How to removie name decal - and new name questions?

[aimcat]

My husband and I are days away from buying our first sailboat and we have pretty much decided we are getting a Helsen 22. It is yellow with a black bottom. Right now it has a name on each side "alyvia" - hate it. It must come off - if it can! Is there a good way to remove these decal letters without messing up the boat or paint?

Also we would like to name the boat something else after that has come off - is it true it is a "no no" to name a boat anything pirate related? Sorry Im a pirate nerd and just like the cheesy pirate stuff - yes laugh. However I read on another site it is in bad taste to name a boat pirate things or even fly a pirate related flag?! Common its just for fun - Im not going to go up to my fellow wakeboard or pontoon boats and rob them!

Anyway if that is truely in bad taste (hopefully I didnt offend anyone) then what about a name cordinating with the color of the boat ? Yellowfin, Yellowtail?

[PaulinVictoria]

It's your boat, call it what you want

[justified]

aimcat

Follow this link for the denaming and renaming procedure. You might want to follow closely since you are gonna do the pirate thing, you need as much luck as you can get .
As for removing the old decals try a hair dryer or heat gun on low setting then any residue acetone or goof off then buff out the hull because there will be some discoloration due to fading from the sun.
Enjoy your new boat
Fair winds
Peter

[justified]

sorry didn't give you the link
48° Vigor's Interdenominational Boat Denaming Ceremony

[mstern]

I took old vinyl lettering off the transom of my boat with a razor blade. You can round off the corners of the blade with a file to make it even less likely that you will gouge the gelcoat. There will be adhesive left on the hull, which will come off easily with acetone.

Actually, getting vinyl lettering off is the easy part; its more difficult to deal with the inevitable shadows left on the gelcoat due to the uneven weathering caused by their placement. My suggestion is that you get yourself some Marine compound (stuff made for fiberglass), and try to even out the coloring as best you can. You have to be careful; as you try to lighten the areas under the old letters to match the color of the surrounding hull, you will also be lightening the area around the old letters, potentially making the entire area a different color than the rest of the hull. You won't be able to make everything look the same, but you can make it look better. Unfortunately for you, your hull is yellow, which may highlight the shadow effect of the old letters and any attempt to even it out. The bright side is that it is like a bad haircut: it may not look too good now, but eventually, nature takes care of it. The sun and salt water will fade the shadows, and it will take a close inspection to show there were ever decals there at all.

[Boasun]

Use a heat gun or a hair dryer to losen the adhesive under the vinyl lettering.
Then you can buffed out the name shadow due to weathering.
Then using the renaming ceremony (or not) and rename your boat.

[JimsCAL]

Friend a number of years ago had a bright yellow Tartan 10. He named it "Sting".

[EJO]

Congrats on you purchase (I think you picked the better one of the 4)
I use a heat-gun (hairdryer not hot enough) you can get one for <$20 at Harbor Freight Tools. Using a palette knife (speckling kind) scrape of the lettering, use some Goo-B-Gone if there is glue residue and finish with a buffing. All easily done while on the trailer(LOL)

[Faster]

You do need to use some caution if the boat's been painted, a little less if it's the original gelcoat.

There are some fiberglass-friendly paint removers that will also soften decals and making it easier to remove them without damaging the underlying surface. "Aqua Strip" is one.

[hellosailor]

You're allowed to use a pirate name and fly a pirate flag. just remember what kind of people pirates were, and that by law and tradition the rest of us are allowing, no, obligated really, to ram you, fire upon you, board you, pillage and plunder you, because you are a pirate flagged vessel and that's what's done to pirates.