boat wrapping

M

MissJill

Active member
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
32
Fluid Motion Model
C-28
Hull Identification Number
FMLT2702D112
Vessel Name
MISS JILLY
Anyone owning a dark hulled vessel South of, let's say Maine, knows of the gelcoat color fading/dulling saga. I've had my blue hull R27 professionally compounded and waxed every 6 mos for the last 2 yrs (it slowly starts dulling after 3 mos here in sunny NC- I"m going broke by the way!

I am considering vinyl wrapping Miss Jilly above her W/L hull. (take a look at YouTube videos on this subject- unbelievable as to the sizes and types of boats (all kinds - sail, power, trawlers, fishing runabouts etc) that are wrapped.

When's the last time we put on a vinyl boat name, logo and/or registration numbers?? Have they ever faded, cracked or fallen off? They are subject to the same environment as our hulls. The hull boat wrap, if applied properly, should act similarly. My last boat was 10 yrs old when sold and her transom graphics looked new.

I'm going to experiment - here is my plan: get a sample of a quality (3M, MacTac, Every) vinyl dark blue color. If it closely matches - I'll buy a piece to cover one of the window eyebrows and have at it.

Any Ranger tuggers out there ever done or seen this done to Ranger hulls or similar vessels?
Would appreciate your comments. (yes a got a new paint job estimate --$5k+)
If interested, I'll keep you posted.
 
There's a reason that 99 percent of boats down south are some shade of white. Something Ranger might consider since they seem to have developed a significant following down there. The only thing I've ever seen anyone do to eliminate hull fading is finding a covered slip or painting the hull with Amron(?), Awlgrip, etc. But my information is dated. Haven't lived/boated in southern waters for 20+ years.

It is pretty common for people to have covers made to protect brightwork. Why not gelcoat? I say give it a try.
 
MissJill, I feel your pain. I have a 7 year old Blue Hull in RI and I also get about 3 months out of detailing the boat which I do by myself. I spend days detailing the boat from the top of the mast to the waterline, she looks like new when I finish and as soon as it hits the water it all starts to go downhill. My boat is subject to the elements year round, covered boat slips, indoor rack storage is not available in these parts.
I would be very interested in your experience with the vinyl wrap, keep us posted. It is being used on yachts so why not a tug? There are a lot of articles and videos of the process online.
I also would like to see a white hull Ranger Tug offered. I would not purchase a dark hull boat again, my arms and shoulders are wearing out. :cry:
 
Brian B":29msjmni said:
MissJill, I feel your pain. I have a 7 year old Blue Hull in RI and I also get about 3 months out of detailing the boat which I do by myself. I spend days detailing the boat from the top of the mast to the waterline, she looks like new when I finish and as soon as it hits the water it all starts to go downhill. My boat is subject to the elements year round, covered boat slips, indoor rack storage is not available in these parts.
I would be very interested in your experience with the vinyl wrap, keep us posted. It is being used on yachts so why not a tug? There are a lot of articles and videos of the process online.
I also would like to see a white hull Ranger Tug offered. I would not purchase a dark hull boat again, my arms and shoulders are wearing out. :cry:
Click to expand...

THX for the encouragement - have ordered some dark blue vinyl samples to match up the hull. Will attempt a wrap on the smallest window eyebrow -- keep you posted.

MissJilly
 
Will you be removing the rails to do the job? Seems like getting those rails off can be a chore. Perhaps doing the front brow from the Navlights around would be easier for the test.
 
Sorry for the long delay - WX too hot and steamy here in NC to apply wrap. Will wait 'till fall.
My plan is NOT to disassemble the rails but to work around them (cheaper experiment) - your suggestion to start with the front eye brow is valid though.
For now we have cleaned and wiped down the hull and eyebrows with a light coating of Baby Oil - amazing how this looks - blue gets significantly darker abiet not as glossy as compounding and wax. We (wifey and I) have to re-apply every two weeks but only takes one hr and costs 10 cents in baby oil, if that. They call this method 'the boat dealer's wax job!

Would be interested if anyone else has tried this??
 
johnniethek":urjtil9c said:
Here is an Q and A about vinyl wrapping. It appears to be a fast-growing trend in the boat-maintenance field and costs about one-half of getting your boat painted:
http://www.wrapboats.ca/faqs

Here also is a story about this in Northwest Yachting:
http://www.nwyachting.com/articles/ask- ... -wrapping/
Click to expand...

This must be a real hot topic. There's quite an article in the September edition of Pacific Yachting that just came out. It describes lots of the positives and negatives as well as gives an idea of what are realistic expectations. We keep our R 25 SC in a boathouse and it's quite tight for overall length so the bow area rubs up against the bumper material when there is movement from wind or passing boats. When I pulled the boat a month or so ago I applied 1' x 2' strips of clear film on each side of the bow area to avoid having a bad case of "fender rash". It will be interesting to see how that stands up but if I have to replace it every couple of years I think it will be worthwhile.
 
Why can't this application be sprayed on rather than shrink wrapping a film onto the boat's surface? Surely the film starts of in life as a liquid any rate.
 
I want to follow this thread!
Sounds great. I always wanted a blue boat.... then I bought one.
(Still love them.)
 
baz":2f8ht2cc said:
Why can't this application be sprayed on rather than shrink wrapping a film onto the boat's surface? Surely the film starts of in life as a liquid any rate.
Click to expand...

That's called paint. 😀 The painting process with awlgrip etc. is rather expensive. This process is about half the price. I see advantages to both.
 
Miss Jill, I'm interested to hear how the wrapping experience worked out.
 
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