Pass...

[Stacey K]

A guy came in and told me he bought a new big boat with a nice big swim deck. He asked if I could letter it in the water when he gets it as he's driving it from a few hours away to a dock about 30 minutes from me. After 2 months of asking for a picture and going back and forth with this guy about it he sends me this. The first pic is what I was expecting...the second pic is the boat itself. I passed and suggested he find an installer closer to here it's parked on land.

 

[Gino]

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[unclebun]

We letter boats like that on the water all the time. That's actually a pretty good sized platform. We've even done a houseboat that we put a 2x6 across the outdrives with clamps and did it standing on it in the water because it had no platform.

 

[Johnny Best]

Of course unclebun is 4'6" and use to box in the flyweight division.

 

[Kottwitz-Graphics]

that's not too bad. I'd do it, and up charge for being in the water...

I just had to do a sail boat in the water, from a dingy... that truly sucked...

 

[GAC05]

I would have taken the job for a chance to meet Gilligan and Mary Ann...

 

[Stacey K]

I've done a few jobs where I climb around like a monkey but this looks like it will need some serious cleaning and I'm not so sure I want to do that

that's not too bad. I'd do it, and up charge for being in the water...

I just had to do a sail boat in the water, from a dingy... that truly sucked...

So, what your saying is I should put my shorts on, take my shoes off and kneel on the swimdeck to apply? He just emailed me that he's getting a new paint job so the surface should be good except for removing the wax. I'm a little worried about falling in the water if it's wavy...or don't these larger boats rock around as much as smaller ones? I'm used to 18' boats on small lakes where they pull them close to shore and I just stand in the water to letter them.

 

[Gino]

Ahhh....... they don't paint those things in the water, do they ?? When its in the shop getting painted, why don't you go before it goes back in the water ??

 

[rjssigns]

I've done those before and like Kottwitz have lettered from a dinghy. Also put registration numbers on hanging over the side with my feet grabbing the rails. I always bring dry clothes just in case.
Worst is when you have high wind which causes big waves. Big fun battling both while trying to install a five foot transom name.

 

[Stacey K]

Ahhh....... they don't paint those things in the water, do they ?? When its in the shop getting painted, why don't you go before it goes back in the water ??

I would but the shop is a 2 hour drive from my shop. 4 hours of travel time takes too much away from my other jobs.

 

[JR's]

Gino, is absolutely right.
They are going to be painting it inside. A fresh paint job will not have wax on the hull.

I recommend calling the place where it is having the paint done and asked if you could letter the boat there.
Ask if there's any kind of fee or profit sharing shenanigans that you have to join or pay.

I find the biggest mistake most people make when lettering boats is they don't charge enough.
There is a lot of little things that take up time. Layout time, waiting for the boat to be ready, finding said boat,
making sure it is the right boat. And so on and so on.

Make sure to use high-performance cast vinyl. They are exposed to the sun 24 seven and the reflection from the water. So they get abused quite a bit.

And if it's going to be in a marina, you need insurance most likely and they might have their own profit-sharing
shenanigan club that you have to pay into.


One job I did in a marina had a profit-sharing for a year was $1200. I was only going to letter one boat there because of the distance. I had all the information on the slip. My price and all information for the profit-sharing club $1200 price in black-and-white. That was exciting LOL

good luck and if it's outside bring your sunscreen and kneepads your skin and knees will thank you later on in life.

 

[JR's]

I would but the shop is a 2 hour drive from my shop. 4 hours of travel time takes too much away from my other jobs.

you just have to charge for that time. It's that simple.

 

[Stacey K]

Now you're talking me into it LOL. My original quote did not include getting wet, which I have no problem with and new paint and clean means not as much elbow grease. I'll have to recalculate and send a new quote. Makes more sense to do it at the paint shop, would definitely have to add some extra "find the boat time". It's not that big of a job - black lettering of to the side (he originally wanted fake gold leaf across the entire back until he saw the price).

 

[unclebun]

I guess living and working on a large lake we have a different view of what is and isn't possible on a boat. Big boats do not bounce around like small boats. And if the waves in the dock are high, it's likely the winds are so strong that the vinyl will be ripped out of your hands by the wind. To do a name like the one in your picture, you will be on the boat less than 10 minutes. 15 if you work slowly. And I don't think that platform is as small as what everyone seems to believe.

 

[Gino]

Unless your prices are crazy high, a guy who has this boat, getting it re-painted and hasta have his name on it........ can definitely afford a gold leaf vinyl job,

Not so long ago, we did a life preserver for a boat and the boat name in gold leaf with black outline for about $1,100. We only installed on the preserver. He took the name along with him as it was about a 5.5 hour drive one way. He said, he'd take us out on the boat Saturday night, until he found out how much our time was really worth. That was gonna be my wife and myself on a little getaway, but I ain't doing that sh!t for free. Besides, the weekend he wanted to go, ended up raining, anyway.

 

[Category5]

We used to make a killing at the shop where I had my first job in the sign industry by being the only shop in town that would do installs on boats that were in the water. We even had a small aluminum john boat that belonged to the company for working on the sides of boats. I used to enjoy getting out of the shop for a couple of hours to do those.

 

[TimToad]

Now you're talking me into it LOL. My original quote did not include getting wet, which I have no problem with and new paint and clean means not as much elbow grease. I'll have to recalculate and send a new quote. Makes more sense to do it at the paint shop, would definitely have to add some extra "find the boat time". It's not that big of a job - black lettering of to the side (he originally wanted fake gold leaf across the entire back until he saw the price).

How bad do you need the work?

It seems like you've been talking yourself in and out of taking this project since the first post. If your business can't handle you being away for the time it takes to drive there and do it, or you don't feel completely confident about the installation challenges, walk away. If the work type seems too far out of your comfort zone, do yourself and the client a favor and don't fake it just for the money.

For us, this would be viewed as a nice way to get OUT of the shop for part of a day, impress a client and possibly gain other work from it. Who knows, the marina and repair shop might be in desperate need of a good, solid, professional sign and graphics person to steer future business to.

Customers can't have everything fall in their favor. It's far away, has some install challenges, etc. but he came to you for some reason. You can either fulfill his choice of coming to you by being prepared and flexible enough to handle whatever conditions he throws at you for a fair cost, or walk away and let him find someone else.