Sheer stripes...

Boo2

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...am I alone in finding these trash the looks of a yacht ?

If I were to buy a boat with a sheer stripe painted on, is there any way to completely get rid of it without leaving a stain and without having to paint the whole topsides white ?

Thanks,

Boo2
 

Hoolie

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When we bought our boat it had a very jaded stripe, but it was stick-on pvc and very easy to remove. The boat looks much better as a result!
 

johnalison

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Unless it's a brand-new boat, removing the paint will always leave an area of gel that doesn't match. Perhaps you could paint the rest of the hull to match the stripe?
 

Quandary

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Boat graphics is an art. The layout of stripes is very carefully considered and serves a purpose, not just to identify the marque as in Rassys and Bavs but to improve the appearance of the sheerline or to disguise the stumpy beamy high freeboard look of undecorated modern hulls. When boats were designed for elegance they were not necessary but they definitely are needed on todays cruisers. I took the coachroof stripes off the Sigma 38 we had, it looked awful until they were replaced,the stripe contributed to reducing bulk elongating the lines and integrating the windows. I accept there were some terrible examples of crude striping a couple of decades ago.
However the best boats, S & S Shes and Swans for instance, did not need graphics to look good.
 

Twister_Ken

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Visual role of the sheer stripe is to decrease the apparent visual height of the topsides. Without it many boats, especially shorter hi-volume ones, look a bit dumpy. Thinner stripes also increase the apparent visual length.

The effect is more marked on white and light hulls than on darker colours.
 

Boo2

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Unless it's a brand-new boat, removing the paint will always leave an area of gel that doesn't match.

So there's no way of getting the paint off then "bleaching" (or something) the paint stains from the gelcoat underneath ?

Boo2
 

Quandary

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So there's no way of getting the paint off then "bleaching" (or something) the paint stains from the gelcoat underneath ?

Boo2

Even the whitest gel coat colours with exposure to light , that is why it takes such expertise in matching when making 'invisible' repairs. If you strip vinyl graphics you can still read them for years, look at the transom of a few grp boats that have had name changes.
 

prv

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So there's no way of getting the paint off then "bleaching" (or something) the paint stains from the gelcoat underneath ?

Yep, and then you'll end up with a shiny white sheer strip above a dulled and yellowed hull. However white it looks on its own, gel coat more than a couple of years old always looks faded next to fresh.

Pete
 

Spyro

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Visual role of the sheer stripe is to decrease the apparent visual height of the topsides. Without it many boats, especially shorter hi-volume ones, look a bit dumpy. Thinner stripes also increase the apparent visual length.

The effect is more marked on white and light hulls than on darker colours.

You forgot to mention they also make them go faster :D
 

Woodlouse

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Sheer stripes (cove lines *ahem*) have been used on boats for centuries. The only Fife I can think of without one is Mariquita for example. They serve a purpose to show off the sheer, and latterly to break up the topsides so they don't look so bulky as has been mentioned.

Naturally the traditionalist would pick theirs out with gold leaf instead of paint or a decal. But I don't think that would really work that well on modern tupperware.
 

Boo2

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Sheer stripes (cove lines *ahem*)

I think we are talking at cross purposes here - I was referring to a girt fat line painted in light blue which extends down from the toe rails for the best part of a foot and runs the whole length of the boat.

If I understand you right you were talking about a cove (cavetta) line, being a thin moulded in indentation running the length of the boat ? They are fine and look just great IMHO.

From what people have posted it sounds like there is no way to get rid of it once it's there though, so thanks to all for the replies...

Boo2
 

Twister_Ken

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I think we are talking at cross purposes here - I was referring to a girt fat line painted in light blue which extends down from the toe rails for the best part of a foot and runs the whole length of the boat.

If I understand you right you were talking about a cove (cavetta) line, being a thin moulded in indentation running the length of the boat ? They are fine and look just great IMHO.

From what people have posted it sounds like there is no way to get rid of it once it's there though, so thanks to all for the replies...

Boo2

As I said earlier, if you don't like the stripe, don't buy a boat with one.

FWIW, I was ashore alongside a Wauquiez Gladiateur that was being repainted. They were made with a wide sheer stripe. The owner repainted her without it but when he saw how tubby she looked in one colour, he repainted the sheer stripe. Pic of a Gladiateur below, but not the one I was next to.

NWP3.jpg
 

Spyro

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I think we are talking at cross purposes here - I was referring to a girt fat line painted in light blue which extends down from the toe rails for the best part of a foot and runs the whole length of the boat.

If I understand you right you were talking about a cove (cavetta) line, being a thin moulded in indentation running the length of the boat ? They are fine and look just great IMHO.

From what people have posted it sounds like there is no way to get rid of it once it's there though, so thanks to all for the replies...

Boo2

My Previous boat a Trapper 300 was made as all Trapper 300s were with a two coloured topside. There was a large stripe about a foot thick extending down from the toe rail. I would agree that it looked better without it. Mine was maroon :eek::eek: You can get rid of it but as mine was gelcoat it had to be painted over.
I don't have a before but here is an after. It took several coats of undercoat and topcoat before it was completely covered up.

2006_1211008.jpg
 
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johnalison

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That Trapper looks lovely. The original never looked good with a stripe, probably because the freeboard was moderate. Most Sadlers look pretty awful without the stripe, even though it's only plastic (except 25s).
 
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