Cost for putting Name and Hailing port on hull

[Fernando2]

Hi! I paid 80 bucks for the name , and port, but I have installed. Fort Pierce

[MJH]

Originally Posted by Looking4Neptune

I need to put a new name and hailing port on my 2010 Leopard 46. I have one quote for $650 to put the name on the port and stbd bows and the hailing port on the stern steps. This company does the whole job. I don't have the option of putting the lettering on myself.

Is this a reasonable price (in San Diego CA)? (seems high to me)

I have the impression that it is not hard to put the lettering on. (maybe I am wrong?) If I do, what would be a reasonable cost to buy the lettering?

Thanks
Pat

Draft the lettering you would like (size, color, font) and call at least three companies in your area for prices to install; then ask for price for just the lettering...the difference is your saving in labor if you like. There are other vendors via the Internet.

If it is large that can be hard to handle but small is relatively easy to install.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[Dick Manning]

I purchased very nice decals for both bow and stern on a Tollycraft from Boat U.S. They're looking good as new after 10 years on Puget Sound. I thought Boat U.S. offered a great selection at very affordable prices..

[jmschmidt]

BoatUS transfers decals, maybe $65-$85 depending on how fancy you want, mine have been on ten years, just now starting to need replacement. Bought some for another boat I have a couple of years ago.

[KP44]

Originally Posted by Looking4Neptune

I need to put a new name and hailing port on my 2010 Leopard 46. I have one quote for $650 to put the name on the port and stbd bows and the hailing port on the stern steps.

I think that is extremely high priced, even for contractors who think all Cat owners are wealthy. I think I could get vinyl letters for under $100, unless they are huge. Ours are multi-colored and my wife easily installed them 5 or 6 years ago.

[flyingnut40]

I got mine here....


https://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Boat...gAAOSwkMNeL2d8

[flyingnut40]

$20 or so..... install yourself with a costco card

[tekdiver]

Originally Posted by Looking4Neptune

I need to put a new name and hailing port on my 2010 Leopard 46. I have one quote for $650 to put the name on the port and stbd bows and the hailing port on the stern steps. This company does the whole job. I don't have the option of putting the lettering on myself.

Is this a reasonable price (in San Diego CA)? (seems high to me)

I have the impression that it is not hard to put the lettering on. (maybe I am wrong?) If I do, what would be a reasonable cost to buy the lettering?

Thanks
Pat

Boat show ranged every where from 1000.00 to 250.00 I found my B-Happy Chehalis WA for 12.50 all setup to put on myself
12.50 was a single set

[LeeV]

Even BoatUS makes them cheaply.

We looked at several Leopard 46s before we bought our L450 - put your name on the top port step riser in the stern and your hailing port in the same place on the stbd side. Neat, easy, cheaper and prevents a large area of the hulls from getting areas of paint not getting sun, hence mismatched gel coat down the road. Just my $.02

[BruceS]

I watched Leigh put his on his yacht himself over a few weeks!!
Teak grooved out & then gold leaf inlayed & sealed after.
What a guy!! Finish was the best I've seen.
Yacht Mi Querida.

[dougweibel]

$650 could be reasonable depending on what is on there now. Our boat had large graphics on both bows as well as on the stern which had to come off. Removal was a 4 hour job. It was interesting to note that some of the (vinyl) colors came off much easier than others. Thankfully we had mostly the easier, but if reversed the job could have taken double the time. One color in particular could not be peeled as it would continually tear and you had to get it off one little chunk at a time.

As lots of others have said if getting the old off is not an issue the price seems way out of line.

[Hoodsail]

Have teak, varnished board contoured to my transom with boat name engraved and then gold lettering. Made by friend and local carpenter. We drilled acouple of small holes in the stern and mounted it with two threaded bolts he embedded in the back of the board...about 1 inch thick and estimating about 2 feet long. This reminded me that I need to re-varnish it this year... think it was about $150-200...goes with the teak toerail..

[Island Time O25]

A few years back (5-7 years?, time flies) after some online searches came up with a vinyl lettering place in the next door state. At $35 for 7 letters name in 6" letters plus hailing port and state another 7 4" letters in and incl. shipping it was a good deal. Had I insisted on my own design instead of choosing what was available the price would be around $80 to $100, still reasonable IMO.

The hardest part of the job was getting rid of the old lettering shadows but since the boat was 35 years old by then and I am not a perfectionist I can live with some of that. OTOH I couldn't live with parting with $650 for the same job.

[Looking4Neptune]

To answer some of the "OP needs to post more info":
- I am in San Diego, so is the boat. The graphics company is less than a mile away.
- The graphics company did a two color design, black with a gold shadow. There are stripes near the name that go well with this. The lettering for the name is 12 inches tall and 40 inches long. Not sure how big 'San Diego, CA' is, but significantly smaller type.
- The graphics are 'marine grade vinyl' and guaranteed not to fade for 8 years.
- The job does not include removing the old lettering. I already did that and that area is now obscured by our arch and solar panels.

I did go to BoatUS. The site says "Unfortunately BoatUS Boat Graphics is closed at this time and unable to accept new orders until further notice. Thank you for your support and understanding." So I guess they are closed by Covid. You'd think they could still let me use the site to do the design.

I went to DIYLettering.com and can get a single color version of this for about $100. Much closer to what I expected.

[marlin driver]

Vinyl letters are cheap. Design time and labor hours, not so cheap. If you can do it all yourself and will be happy with the results, go with the cheap option.
If you want a pro with design skills to draft up some options to look at, then adjust, print, and install the letters, then the price range you were quoted is reasonable. Your own budget and design skills will determine which way to go.