Vinyl Strip Supply and Install - Portsmouth Area

[mickywillis]

We have a 1981 Westerly Griffon based in Langstone.
Last winter I removed the navy blue strip that was fitted to the hull just under the rubbing strake. It was looking tatty and tired, so I spent about 3 weekends removing it (not easy!) and cleaning the surface off as best I could.
Somehow the boat now looks "naked" without the stripe!
I'm looking for a company who can come and fit a stripe back onto the boat. I can supply the graphic stripe myself as its a bit difficult to obtain the correct width needed (about 125mm high) in 2 x 10Mtr rolls.
Or if whoever can fit the stripe can supply it at a competitive price, I'm happy to go that route, but it must be a certain shade of blue and the correct height.

Can anyone recommend a local company that can offer such a service? I don't live in the area so have no first hand knowledge of companies around. I may also need to reproduce the logo that was fitted on the original stripe ( a gold fox shadow in running pose) along with a gold inner stripe ending in an arrow head, but this isn't essential at the moment.

Let me know your recommendations, thanks.

 

[coopec]

Why don't you buy the strip and place it yourself?

I I bought my vinyl tape, name and flourish locally but before I discovered the local supplier I was going to get the vinyl from a crowd in the UK which I'm determined to track down again.

There's a crowd in The Cabin, 1 Dundeugh, Dalry, Castle Douglas DG7 3SX (which is hardly near Portsmouth) but you don't need to buy over the counter - do it online. See how easy it is. They cater for people like you and I.

About Us - Vinyl Cut Graphics UK, Signs and Decals

It won't hurt to experiment with different styles of lettering. coloring, flourishes and striping

Another one
BOAT NAMES

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

Try this one, but early rather than later in the season, before she goes on holidays.....
Naughty Gull Marine Graphics

 

[SiteSurfer]

Just in case the classic mis-direction for "marine" starts up, you can approach any sign shop or bloke with a cutter and ask for a permanent vinyl (ideally cast) from one of the multitude of suppliers.
You should be looking for 5-7 year "life" (which will last much longer that that).

Ex Vinyl designer/applier here.

 

[Stemar]

I'd try a boat name printer, a lot of them do graphics. Doesn't matter if they're not on the Solent, applying isn't difficult.

For example: Boat Graphics | Full and Single Colour | Boat Decals | Vinyl Decals

I know nothing about them, just a name I came across when wondering about doing something similar

 

[mickywillis]

Thanks for the replies.
My concern for applying the vinyl stripe myself is if it goes wonky it will look bad! The strip itself will be at least 125mm width. I want a small (10mm) gap between the bottom of the wooden rubbing strake and the top of the graphic. This will be as an area I can mask off with masking tape when sanding/staining or varnishing the wood work. Previous stripe had been put up tight against this and when previous owner's had used an electric sander on the strake, the little circular areas the sander made were obvious in the vinyl. This meant it was the devils own job to remove the old stripe as each one of these areas were like little cuts in the vinyl and kept breaking off when heating up and removing.
Getting the lower edge of the vinyl straight and not wobbly will be difficult as well, because boat is in a compound with boats close up on either side. You cant stand back far enough to look at it to see if its straight and level. I'm sure an experienced applicator would know if it was straight or not, hence looking for a pro job!
Don't want to paint it as not keen on other boats that have done this and the vinyl will (hopefully) retain shine and finish longer than paint.

 

[coopec]

Thanks for the replies.
My concern for applying the vinyl stripe myself is if it goes wonky it will look bad! The strip itself will be at least 125mm width. I want a small (10mm) gap between the bottom of the wooden rubbing strake and the top of the graphic. This will be as an area I can mask off with masking tape when sanding/staining or varnishing the wood work. Previous stripe had been put up tight against this and when previous owner's had used an electric sander on the strake, the little circular areas the sander made were obvious in the vinyl. This meant it was the devils own job to remove the old stripe as each one of these areas were like little cuts in the vinyl and kept breaking off when heating up and removing.
Getting the lower edge of the vinyl straight and not wobbly will be difficult as well, because boat is in a compound with boats close up on either side. You cant stand back far enough to look at it to see if its straight and level. I'm sure an experienced applicator would know if it was straight or not, hence looking for a pro job!
Don't want to paint it as not keen on other boats that have done this and the vinyl will (hopefully) retain shine and finish longer than paint.

I understand what you are saying because I had the same problem. I wanted my strip to be 200 mm(?) below the gunwale timber strip but the timber strip itself wasn't exactly straight so I used a one foot piece of timber between the gunwale strip and a marker pencil and scribed a line to use as a guide for the vinyl strip.

There are video clips to help.
HOW TO APPLY BOAT STRIPING LIKE A PRO

 

[Homer J]

You could put a thick strip of masking tape under the gunnel as a guide and butt the vinyl up to that then remove to get a uniform gap.

 

[coopec]

You could put a thick strip of masking tape under the gunnel as a guide and butt the vinyl up to that then remove to get a uniform gap.

You could do that but I used an 8 inch width of ply to get the correct distance down from the gunwale.

The technique of applying the strip is extremely important but that is explained in the video clip.