Thinking about setting up at a marina next summer...

[TheSnowman]

I've often had this thought go through my head of going to our local marina on a holiday weekend, or sometime that's crazy busy down there, just for two days, seeing if it's worth my time with the local boating community, and then returning back to normal life the next Monday.

I have a guy that's done design around town for years and his stuff is good, and he's willing to come design for me, that way all I'd have to do is focus on production and maybe installation.

Has anyone ever done this? I've got the trailers, equipment, etc that I would need to pull it off, it'd just be a matter of is it worth it to move all that stuff over there, or get new smaller versions of that stuff to give it a whirl?

I feel like these boat people dropping $300-400 in fuel in two days wouldn't give a second thought to putting a 4ft decal on their boat and paying $300 for it to be done right thereon the spot. Then, we do the work, swipe the credit card, and we're out of there, none of that work would carry over when going back to the shop.

I'm still in the initial thought process of this, but have been friends with the owner of the marina my whole life, and I feel like I'm in a position now where I could try it and not be out a ton if it didn't work out. The biggest question is, how risky is it going to be to move my HP Latex 310 there and back, and then figuring out the power side of it, which may not be feasible in the end anyway.

Main question I guess is all the logistics aside, has anyone done this and had crazy sales that made it worth dealing with these kinds of people.

 

[OldPaint]

doing the PRINTER ON LOCATION...... is 1 hurdle. applying vinyl in a HIGH HUMIDITY environment is #2. access to the boats your gona letter.....are they in the water/out.......last time i went to a marina to letter a boat.....they wouldnt even let me in the boat storage area until i gave them proof of my insurance!!!! it was a good monney maker for the 80-90's when i lived in sarasota....and PAINT was done mostly. the couple i did with vinyl.....the high humidity made it damn near impossible to get it to stick well. this is paint.........

 

[sagesign]

Are you planning on installing with the boat in the water? Be prepared to jump in and try to find whatever you just dropped, because it will happen.

Every boater I deal with, which I basically try not to, will want to see 10 different designs.

Are going to get the okay on design, payment, and then have them come back in an hour or so when everything is ready? I can see them wanting you to come to their place when they are done with their day of fun and install there.

I just don't see it worth the aggravation, but I do agree that there probably is money to be made.

 

[TheSnowman]

Yeah, that's what I'm trying to decide...do I want to deal with these guys, not really...but if they can pay for a new toy or something that's fun on the back side, I'm willing to do it.

I would assume most of these boats will be in the water, yes, so losing tools, hitting a moving target, etc, all comes into play...also why I'd charge big bucks.

The design aspect, yeah, that would be an ugly part of this beast, but they would indeed sign off on it, then I'd just have to get a cell number or something to get in contact with them when it's done, or when it's time to install it.

Like I said, just kicking it around. I've got the air conditioned trailers and stuff to do it, it's just a matter of is it worth it.

 

[Billct2]

I think it's worth a shot. Since you have all the necessary equipment already and a boatyard connection, the worst that can happen is waste a weekend hanging out in the boatyard.
I kiss the days when every spring I would spends many days in the local yards lettering transoms. It usually started with one job, and as word got around you'd end up with many more.
And you're right, boat owners would spend money on their baby that they would quibble about on their business.
But I think you may find times have changed and most get their stuff online, so the value has gone.

 

[d fleming]

Did a large boat at a marina once. Huge graphics down both sides and transom. Had to have a portable dry dock to get it out of water to letter. Was there almost 6 months, every weekend. Once I started everyone wanted something done. The guy I rented the dry dock from loved me. Did not take any plotter, etc, just app tools. Did design work at shop and emailed proofs during the week.

 

[T_K]

I'm not sure I'd take a printer down there. Seems like too much trouble, unless I was really trying to get into the boat graphics industry. Sounds like you're looking at more of the festival type idea rather than a long-term idea.
But I think it might be worth it to take a plotter and some colored vinyl down there and see what I could do with it.

Personally, I'd say anything graphic intensive would be better done getting contact info and starting the design process through the normal channels. I'd rather produce in my shop and transport it back another day to the docks instead of hauling all my equipment down there.

Great idea if you can pull it off, especially considering your connection down at the docks. Good luck.

 

[TheSnowman]

Yeah, maybe just cutting stuff is the way to go...I don't know. The printer is a big deal, but you could crank out any color and not have to carry any other vinyl other than a roll of you're favorite printable vinyl, and a roll of laminate. I'm not really thinking of doing anything massive, probably 4ft wide to keep it easy on the printer and work area in the trailer. I don't know, maybe I'm thinking too big for what it is. I've done some festival stuff in the past and I love just being miserable for like two days, and cranking out a ton of production and then just walking away from it and having cash in hand, not having to worry about collecting money, invoicing, or catching up on work, cause it's all been done.

 

[paul luszcz]

Our shop is in a marina and we do quite a few boats each season.

You are correct that putting the same lettering on a boat is more profitable than putting it on a truck, but it's a very specialized business.

I see a huge number of flaws in your proposal, starting with the fact that you see boat owners as a pain. We see them as interesting, financially successful people. We love the atmosphere of the marina and like nothing more than spending a few hours on the docks, knowing we're getting paid to be there.

We also see the work as providing a service. Boat owners want what they want when they want/need it. And they're particularly fussy about design. It's fun to design for boats because there's no business need to be met. The owner has to like it, it has to look good and fit within whatever budget the customer decides, nothing more.

We've never been able to change when a boat owner is going to letter their boat with promotional activity. If someone has, we'd love to know how. Boats are lettered when they are repaired, repainted, purchased, sold, etc.

The only good part of your plan is that depending on where you are, there is a season for lettering boats. Here in New England, we do 75% of our boat lettering in May and the rest between Memorial Day and Halloween. So if you have a "May" in your neck of the woods and you set up for three weekends then, you could make this work.

But I think you'd do much better by doing the work properly. Take a deposit, do the design return to your shop to produce the graphics and come back to install them would be more effective than "doing it all today".

These people love their boats. If you don't also, why should they give you $300 for lettering they can buy online for $40?

 

[visual800]

I wouldnt waste my time on this, be the same as going to a racetrack

 

[CanuckSigns]

I can see the appeal of doing production on site, it creates an impulse buy for the boat owner, but I can see some owners wasting hours of your time picking just the right font, colour etc.

 

[Speedsterbeast]

I've owned a sailboat for 15 years and know the boating community very well. So I do a LOT of boats. It's a love hate thing. If you are doing names on transom only, then only wind is you big enemy, as well as dropping tools in the water constantly. If you want to do any striping or graphics in the water forget it. I refuse to do it now. You have to contend with wind, dock lines, fenders, always an audience, and a rolling and pitching substrate, even on a calm day you'll get boat traffic making waves. But I do feel like Jimmy Buffet when I get paid with cash and a cold beer on hat day just to do my job.

 

[ChaseO]

I've lettered a lot of boats, and in my opinion it is a bad idea, at least around here. If guys see you whip out a design, print and stick in a matter of hours, they're going to think you're doing it to have fun and not want to pay what it's worth. What I like to do is take an order for a boat, and go letter it on location, on a friday. A small audience will gather, and when people ask, hand them a business card. I do feel like I'm good at what I do, so when people say I make it look easy, I just tell them that I've done it once or twice, because you will also have people think they can stick their own to save money.

Handing them a business card and putting the ball in their court to call you will weed out the tire-kickers and people that you don't want to do business with anyway. Also, don't forget to offer life rings and dock signs.

Boats can be frustrating, wind is a big issue, and I've had to lay down or lean over upside down to apply some graphics, so there is skill involved, charge accordingly. Some boats will be oxidized so bad it's impossible to get them clean, and other boats have really good wax that takes a long time to clean. I have also stood in a jon boat to letter transoms, so have a plan when you take a job and it is usually worth a trip to the boat dock to measure the boat and take a look at what's involved for yourself. Customer pictures and measurements rarely work out for me on a boat.

 

[kanini]

Good idea but I'd never start to think about moving a latex /large format printer with me, and wouldn't you need a laminator also?? I'd take a vinyl cutter and perhaps a t-shirt press/mug press for doing some nice "boat shirts" and/or "boat mugs" with the guys boats name on them, could perhaps be suitable to sell at a marina. If somebody needs printed decals you'd probably need to do that at the shop anyways, requiring more design work etc. Maybe, maybe a Roland BN-20 could come in handy but never a big latex.

 

[rjssigns]

Marina might not even want you to set foot on their property. Some already have their "go to guy" and that ain't you. Ran into this last year. Who's boat is it, we need to see the design and approve it, how long are you going to be on site, blah blah blah blah. I had to be escorted to and from the boat by the owner.