Hi everyone, I'm meeting a potential client this week who has a wooden boat built in 1928. I'm so excited to see this boat. He wants to have name boards done with his boat name in gold leaf. My question is where would I get the actual name boards and how should I prep it? Any information would be appreciated. Thanks.
Posted by Terry Baird (Member # 3495) on :
Hi Dawn, You should be able to make a board with nothing more than a jig saw and router. You can make it as fancy as your skills allow. A plain rectangle with a routed edge would work. As far as what wood to use, I've used White Oak with a stain and UV spar varnish. I'm sure there are experts at this on the board who could recommend the perfect wood and varnish. A lot of wooden boaters are very particular about not using modern products. Good luck!
Posted by Stephen Faulkner (Member # 2511) on :
Honduras Mahogany.... Epiphanes varnish, Interlux, or even better Imron.....figure about 12 coats of varnish and lots of wet sanding. Like Terry said boaters of that vintage can be fussy. If you need to sub it out I can send a portfolio. Other than that, the customers budget dictates what he gets, $500 is 2 side boards say 4" x 30" varnished and surface gilded. The money can crazy after that, feel free to call me 207-583-2782.
Posted by Artisan Signs (Member # 3146) on :
What Stephen said. Mohagany (sp?), a few coats of a good marine varnish, such as Epifanes, or Minwax Spar Urethane. No need to clear the gold leaf, unless it's in a area that will be toched or handled. Try to see what type and color the wood on the boat is. Most older boats that have clear varnish (called "Brightwork"), have a darker patina than the wood you would currently purchase. Try and buy wood from the heart of the tree, it will be darker to begin with. As far as attching the boards, try to also see if the boat has mostly brass, or bronze hardware. Bronze is more traditional, and is a better choice to begin with. Good luck, and send some pics of the boat. Bob K.
Posted by Si Allen (Member # 420) on :
Hi Dawn....if you run into a problem, give me a call!
Posted by Dawn Ellis (Member # 3529) on :
Thanks for the information and the offer to sub it or call. If I get the job I'll definitely be doing that because I'm in over my head on this one and yet excited about the opportunity to do it!
Posted by Dawn Ellis (Member # 3529) on :
Met this client this morning and I'm so disappointed. Seems the guy in the boat yard who has been working with the owner and painting his boat, told him about Signgold and how wonderful it is. So he wants Signgold for now and perhaps later get 'fancy' with real gold leaf. Sigh.
Posted by Stephen Faulkner (Member # 2511) on :
It is sad how often this happens. This idiot should be drawn and quartered and his boat taken away from him!
I have been talking with a potential customer here, he is from N.J. and wants his 1928 Chris Craft lettered for our local boat show this week. He told me he restored it himself, these boats are a real fine piece of craftsmanship and absolutly gawjuss to look at. This guy did a fantastic job on it too, has all the money to go with it
He mentioned an alternative to real gold. I said for that boat there is no alternative, he understood and will pay the $ because at this point he won't skimp on the lettering having completed most of the restoration himself. I have threatend in the past to write to some of the trade mags that deal in restoration, and now I am.... starting with the Boat People!
Posted by Cam Bortz (Member # 55) on :
Geet, that's a great idea. So many times the owner of a classic boat will talk to some idiot and ask about gold leaf or hand lettering, only to be told" nobody does that anymore," and end up with signgold or vinyl.
This sort of thing does touch a nerve. If there's one segment of the sign biz that vinyl has flushed down the toilet, it's boat lettering. In 1989 I hand lettered almost 100 boats, at an average price of $125 each. Most of these were quick, layout by eye, one color with a shade jobs, though about 20% involved a bit more work, such as an outline. In the winter of '90 I went to several boat shows, and found guys with plotters set up, selling "stick it yourself" letters for $29.95. By that summer the majority of my boat lettering calls were price-shoppers, and actual lettering jobs down about 50%. By the mid-nineties I was down to about 10 boats a year - on the New England coast, with dozens of marinas and thousands of boats. The other hand-letterers followed the prices into the gutter, and I wouldn't, so I quit marketing to boat owners and marinas. It just is not worth the hassle - the scheduling - "it has to done by tomorrow" nonsense, or showing up to find the yard is hasn't finished prepping, or the best, diligent owners who would proudly announce "we're all ready for you, we just put on a fresh coat of wax!" Occasionally I still do a gold job on a boat, usually two or three a year, and my minimum for those is $750.
And 99% of the time, vinyl on a boat is ugly as galvanized shyt. Boats almost never have truly flat sufaces, they are made up of complex curves. By laying out by eye, a good painter can take these curves into account and adjust lettering to look right. While it may be possible to do the math and design vinyl that looks right, it's a lot of extra work - and nobody's going to that much trouble for boat owner who's shopping for a $50 lettering job.
Currently, I'm test-marketing an ad for hand-lettering and gold leaf in a program booklet for a classic-boat event at Mystic Seaport. With most of the hand painters driven out of the trade by the vinyl jockeys, I'm hoping I can tap a market of people who will still pay for quality. That strategy has worked in my sign marketing, so I'm hopeful.
Posted by Mark Rogan (Member # 3678) on :
A 1928 boat with VINYL? That's like spending a fortune restoring and old house and putting on vinyl siding at the end. He needs genuine 23kt gold quarterboards. Otherwise he's cheaping out on the last detail and other boat owners who know better will ask him why he didn't get real quaterboards done.
It's too bad.
Posted by Joe Rees (Member # 211) on :
quote:Originally posted by Mark Rogan: other boat owners who know better will ask him why he didn't get real quaterboards done.
Amen. Spar varnish on Mahogany is beautiful, and gold is, well, gold. It's the real stuff. Something that might work wonders is a visual sample, to remind people of how exotic and authentic and cool the product is. Even a very small scale quarterboard of about 3" x 24" in your hand, or on display at the marina couls be a great sales tool if you want to open such a market.
Posted by Bill Biggs (Member # 18) on :
I use Teak wood, routed. couple or 8 coats of varnish, I used to get 350 for a pair of 6x36 boards, and it has been about 3 years since I did a pair. I can't imagine someone restoring a boat and not going all the way. Like using vinyl to letter a mercedes. Bill
Posted by Glenn S. Harris (Member # 2190) on :
Marine Varnishes:
Interlux used to be the one... seems to have gotten a bit inconsistent.
I'd go with Mon-O-War.
Posted by Dave Grundy (Member # 103) on :
As a guy who does a reasonable amount of business on sailboats, I agree. If it is a classic restored wood boat use real gold leaf or one shot paint.
If it is a fiberglass sailboat there is nothing wrong with using vinyl or Signgold. High tech epoxy based racing sailboats certainly don't diminish in stature by having high tech vinyl's and SignGold lettering!!!!
I am not refering to 15-20 foot toys here. I am talking about 35-60 foot long, custom built beauties. The owners like high tech and they don't mind paying a good dollar for the lettering that is done with correspondingly high tech materials.
It is nothing to get over $1000 for a SignGold lettering job on a fiberglass sloop!
Sorry to have "drifted away" from the Dawn's original post but I get really ****ed when some folks get TOO elitist!!!!
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