February 24, 2016
Aventura 54
Thursday
I’d delayed installing the new name and other graphics when I wrapped up the main part of the project because I knew I had additional graphics to get during the winter, so I combined the orders for efficiency. With the new vinyl on hand, the boat still indoors, where she’d been all winter, and some spare time in my schedule, I got to work on the name and hailport.
After a rough test-fit to see how the supplied graphics fit on the transom, I applied some masking tape in several vertical lines so I’d have somewhere to make some reference marks. At the center of the transom, I applied a vertical centerline (the right edge of the tape is the actual centerline), and, with a basic measurement from my rough fitting as a guide, I made a series of marks on the pieces of tape where I could apply a curved base line that matched the camber of the deck and top of the transom. The name would fit to this line for best appearance, and once I’d marked the baseline I temporarily fit the name in place, cutting between the letters as required to allow me to bend it into shape.
Because the chosen hailport was quite long, it had effectively driven the size of the name, and also the overall layout on the stern, since it wasn’t a large transom to begin with. So before proceeding with the name, I wanted to rough out the port as well, which I’d install on a visually horizontal line beneath the slightly-arced name. By eye, I determined what looked best, and marked out a base line for the hailport.
Satisfied with the layout, I completed the installation of both name and hailport.
At the bow, I removed a short section of the cove stripe on each side and installed registration numbers.
Total time billed on this job today: 2.5 hours
0600 Weather Report:
22°, light snow, about 0.75″ on the ground. Forecast for the day: light snow changing through freezing rain, sleet, and rain, high somewhere in the 30s.