Affixing boat name decal on Cat 30

Bad Obsession · Feb 20, 2012

Take a look at the display on my boat.

Remember that if it is a documented boat the coast guard tells you the size of the lettering that you can use. They also say it should be on the back of the boat.

Bad Obsession · Feb 20, 2012

The name of my boat is pretty long.....Spirit of Liberty. My hailing port is Colonial Beach, VA. If it fits on my boat then your name and port should fit on yours!

LuzSD · Feb 20, 2012

Everyone I know has done it while in the water and it depends on your slip configuration how easy that is. We had ours done but I don't think it is that big a deal. I also don't know why you could not do it on the trailer......seems like that would be the easiest of all......but I don't know trailers.

Regarding where you put your name, I will respond from my own opinion and experiences with that.... I like to figure out who a boat is from a distance.... it is impossible when the name is on the stern. Yet, once you know a boat, the actual lacking of a name on the sides give an indication of who the boat is... Most boats that are in our area/s have names on the sides and I really like that. When we are racing I can tell the skipper that 'Hooligan' is about to cross our bow rather than guessing and ending up with "that Catalina with the yellowing main" ... you get the idea.

Our name on our C30 is about 10-12 inches from the stern. Our friends 39 is at least 2 1/2 feet from the stern. I think that seems pretty standard. Hope that helps!

Team118 · Feb 20, 2012

I would think you could change the name in the water or on the hard.

I did mine while she was hauled out. I included pictures of the boat with previous owner's name and what i did. The last picture was in 2010 after hauling out, the ladder has been reintalled and when it is up, you can read the name fine. You can also see that someone ran into the stern of the boat and ruined the city and but a dent in the stern.

I replaced the first three letters of the city while the boat was in the water...after sanding the scratches out.

Not an expert job, but I really love maroon and I like the look of a colored stern. Obviouly, you couldn't do sanding or painting while the boat is in the water, but putting a decal on is surpisingly easy. I got mine from Boat US and the 'dry' technology was slick, just tape up...undo one side and squeegie on and then do the other side.

Boom, bam..done!

Good luck
Chris

LuzSD · Feb 20, 2012

Team118 said:
I would think you could change the name in the water or on the hard.

I did mine while she was hauled out. I included pictures of the boat with previous owner's name and what i did. The last picture was in 2010 after hauling out, the ladder has been reintalled and when it is up, you can read the name fine. You can also see that someone ran into the stern of the boat and ruined the city and but a dent in the stern.

I replaced the first three letters of the city while the boat was in the water...after sanding the scratches out.

Not an expert job, but I really love maroon and I like the look of a colored stern. Obviouly, you couldn't do sanding or painting while the boat is in the water, but putting a decal on is surpisingly easy. I got mine from Boat US and the 'dry' technology was slick, just tape up...undo one side and squeegie on and then do the other side.

Boom, bam..done!

Good luck
Chris

Love your maroon stern, really nice. That is the kind of difference that makes a boat so easy to recognize.

LuzSD · Feb 20, 2012

we are documented and have the hailing port on the stern and the name on the sides.

DanM · Feb 21, 2012

This statement below comes from the USCG National Vessel Documentation Center's web site. My boat was marked incorrectly for at least 8 years that I know but I was never questioned about it by the USCG. (Name and hailing port were not marked "together", nor was the hailing port in 4" letters).

I now have it marked correctly on the stern "together" and I did it with the boat in the water at my slip. Had the vinyl letters made up by a local guy with a print shop for about $25.00 and I'm pretty happy with it.

If you look around our marina you see most vessels marked incorrectly though, it doesn't seem like a big focus item for the USCG.

The name and hailing port of a recreational vessel must be marked together on some clearly visible exterior part of the hull. The vessel name of a commercial vessel must also be marked on the port and starboard bow and the vessel name and the hailing port must also be marked on the stern. All markings may be made by any means and materials that result in durable markings and must be at least four inches in height, made in clearly legible letters of the Latin alphabet or Arabic or Roman numerals. The "hailing port" must include both a place and a State, Territory, or possession of in the United States. The state may be abbreviated.

LuzSD · Feb 21, 2012

I don't think that you need to worry about this very much. I think what Dan was quoting said "commercial vessels' need to have name on sides in addition to name on stern with hailing. I would not put name on both sides And name and hailing on stern, that would definitely be overkill. Deal with it if ever you are questioned, because I know NO ONE who's ever been stopped regarding this. BTW, while we were doing our name change there was at least a month if not more where we had one name on the port and starboard and another name on the stern with the hailing............... in SD and we never even drew a second glance from anyone, much less the CG.

DanM · Feb 21, 2012

No, I specifically left out the commercial portion, what I quoted was for "recreational vessels". That being said, from what I can see in my own area, most documented "recreational vessels" are marked incorrectly, but I don't know anyone who has ever been questioned by the USCG about it.

When I renamed my boat I made sure to follow the language that is on the USCG Vessel Documentation website, but mostly that is just because of my CDO personality (which is sort of like OCD but in alphabetical order the way it should be!).

For a recreational vessel the name and hailing port should be "marked together on some clearly visible exterior part of the hull" to be in compliance with the USCG but I'd be surprised if you were cited for doing it differently. For at least eight years I had the old name on the sides of my hull and the hailing port on the stern and was never questioned about it.

DanM.

Johnnie Walker Black · Feb 21, 2012

Do you have a "documented" vessel? Maybe you should look that one up. Most recreational sailboats are neither commercial nor documented. I think we have some confusion in terms here.
Put your name where you want it. Stay out of international waters.
T

LuzSD · Feb 21, 2012

longterm said:
Why not? It seems like one would want the name on both sides rather than just one... or are you saying you'd put the name only on the stern?

My current plan is: name on both sides, about 2' from the stern, and home port on the stern...

Bob

Longterm, my full sentence was that I would not put you boat name on both port and starboard AND boat name
And hailing port on the stern.

Bad Obsession · Feb 21, 2012

Most sailboats aren't documented????????

I disagree. Yes, they aren't commercial, but a good majority of us have documented vessels through the Coast Guard. This is better than registering the boat.

Johnnie Walker Black · Feb 22, 2012

Wrong again. The vast majority are registered and not documented. It's not better and doesn't make sense for most recreational boaters. Check your facts with the Coast Guard.

Bad Obsession · Feb 22, 2012

I disagree. Sure if you throw in the thousands of sunfish, lazers, and small sailboats (25 feet and under) you will find most are registered with the state. When you are talking about 30 feet + most are documented.

Documentation is better in my area because it saves you the constant fees for state registration.

Affixing boat name decal on Cat 30

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