. Another factor is that we are in Maine and the boat is in Delaware so the local shop wouldn't be able to install it anyway. Plus, the BoatUS site lets you design exactly what you want with nobody "interpreting" what you are trying to explain to them. I was mostly worried about the quality of the vinyl at BoatUS but by all reports on here it seems to be just fine so I think we're going to give it a try.

[Summitfun]

We had a local sign shop in NC make our name / numbers for us. They also did decals for several NASCAR teams. The boat didn't go any faster, but she looked good. The application on the boat was easy as well. A plastic squeege helps smooth out any air bubbles.

[Paul Elliott]

I've used BOATUS for the boat name and registration on my power boat, and it seems to be holding up fine. They provided a little plastic squeegee in the box with the rolled up name and numbers.

They also have a nice 50%-off "Oops" policy where they only charge half price if you make a mistake or decide you really wanted a different color. If you damage the lettering during the application they will send a replacement for free.

I've also used the West Marine custom vinyl lettering with good results. The VALIS lettering has held up quite well for about 12 years and over 25,000 miles of sailing. As far as I can tell, the BOATUS lettering is the same product.

[stevensc]

They will last for several years, keep pressure washers a safe distance from them as they can lift, peel, and shred the edges
Steve W