A client came to me for a compleet Vinyl makeover for his 36ft. Yacht. The job includes removal/replacing of the name and port on the transom, name on the stern(both sides), I.D. numbers (2 sides), type and model name of boat (2 sides), and removal/replacement of vinyl striping (about 144 feet of striping 1/2 inch thick ).
I've never done a job like this before so I'm asking anyone outhere who has an idea how much a job like this should cost. The owner said the boat will be on dry land when I'm ready to do the job. Your help is greatly apreciated.
posted
Garrick, Welcome to Letterville- I saw on your profile that you live in Curacao (sorry, I don't know where the accented "a" is on the keyboard) so the boat has no doubt been in some serious sun. With that in mind, price all the vinyl removal on a per hour basis- I've had boats that stripped in 15 minutes on one side and 4 hours on the other. Go figure. If the lettering is simply going to be reproduced, price it on your high market end (remember, this is a toy) but I might add, this is a great time to upsell- do you have some Signgold samples, or maybe a Krylon gradient with some Frogjuice clear. (If you don't know what those are, e-mail me and I'll explain further) I can't really give you much on pricing since I haven't seen the boat, but let the voice of blundering experience shout: BY-THE-HOUR ON VINYL REMOVAL!!!
I hear you have some great reef diving there. We were in Aruba on our honeymoon, and I've always wanted to go back and dive BonAire and Curacao.
------------------ Sonny Franks Atlanta
"Well done beats well said every time"
Posts: 4115 | From: Lilburn, GA USA | Registered: Feb 1999
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i lived in sarasota for 19 yrs and worked on a few boats....and one thing ive learned is people who own big boats....are real pain in the butts....if you put one stratch on that boat or it dont turn out lookin like the day he bought the boat. 1st thing i would do is tell him that THERE WILL BE a "ghost" in the gelcoat where the old letterin and stripe was. this way you can find out where he is with this, and when you take off vinyl you assume responsibility of any problems you incounter while removing vinyl, say the boat was painted prior to the last vinyl application....and you peel back vinyl and paint comes with it....now you got a big problem....have you ever repainted a 36' boat? i would have the boat yard to the removal...this way you eliminate the possibility of those problems. not sayin this will happen...but...you know do-do happens...i had a guy in sarasota wanted me to remove the name on a 100' yacht...asked him how much that thing cost...was 1/4 of a mill...told him he could remove the lettering id be glad to paint or vinyl new on there...but i couldnt afford to repair any defects or places where the gelcoat might let loose.
------------------ joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-944-5060 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND
Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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An old timer I once worked with explained it to me this way. There are three types of boat owners. Hundredaires, Thousandaires, and Millionaires. You need to price according to the proper category. A good deal can often be insulting. There should be a certain amount of boasting disguised as complaining that accommpanies the proper price. Never do shoddy work because you priced too low.
------------------ The SignShop Mendocino, California "Where the Redwoods meet the Surf"
Posts: 6718 | From: Mendocino, CA. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Dito, make sure you wear shoes when you go to quote it, otherwise he might think you consider him a "nickledaire".
(Inside joke with ol' Rickardo")
Don't forget to include the cost of the scaffold rental.
------------------ St.Marie Graphics & Makin' Tracks Sound Studio Kalispell, Montana stmariegraphics@centurytel.net http://www.stmariegraphics.com 800 735-8026 We're chiseling every day of the week! :^)
posted
This is more of a huge job than you may think. A few questions.. First and most important...make sure you know what kind of a surface you are working on. Fiberglass is a lot more forgiving and easier than paint.If its a painted hull,you need to be much more cautious with your approach If its a sailboat,you will definately be right up there off the ground.Some marinas have nice custom scaffolds to conform to hull curvature. Power boat...not so high. Powerboat will have a bigger transom.so you will use more material.And take more time to strip. After you have peeled the stripes,like the others say,..there will be a ghost...it will be tricky to hit the exact same spot with a new grasphic.Its possible to light sand where the stripes were and machine buff the area with a fast cut compound,but if you do this,you must buff the entire hull.This will teach your back a whole new lesson,hoever the boat will look a lot nicer.Maybe a repair shop can work with you?Do NOT attempt to do this to a painted hull..only gelcoated fiberglass If the boat is 36 and you have 144 feet of striping,that means 2 stripes on either side.Correct? How much gap between the stripes? Who is gonna slit the vinyl? I would want the 2 stripes pre assembled and have a double layer of application tape over both,so its all one piece.This way,you gain 2 ways.First,the graphic is less likely to distort and bend,which would look like waves. Second benefit would be that ,even if you DID have a little waver(which even happens on factory stripes sometimes),you will get zero variation in gap between stripes.That variation really looks worse than a slight wave. If you nail this job right,you will have all kinds of work,because word of mouth in a ny marina is pretty fast! I used to do a lot of boat work..we had a couple young guys around that did doll-ups wax jobs,etc.They jumped at an opportunity to strip painted names and vinyl for me..thats the messy end of it.I paid em well and we all were happy.See if you have such a person at your disposal.. Good luck
posted
Just recently striped and lettered(in vinyl) a friends 65'x 33' catamaran. The boat was in dry dock, we had scafolding and there was two of us doing the stripe, we didn't tape both together, we did however measure and mark every 12 ' (measured up from water line) this was helpfull in keeping the stripes "straight" no waves.
We did the job "wet" (stripes were 4" tall x 60'long) with Rapid Tac(in the hot Hawaii sun). The boat names(one each side in midship) were (Alala) 22"high 10' long, then the company logos(one each side) 7'long 34" high We did not have to remove old stuff, the whole application took two people 6 hours.
The first time I did this boat, it was in the water and we worked from a dingie(bummer) This time he had just re painted in urathane.
Good luck Roger
------------------ Roger Bailey Rapid Tac Incorporated Waikoloa, Hawaii
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