80's Trojan decals

captainmaniac · Post by **captainmaniac** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 4:51 pm

Another option - if you go to a boat show, craft show, car show, or fair you often see guys who will make custom signs that people normally put up at their house or cottage... essentially using 1 or more boards and a router to carve the name in it. Often they then use a black stain within the routed lettering, and then coat the whole thing in a varathane.

You could get something along those lines made, or if you are handy enough with a router you could make your own for the price of a nice piece of wood, 4 lag bolts (+nuts&washers, all in SS of course) - one for each corner, and something to serve as spacers on each bolt to account for the curvature of the transom.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 5:09 pm

Lag bolts ????

captainmaniac · Post by **captainmaniac** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 5:11 pm

prowlersfish wrote:Lag bolts ????

Correction - carriage bolts ....

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 5:13 pm

thats better

gettaway · Post by **gettaway** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 10:39 pm

west marine will make the vinyl lettering, but there are hundreds (thousands) that will custom make them for you.
I had mine made at a local sign shop, he uses 3M laminated vinyl, and the cool thing about this product is:
if you look really close to the adhesive side of the the vinyl, it has a tiny checker board grooved pattern to it in the adhesive, why you ask?
well, as you apply it to the smooth surface it will allow air bubbles to escape as you squeegee it on, and will allow you to remove any air bubbles after you apply it (for about 10 minute or so) before the adhesive and checker board grooves meld as you work it onto the surface.
Plus it have a clear UV protective "laminating " layer over the cover,

best part $45.00 including hailing port

As the sign guy told me, it is the best invention for sign makers ever invented because he almost never has a redo.
I did my own and it came out perfect, I dont think it would without the air escape feature, even if I used windex

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 10:51 pm

That's cheap , what size letters ? How many letters in the name ?

gettaway · Post by **gettaway** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 11:23 pm

Paul,
it was a good price, I do a fair amount of printing with him for work so he may have cut me a deal, but I googled "boat lettering" and few of the online printer were in the ball park.

4 letters in the name 10" tall and shadowed- Navy Blue /Navy gray
plus 10 letters 4" tall for hailing port and state - navy blue

I did not know about the 3M product until I picked up the lettering and they explained it to me, and I would recommend to anyone that if you plan to do it your self and you are not a professional name putter onner, use this type of vinyl, it took about 45 minutes to measure, tape in place, go to the next dock and look to see if it was in the right place , go back move it etc etc etc, and about 10 minute to apply.

The sign guy showed me how to tape (blue painters tape) the decal in place and then make a tape "hinge" on one end, and use tape to mark aligning lines, it was pretty slick and pretty easy. using the tape hinge, I peeled the backing off of the decal one letter at a time and appllied each letter working from left to right while keeping the decal together as one piece, but only applied only one letter at a time, this kept the adhesive backs from sticking together and screwing up the whole thing.

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 11:37 pm

I have put letters on the last 4 boats I have had myself . And I Never had a calm day to do it. always blowing a gail

. but got it done. When I decide to put the name on the bow , I let the letter guy do it due to the curves glad I did as he had to redo it. I like that 3m stuff sounds like the ticket. I should have put the name on the bow long time before as it has commercial documentation and by law name needs to be on Stern and on the both sides of the bow

gettaway · Post by **gettaway** » Tue Dec 28, 2010 11:51 pm

charter it?

JGedridge · Post by **JGedridge** » Wed Dec 29, 2010 6:35 am

Thanks for the info guys!

Its not the Trojan insignias from the 70's. My boat is an 85, and it doesn't have that huge stripe on the back. It has the 2 small stripes that go on either side of the side windows.

The Trojan emblem is the font of the international series. I've been everywhere looking for those, but can't

I might call the Carver dealer becuase our Carver dealer was a Trojan dealer when Carver and Trojan were built by the same people.

Joe

prowlersfish · Post by **prowlersfish** » Wed Dec 29, 2010 6:58 am

Good luck with carver , A carver owner just told yesterday that carver wont even help a carver owner .

Take a photo and have it made any good letter guy can do it.

alexander38 · Post by **alexander38** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 5:48 am

The Carver was me. If you help from them I'll be shocked. You'll most likely have to have some decals made.

rossjo · Post by **rossjo** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 9:07 am

Just go to your local sign shop. They're all in need of business and will do custom vinyl "decals" very affordably.

I've had all sorts of things made, including a complete set for our biz boat ($300 installed, 2-sides with shadows).

JGedridge · Post by **JGedridge** » Thu Dec 30, 2010 7:15 pm

I will go there to get the boat name made anyway. I will check and see if they could design it. Thank you guys for your help!

Joe

MTP · Post by **MTP** » Fri Dec 31, 2010 2:34 pm

prowlersfish wrote:Seen it on trawlers looks ok , also done painted/ decal letters on wood plague looks good too

I had a decal made for my boat and put it on the stern

Word of advice on naming a boat ,Don't ask for advice ! ( on pickling a name) The answers are never pretty , funny some times , but not nice most times

ie. Mushroom