New sailor needs to replace boat name

[Harpmary]

Hi - My husband and I just bought a 1989 Island Packet 31'. She has had one owner - a couple now in their 80s. They've asked us to change the name - which we're fine with. My question has several parts:
(1) Do we need to haul the boat to remove the old vinyl letters and put new ones on? - I realize that it is pretty dangerous to use a electric heat gun near the water. I've heard oven cleaner works - is it acceptable to use near the water?
(2) Has anyone had any experience ordering the vinyl letters from an online store?
(3) Should we get someone in the boat yard to put the new vinyl name on for us or should we try to do it ourselves?

Thanks! - Mary

[xsboats]

A razor blade should do fine for removal. Follow it up with 3-M adhesive remover to get rid of the residual glue. A local sign store would be a better place to go. Then your name and any art work will be on file if you need to replace the name if it is damaged later or you need to repaint the boat. The actual lettering is much cheaper than the initial layout of any custom lettering.

[jbrockpiano]

you must perform the name changing ceremony and spill wine into the sea to protect your boat from disaster. You must remove all reference to the old name from the boat. Write the old name on a piece of silver ( a quarter coin will do) toss it in the sea. Pour some decent wine from east to west off the bow then ask neptune to record your boats new name. Then, drink whatever wine is left over and you and your boat should be safe.

[Gene T]

Agree on the razor blade. But please dull the corners first. I use a small sharpening stone to round them over. If you don't you might scratch the gel-coat. You can generally peal vinyl letters off once you get them started. I would advise buffing with compound as you will have an imprint of the old name on the boat. Not very noticeable generally however.

Go to a sign shop. They will design and cut the lettering the way you want them. They will even install if you want. All can be done in the water.

[swadiver]

Harp,

I went through this when I first bought our boat. I used a razor blade with dulled corners as mentioned above. I did not use a regular heat gun as the temp is way to high and could damage the gel coat. I regular hair dryer at medium to high setting will loosen the letters so you can get the blade under. Also, alot of patience as this is not a quick process. I paid a little extra and had a professional make the new name and apply to both sides and add the hailing port to our stern. We were very happy with the finished result. Good Luck

[poopdeckpappy]

Originally Posted by jbrockpiano

Pour some decent wine from east to west off the bow then ask neptune to record your boats new name.

Do this only if your boat faces North to South, otherwise you'll only piss Neptune off even more, first for using silver and not gold, second for spilling just a decent wine all over his boat and finally, for using a decent wine and not a great rum.

[mitiempo]

You are best to use a razor blade that won't damage the gelcoat. Try plastic razor blades. Double-Edged Plastic Razor Blades - Lee Valley Tools
They should be available at Home Depot or a similar store.

[2Gringos]

I've had good luck using acetone from a hardware store to remove the sticky gunk. I have seen another product called Goo-Gone that looks promising, but never used it. Acetone is cheap, and has a lot of other uses.

[jbondy]

See the link below to John Vigor's Denaming and Naming rituals.

48° Vigor's Interdenominational Boat Denaming Ceremony

It's on the Internet, it must be true!

[JimsCAL]

Just did this on my new-to-me boat. Used a single edge razor blade scraper to remove the old name. No heat. Some paint thinner to remove the remaining residue. Bought new lettering from BoatUS online. I liked that their site showed you what your name looked like with the different fonts and calculated the length for different size letters. Measure the area for the name carefully, particularly the length.

You can do this without hauling - it will just be more difficult. Don't think I'd want to try this on a mooring bobbing in a dinghy.