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Boot stripe vinyl tape

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Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
5352 Posts

Initially Posted - 04/15/2025 : 06:06:55

Anybody refresh their bootstripe and stripe beneath the rubrail lately? Did you paint it with two- part paint or did you use vinyl stick-on tape? The top stripe is 1� while the bottom is 3/4�? My boat name lettering is �dark red� so I thought I should match the color.
West marine sells red, blue, and white while Amzn has a range of colors. Anybody know of a good boat graphics company they would trust? I can�t recall where I originally bought the lettering.

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

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Djibouti
9075 Posts

Response Posted - 04/15/2025 : 06:55:44

Fully recovered from your five-foot-itis attack?

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

OLarryR
Master Marine Consultant

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3439 Posts

Response Posted - 04/15/2025 : 13:03:41

I have used Boat U S Graphics for lettering for the past 20 years. The material has been fine regarding uv or weather related deterioration but over the years, I have had to repair and replace the lettering on the starboard side mainly due to smudges created returning to my finger slip.

The thing I do not know is how competitive the cost for boot striping is purchased from typical boat graphics/lettering companies (ie. Boat U S, etc) versus companies offering off the shelf boot striping such as from Amazon. I checked the Boat U S Graphics website and they do not seem to mention any boot striping. You may have to call but probably it will wind up costing a lot more from custom graphics lettering companies.

The quality of the product or rather the expectation you may have for what you purchase is something to consider or perhaps it really is not an issue if the product is specifically for boat boot striping. What I am wondering about is that if you are satisfied with boat graphics lettering, then you would probably want the boot striping in the same mil thickness and same uv resistance as the lettering and/or existing boot striping. Items on Amazon usually have reviews and so just see how satisfied others were with the product for boats and if there are substantial or very few negative reviews.

My boot striping is mostly okay - faded in some areas and not so bad in other areas�..but is something I probably have not given much thought to�.until your posting! Right now, it is not something I would want to work on/replace. I use Poliglow on my hull and so the boot striping gets coated as well �That is every 1 - 1 1/2 years.

If you replace your boot striping, I would be interested in how it turns out.

Edited by - OLarryR on 04/15/2025 13:16:18

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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5352 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2025 : 09:37:27

Larry, thanks for your thoughtful response to my question. Yes, I looked at W-M�s offerings and they provide a special order option for dark red tape. Their standard red is like 100-0-0 on the color chart, so it�s like American flag red (which is not bad, but not a match). Defender didn�t seem to offer any tape, however, their website is sometimes funky on searches. But nothing came up.
I asked about graphics and lettering companies because they obsess over color, finish, longevity. Yes, a 50ft roll will probably be $35 instead of $9, but it�s a BOAT!
I�ve also considered paint, however, getting the right kind and color of paint may not be trivial. Furthermore, getting a nice smooth finish requires finesse and skill. A two-part poly would work well, however, painting with a brush or roller could leave telltale strokes or texture. One coat or three? Roll-tip method or spray? Gloss or semi-gloss?
Hence tape. I�d later overcoat it with PoliGlo

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

islander
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
4018 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2025 : 12:31:13

quote:
The top stripe is 1� while the bottom is 3/4�

Bruce is there something different. My bootstripeing is all original and just gets machine buffed with wax every year. I agree that the stripe under the rub rail is about 1 inch but as you can see in this photo the bottom is a combo of 2 stripes with the upper one being maybe 3/4 or 1 inch and the bottom one maybe 3 inches. I'm guessing here but did the larger stripe get painted over with bottom paint?

Scott-"IMPULSE"87'C25/SR/WK/Din.#5688
Sailing out of Glen Cove,L.I Sound

Voyager
Master Marine Consultant

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5352 Posts

Response Posted - 04/16/2025 : 13:54:04

Scott, thanks for your photo, it really helps the discussion.

In your case, all three stripes are the same dark blue or navy color.

On Passage, the thinner stripes are dark red, while the 3� stripe at the waterline is dark blue like yours. It literally touches the bottom paint and often is submerged (depending on who�s aboard the boat and where they�re sitting), so I felt like I should skip adding any tape there.

The top red stripe is 1� while the lower red stripe is 3/4�.

I bought two 50ft - 1� tape rolls for the top stripe. I plan to install it later this week.

I�ll have some pieces leftover, so I plan to check whether it�s possible to overlay the lower red stripe with the 1�. If it looks good, I�ll order more tape and cover the lower red stripe.

Fingers crossed!

Bruce Ross
Passage ~ SR-FK ~ C25 #5032

Port Captain � Milford, CT

bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1773 Posts

Response Posted - 04/17/2025 : 14:11:09

Bruce, I took another route on the boot stripe. When I painted the bottom I used black as the first coat and then blue as the top coat. I left the black showing for the boot stripe. The result is nice looking AND as the boot stripe is anti fouling, no scum build up or rogue barnacles. I did this first in 2007 when I got Limerick. In 2012 I did a bottom job and repeated. While the blue bottom paint lasts @ 2 seasons before needing another coat, the black boot stripe lasts 5-7 years. Just saying, another approach. Regarding the cove stripe, mine is a dark green and, so far, I have not needed to redo it.

Peter Bigelow
C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick
Rowayton, Ct
Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT

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