To Stripe, or Not To Stripe? That Is The Question.

[MrSteve007]

Well, she's up and out of the water for some slight refitting and maintenance. My factory vinyl stripes were starting to look a little faded and torn, so I'm taking them off.

My question to the forum: should I keep them off, or do you think Hunters look better with the hull stripes?

 

[Mikem]

You risk the possibility of differential color where the stripe covered the gel coat. Of lesser concern is stripe residue remaining after removal. A heat gun typically works well for removal...patience and don't go too fast. I have seen a late model 35.5 with all Hunter insignia removed and it reminds me of a shaved cat...not much curb appeal. In that vein a friend of mine told me that life is too short to sail an ugly boat.

 

[Stretch]

a shaved cat, that was laugh of the day for me...

my sincere vote, keep the factory stripes and add a thin line under your boat name, to balance the line above it.

 

[kjretlaw]

Great timing
I also have a 326 and was wondering what she'd look like without the stripes. Now that I've seen it I'm ordering the replacements today.

It really does look like a shaved cat without them LOL, but to each their own.

 

[Dave Groshong]

We're now offering a full line up of striping:

http://shop.hunterowners.com/stripe/stripe.php

 

[jtm]

I am half way thru the process of redoing the stripes on my 28.5- and I find that without the toerail stripes, one tends to lose the length dimension of the boat. On the cabintop it becomes very bland and you don't sense the curvature and length of the forward cabin etc. especially if you don't have a teaky browline going forward above the side ports. Think of it as lipstick/makeup for boats.

 

[McZube]

Come on, it can't be this bad.

Anyway, I'm ditching the stripes on my much older Hunter if it's the only thing I accomplish this year. I've found that a heat gun and Gorilla Tape can remove almost any adhesive. I think some serious compounding and polishing should even out the color and sheen of the gelcoat.

 

[Dalliance]

To much of a good thing

I'm all for stripes when they compliment the lines of the boat. But you can over do it. When I bought Dalliance, she had stripes in five colors, three layers deep in some places! Felt like I pulled a quarter mile of vinyl tape off that boat. I favor tasteful understatement.

 

[MrSteve007]

Well, now that the refit is done, I decided to leave the strips off. I may change my mind in the future and put them back on - but for now, I'm keep'n it clean.

 

[Mikem]

Well she does look nice. Hope to see you around the sound.

 

[tomgrigsby]

She looks great. Good choice!

 

[Dalliance]

Much better.