Boat Name Letters

[rogerthebodger]

Too small looks silly. From memory, I have the name in 10cm and the port of registry in 5cm, and that looks OK. That's on a 26-footer, but on yours I would go for the same.

I agree too small looks silly

 

[alteredoutlook]

There are many suppliers on ebay.
Avoid too many scrolls/serifs etc.
If you go for 'shadows' make the size really large.


If you are concerned about positioning dead level then deliberately slant the letters. Alea is such a short name it might look better anyway!

As others have said, print it off on paper and bluetack it in place until you are happy with it

 

[Lakesailor]

Some considerations:

Make sure they use 7 year vinyl.
Beware of fonts with spidery edges (as in Feckless above) or thin serifs, they are weak points.
If you intend to do your own layout, use a CAD or drawing program rather than an image; the latter will require them to convert it. However, you will need to supply any non standard font unless you send an image. It doesn't need to be a TTF, signmaker will advise.
Doing a mock-up with a picture is a good idea.

I've got a vinyl cutter, and happy to do it at cost, but Funky Monkey get their vinyl in bulk so can probably do it cheaper.

I haven't had any problems with thin bits. Do you mean abrasion in use?

I did lose a little bit on Substitute to the mooring bouy ring

My sign maker (The Sign Man, Kendal) is very happy to use jpgs as he then doesn't have to bother with fonts. My name for Slippy was a distorted font anyway.

Supplying an image also means that any shadows you have put in stay as you envisaged them

 

[Fantasie 19]

I use Funky Monkey (http://www.funkymonkeyboatnames.co.uk/). Good selection, good prices, easy to order, fast delivery, only a customer.

+1

 

[Resolution]

I hope you are going to have three copies done - on for the transom of course, but having one each side of the bow is a great help in being recognized out on the water.

 

[alteredoutlook]

I hope you are going to have three copies done - on for the transom of course, but having one each side of the bow is a great help in being recognized out on the water.

or one towards the rear of each side and forget about the one on the transom. (and don't go to belgium)

 

[JumbleDuck]

I hope you are going to have three copies done - on for the transom of course, but having one each side of the bow is a great help in being recognized out on the water.

Three different names, of course, can be useful in the event of any on-water controversy about IRPCS.

 

[Floyd Raser]

Thanks everybody, brilliant answers!

I had in mind something average and understated, a bit like meself. But I now see it's not so easy to judge without sticking examples on the boat and standing back. I'll do it next time I visit her in Woodbridge but for the summer she'll keep the name "Sold".

Of course! There's the answer why didn't I think of it before? A permanent marker, a piece of A4 paper and a couple of bits of tape. And you lot wanted me to spend money, ha!

 

[nigelmercier]

I haven't had any problems with thin bits. Do you mean abrasion in use?...
My sign maker (The Sign Man, Kendal) is very happy to use jpgs as he then doesn't have to bother with fonts...

Thin bits can become unstuck, and are easily damaged.

I take the point about using an image if the design is complex, but AFAIK all sign cutting software would need to first make a stencil from this by tracing the edges.

 

[johnalison]

A boat's name and style is a very personal thing and all sorts of arrangements can look OK on the right boat. On my smallest boats, 22 & 25', I just had a name on the transom but on my current boat it is on each quarter. I have seen the name on the bow on our sister-ships and it doesn't look right to me, but on racier boats like Js it can look fine.

For legibility I would recommend a capital letter and the rest in lower case. This is of course a matter of taste but if you look at the examples above you may see what I mean. My current boat letters are vinyl and fifteen years old. They were made by a friend to my design needs.

 

[jwilson]

Personally I dislike names in big letters, smallish in relation to the boat size and on the transom is my preference. Most of all I hate the horrible huge registration letters some UK inland places and countries demand. I know: safety, search and rescue, etc., etc. I still like small discreet names. And for several years long ago I cruised the Bristol Channel and Irish Sea with "the boat with no name" - written on it at least. No name, no sail number, no radio, no liferaft, no instruments apart from a spinning-neon Seafarer, and a Seagull for power.

 

[johnalison]

Personally I dislike names in big letters, smallish in relation to the boat size and on the transom is my preference. Most of all I hate the horrible huge registration letters some UK inland places and countries demand. I know: safety, search and rescue, etc., etc. I still like small discreet names. And for several years long ago I cruised the Bristol Channel and Irish Sea with "the boat with no name" - written on it at least. No name, no sail number, no radio, no liferaft, no instruments apart from a spinning-neon Seafarer, and a Seagull for power.

I'm not sure that stealth sailing is a very good idea, though I know some people think that it will get them through the shipping lanes without prosecution. I'm all in favour of simplicity though, but I must confess that I've never owned a Seagull.