Boat name-dink bottom

[meridian]

I carry my RIB on weaver davits which blocks the name on the stern. I want to put it on the bottom of the dink and don't know which would work better, paint or vinyl letters with a clear epoxy coating.

 

[Rusty]

I used vinyl letters. Took about 30 minutes to install after I removed the old lettering, cleaned, and polished the bottom of the inflatable. I've seen no indication of wear in the two years since I installed them.

I had the lettering made by Prism Graphics in Seattle so it was just two strips that needed to be applied. Not individual letters (which I would never have been able to get right).

The previous lettering had been on the boat for about six years. There was nothing wrong with them either. Just needed to change the boat name and home port.

 

[psneeld]

I carry my RIB on weaver davits which blocks the name on the stern. I want to put it on the bottom of the dink and don't know which would work better, paint or vinyl letters with a clear epoxy coating.

If you think you are gonna scratch them off from beaching the dingy or just plain hitting things/fast running...make a board or cloth to hang over or as some have...relocate a second name to a board affixed to an uppedeck.

 

[Steve]

Here is one on the flybridge railing.

 

[motion30]

I used vinyl to and they are holding up well for 1 year

 

[Moonstruck]

Vinyl letters. No problem.

 

[markpierce]

One can place the boat's name and hailing port on the side of a recreational vessel. Placing that information on a dinghy obscuring the hull-placed name/port doesn't meet USCG requirements for a documented vessel.

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/nvdc/nvdcfaq.asp#15

 

[Rambler]

One can place the boat's name and hailing port on the side of a recreational vessel. Placing that information on a dinghy obscuring the hull-placed name/port doesn't meet USCG requirements for a documented vessel.

USCG National Vessel Documentation Center, FAQ Page

I think the intent isn;t to replace the name on the boat itself, but to allow it to be visible from the rear when a dingy is in the davits that would otherwise obscure the name on the boat itself.

Like Moonstruck, still on the boat, but on the dingy bottom too.

 

[mahal]

One can place the boat's name and hailing port on the side of a recreational vessel. Placing that information on a dinghy obscuring the hull-placed name/port doesn't meet USCG requirements for a documented vessel.

USCG National Vessel Documentation Center, FAQ Page

Rusty and Moonstruck and all others with a similar set-up, you are in violation so get ready for a spanking.

 

[Moonstruck]

Rusty and Moonstruck and all others with a similar set-up, you are in violation so get ready for a spanking.

Oh, goody!!

 

[Marin]

We have the name and hailing port on the bottom of our Livingston (they are also on nameboards on the transom but the dingy obscures them). We applied the vinyl lettering (custom made) about 13 years ago and other than a couple of scratches the lettering is holding up just fine. The bottom of the dinghy faces the prevailing weather year round.

 

[Rusty]

Rusty and Moonstruck and all others with a similar set-up, you are in violation so get ready for a spanking.

Based on the number of boats I see set up this way, there is going to be a whole lot of spankin' going on.

 

[skipperdude]

The bottom Great place for it.

I have heard that thieves check out dink names at the dink dock

They think that if the name is on the dink and the dink is at the dock the mother ship is empty.

SD

 

[Capn Chuck]

We have the Weaver Davits. We tried the vinyl letters on the bottom and they came off. It looks like you have a similar flybridge deck to our MT34. We put the vinyl letters on the back end of the flybridge deck. If you can view this photo enlarged you can see it. http://tinyurl.com/8ftmyz8 . Chuck

 

[Egregious]

Here is one on the flybridge railing.

Steve, I like your style. And your boat! We had a vinyl sign made up at a graphics shop and we use white duct tape to fix it to the bridge enclosure.

I hate being hailed as "trawler with the white top" and I hate even more having to hail (mostly sailboats) with names that are too small to see or unpronouncable.

 

[Moonstruck]

I hate even more having to hail (mostly sailboats) with names that are too small to see or unpronouncable.

Yeah, most of the time it is hard to read a sail boat's name. I was passing one with an unreadable name between Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. He was tending his charcoal grill on the railing. I hailed him as the sail boat cooking on a charcoal grill and told him to hold his meat, I'm coming around.

 

[rwidman]

The bottom Great place for it.

I have heard that thieves check out dink names at the dink dock

They think that if the name is on the dink and the dink is at the dock the mother ship is empty.

If it's on the bottom, that's going to be hard to do.

I think having the name on the visible part of the dinghy or on something hung from the flybridge meets the intent of the law if not the letter.

The regulations don't require the name and hailing port to be displayed on the stern of a recreational boat, just that they be displayed on some visible portion of the hull.

 

[skipperdude]

That is what I meant.

If it is on the bottom.

It is a great place for it because thieves can't see it.

SD

 

[sunchaser]

The standard world wide convention is name and hailing port on the stern of the mother ship. Today the US, Canada and Mexico Coast Guards are really watching names, flags and hailing ports and plugging same into their on board computers to verify authenticity. If they can't see the name and port they get frazzled and will pull you over, especially in the border areas and likely find something to bitch about. Nothing the matter with on the bottom of the dinghy if stern obscured.

 

[rwidman]

The standard world wide convention is name and hailing port on the stern of the mother ship. Today the US, Canada and Mexico Coast Guards are really watching names, flags and hailing ports and plugging same into their on board computers to verify authenticity. If they can't see the name and port they get frazzled and will pull you over, .

That has not been my experience at all. Many, perhaps the majority of recreational boats are not documented, just state registered, so they may or may not have a name on the hull, it has no requirements as to size or font, and it is not recorded in any database.

The USCG and local authorities in my area don't even seem to stop boats with no identification whatsoever.

 

[sunchaser]

Randy, thanks for pointing out I should have said documented vessel. Please note I said "especially in border areas."

This past year I have crossed Canada/US border 8 times by boat and checked in each time by phone with no physical Customs presence on the boat. On the Canada side it is common to see Customs people walking the docks checking names, stern listed hailing ports and customs numbers for US flagged vessels. Most big yachts in the PNW seem to have Cayman IS or some sort of tax free port on thier stern and flagged accordingly. Two years ago we listened to the radio as air surveillance was checking on vessels entering Canada from US waters. But you are safe in the Carolinas from the watchers as you say.

Years ago in Mexico it was money that talked with the customs guys, not numbers, names or location. Is it still that way today south of the border?

 

[Rambler]

Undocumented vessels would have a state registration number and year sticker on the bow hull or generally forward of the helm, on both sides, and visisble. Even documented vessels, in FLA anyway, have to be registered and display their sticker, usually stuck on the forward glass to port and or starboard.

 

[Steve]

I find lots of sailboats travel with the radio off, I think it is because they often have the radio inside and they are sitting in the cockpit.
Steve W

 

[Moonstruck]

I find lots of sailboats travel with the radio off, I think it is because they often have the radio inside and they are sitting in the cockpit.
Steve W

I don't know whether sailboaters have the radio on or not, but very few answer a call.

 

[rwidman]

Undocumented vessels would have a state registration number and year sticker on the bow hull or generally forward of the helm, on both sides, and visisble. Even documented vessels, in FLA anyway, have to be registered and display their sticker, usually stuck on the forward glass to port and or starboard.

Should have.

For some reason, perhaps to evade personal property taxes, I often see boats that are too small to be documented with no registration numbers or stickers.

Documented boats owned by South Carolina residents or corporations are not required to display and state stickers. And boats from outside the USA would not have state numbers or stickers.

 

[rwidman]

I don't know whether sailboaters have the radio on or not, but very few answer a call.

And that's why we have horns. Loud horns!

At my normal cruising speed, more people pass me than the other way around. I remember two occasions where I wanted to pass and could not raise the other boat. One was a sailboat, the other was a tug pushing a barge.

After several failed attempts, I just kicked it in gear and roared past at 8 knots or so. If they won't monitor the VHF and respond, the heck with them.

 

[Egregious]

The standard world wide convention is name and hailing port on the stern of the mother ship. Today the US, Canada and Mexico Coast Guards are really watching names, flags and hailing ports and plugging same into their on board computers to verify authenticity. If they can't see the name and port they get frazzled and will pull you over, especially in the border areas and likely find something to bitch about. Nothing the matter with on the bottom of the dinghy if stern obscured.

For the first time ever, I went through a swing bridge opening, and the bridge tender asked me for my boat name and hailing port. Obviously he didn't see my alternate sign on the fly bridge. However, I thought it was unusual, never having been asked for the other openings I've encountered. And there have been many.

 

[Moonstruck]

For the first time ever, I went through a swing bridge opening, and the bridge tender asked me for my boat name and hailing port. Obviously he didn't see my alternate sign on the fly bridge. However, I thought it was unusual, never having been asked for the other openings I've encountered. And there have been many.

Sometimes there is a BOLO out for a vessel. Bridges and other choke points can be notified. If a documented boat skips out on a yard bill, the boat can be arrested. Stolen boats are a problem also.

 

[psneeld]

pretty sure if a bridge opening is requested...they are mandated to log the vessel name...if not opening...I think their logging is voluntary unless requested to do so by the USCG

 

[Larry M]

...Years ago in Mexico it was money that talked with the customs guys, not numbers, names or location. Is it still that way today south of the border?

We left Mexico in 2011 after 3 years there. The mordida had pretty much gone away. The navy has taken an active roll. Now they all carry digital cameras in addition to the guns and dogs. Of the 5 or 6 times we were boarder not once were we asked for anything.