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OEM/Stock Boat Graphics

gnubler

Active Member
I'm getting more and more requests to replace damaged boat graphics. Some are far beyond my skill set to redesign from scratch and it makes more sense to buy OEM graphics already made for a particular make & model of boat. I'm looking for trade or wholesale suppliers, any tips?
 

ChaseO

Premium Subscriber
What I have found is most of the time a boat finds its way to my shop, the factory stuff is long since discontinued. I'm so busy, I usually tell them to try to find OEM if they are available.
 

gnubler

Active Member
The requests are coming from one of my customers (a boat storage business) who sub out the boat graphics they can't do. I've found plenty of aftermarket boat decals online, but they're all retail. Some of the requests I'm getting are for fairly elaborate graphics that have been scraped or gouged, the only fix is to replace them. Probably should just pass on those jobs, yes?
 

rjssigns

Active Member
The requests are coming from one of my customers (a boat storage business) who sub out the boat graphics they can't do. I've found plenty of aftermarket boat decals online, but they're all retail. Some of the requests I'm getting are for fairly elaborate graphics that have been scraped or gouged, the only fix is to replace them. Probably should just pass on those jobs, yes?

Don't pass on the job. Bid it right and do them. Boat yard is asking for your help which is the perfect opportunity to become their go to guy.

A few years ago I did a full graphic on an Alumacraft. After five years you can't get replacement graphics so I had to recreate a complete side.
Had fun doing it and I got paid well for my time. IIRC I charged about 400 bucks to get the layout and colors perfect. Print/lam/cut was about the same.
Freelance installer took it from there.
 

ChaseO

Premium Subscriber
I do agree, just don't sell yourself short. There can be a lot of time wrapped up in designing them. I usually ball park them on the high side and tell them that recreating is a time consuming project so that they can decide if its worth it to them.
 

Pewter0000

Graphic Design | Production
+1 for retail, honestly. We've had to re-make graphics, and sometimes they're a breeze... and sometimes they're not. Labour is always so expensive that I wouldn't want to do it if it were available online, unless we were quite slow.
 

gnubler

Active Member
Comments appreciated. Here's an example of one of the boats I was asked to bid on. I don't know if one or both sides are scratched, but it's enough that they want it replaced. And that's another thing - if one side ends up being redone, that probably means both sides with a new pair of decals so they're identical. On this one I already told my customer it would be too expensive to design from scratch, which is when I started looking online for stock graphics.
 

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Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
Getting questioned by the customer if they find the same graphic online somewhere for 50% less, and wonder why I was so much more expensive.
Who cares? If they want it cheaper then let them shop for it. You got time, money laid out and if you screw it up putting it on (or it's garbage) then you're eating it. That's not for nothing.
 

Notarealsignguy

Arial - it's almost helvetica
Comments appreciated. Here's an example of one of the boats I was asked to bid on. I don't know if one or both sides are scratched, but it's enough that they want it replaced. And that's another thing - if one side ends up being redone, that probably means both sides with a new pair of decals so they're identical. On this one I already told my customer it would be too expensive to design from scratch, which is when I started looking online for stock graphics.
There's a general rule most people follow: you can't see both sides at the same time
I'd bet those graphics are expensive to buy from the dealer and being a typical boat owner, they are trying to take the cheap way out. No way would I try to reproduce that unless I was confident that I'd be selling them on a regular basis.
 

Stacey K

I like making signs
Comments appreciated. Here's an example of one of the boats I was asked to bid on. I don't know if one or both sides are scratched, but it's enough that they want it replaced. And that's another thing - if one side ends up being redone, that probably means both sides with a new pair of decals so they're identical. On this one I already told my customer it would be too expensive to design from scratch, which is when I started looking online for stock graphics.
Obviously the black is easy to replicate but the fill looks more difficult. Sometimes I make a quick attempt at duplicating things before throwing out an estimate. You could spend 15 minutes and see how close you can get, that might give you an idea how long it will take. +1 for retail. If this was a guy off the street, I would pass. But since you could get a great deal of business from this, it might be worth the attempt.
 

unclebun

Active Member
We do a lot of boat work, since we are on a big lake. Printed graphics like that are impossible to match perfectly. However they are easy to mirror once you have drawn something. Therefore, we always quote jobs like that as doing both sides. I also tell customers that it will not match the factory graphic unless it's just solid color vinyl cut into shapes, and even then the color won't match because of sun fade.

When making the quote, you have to factor in going to the boat to photograph and measure the graphic for yourself. The marina never photographs the boat from a 90 degree angle to the side of the boat, and their idea of measuring is to have someone holding a tape measure in the photo. Sometimes the only way you can accurately replicate the shape is by making a paper tracing of the graphic because it's mounted on a curved surface. All of that is time consuming.

Then you have to add in the time to size the image in the computer, draw the shape and try to figure out what arcane combination of effects were used in Photoshop to create the printed fill, realizing that usually these are not printed digitally and they therefore can do things like screenprint metallic colors across part of the graphic, which you cannot do.

After that you figure up the cost of producing the graphic, taking into account that you often will have to do long cuts of your printed image and have tracking errors which require a reprint/laminate/cut.

And then you have to figure travel time to the boatyard and installation outdoors in the wind and sudden rain showers, or indoor installation in their cramped shop, or in their detailing bay with a crew right next to you power washing a boat, making the dirty concrete floor soaking wet. Or the customer who wants you to install the 20' long graphic with the boat on a lift in the water and a dock pole every 8 feet in the way, and the bow of the boat arcing away from the sides of the slip.

You would be surprised how much the factory graphic costs from the factory. The ones for wakeboard boats, which aren't as big as the ones on performance boats, are often well over a thousand dollars just for the graphic. But when you try to reproduce one, you will understand why they cost so much. And when you try to install one, you will see why the marina wants to hire you to screw up their $1200 graphic (and you have to replace it on your dime if you do screw it up).

After you make a proper quote, you will separate the people who really want their boat fixed from the chaff. Remember how much auto body people charge for restoration.
 

gnubler

Active Member
Unclebun, that's exactly why I'm not even going to bother trying to reproduce graphics like this - not even worth the time. My background is in graphic design and I know what's involved, and simply can't dedicate the time.

For anyone who's bought stock boat graphics online, any companies you can recommend? Preferably a place that really specializes in boat graphics and will tell me what materials they use (marine grade vinyl).
 
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