Wrapping - the process not the music

[boating rich]

Hi Folks. Does anyone have experience with wraps above the waterline? I have seen people doing go fast boats which are trailered, but can’t find any good or bad results with larger boats that live in the water. I have one car wrapped which lives outside and the results have been great. I was thinking of wrapping my transom to add some color. Thanks

 

[BruceK]

Check this thread: http://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s23/halvorsen-57-new-hull-colour-color-42206.html#post727052.
There was a previous one involving Pau Hana. Both boats live in the water.

 

[wkearney99]

Sure, much like any other vinyl graphic signage, a wrap could work. As always the key is finding the right folks to apply it. The downside, of course, is wear as wrap tends to be a bit more fragile than gelcoat. And anything considerably darker than the underlying gelcoat would show-through any scratches/knicks in a more obvious way.

 

[Lou_tribal]

Hi Folks. Does anyone have experience with wraps above the waterline? I have seen people doing go fast boats which are trailered, but can’t find any good or bad results with larger boats that live in the water. I have one car wrapped which lives outside and the results have been great. I was thinking of wrapping my transom to add some color. Thanks

My dock neighbor did this on his cruiser, wrap in black. If he did not tell me I would never have thought about wrap, looks very nice.
HOWEVER, seems more fragile to scratch than paint.

L

 

[Commander Nomad]

I have an 18' center console wrapped (above waterline only) and have seriously looked into wrapping our big boat (full time liveaboard cruising boat).

It depends on your usage. A boat that anchors out 90% of the time, a wrap is well worth it. If you are going to be in marinas where dock/fenders/boat are making contact a lot, the wrap likely won't last very long.

Recently we've been in marinas with fixed docks, pilings outside the finger piers. So we've been using 2 fenders and a fender board (2 sets) to tie up- T head or lay along. Having seen how hard we push against the dock when the wind or tide is wrong, a wrap absolutely would not last.

However, if you have a protected marina with floating docks and you can tie up 4 directions and keep the boat from rubbing, a wrap should last several (3-8) years in that environment.

They don't weather much on their own, it comes down to how much physical abuse they are subjected to.

 

[tiltrider1]

Pua Hana had his boat wrapped by Prizim Graphics out of Seattle. Brad is the owner of Prizim Graphics and can explain all the pros and cons. I’ve talked to Brad about doing myboat after seeing how good Pua Hana’s boat came out. I was concerned about repair ability but that turned out to be a real non issue. What concerns me is the longevity of the wrap. I believe at the time Brad was only giving it a 7 year life before it would need rewrapping.

Hopefully Pua Hana will pop up and give us an update on his wrap.

 

[boating rich]

Seems like an interesting option. I searched YouTube once again and found the normal ton of fishing boats, but found one with a wrap below the waterline which they say is a five year antifouling wrap. Wow..that would be a game changer with the thin antifoaling paint options we have. https://youtu.be/Zg7ErNbmgJg