Trojan Boat Forum

Hi all,
I'm seriously considering vinyl wrapping the complete hull of my Tri Fly, from rub rail to boot stripe.
I calculate I can do it with 3m material for about $1300 and could likely complete it in a weekend.

To paint the hull with prep and all materials I'm sure it would cost double and take a couple weeks for me to do.

Any thoughts on this

careful of bumping it on docks and things, I see bubbles in professionally done ones Ive been on. The last one I was on was a 37 Outerlimits my friend ownes, the place that did it again said theyd never do a whole boat again. IMO they only look good at a distance

Hi Barrie, Progress on your boat is looking good. On the wrap idea I would offer my input. Gelcoat and other finishes ie; Awlgrip, etc, have abrasive qualities that can stave off damage from many sources; Dock rash, fender rub, impacts, scrapes, etc. and I am not sure vinyl can withstand the same way traditional finishes can. Jim.

DON'T DO IT. I've seen first hand what can happen. The owner thought as you did that it was less expensive, and it was. In less than one season, it was all banged up and looked like cr#p. So bad that the owner had it all removed and had the hull painted this winter, so now it cost him twice the expense.

As noted above, it looks okay from a distance, but the nicks and rubs will likely bother the hell out of you, and repairs, well, that's a whole other unsightly form of pain.

Have you looked into a good wet sand and polishing to bring the gel back to life? Is there a reason why this can't be done on your hull?

yea, some heavy cut 3m compound will go a long way with a buffer...

Barrie, I agree with Big D. Restoring gelcoat will produce incredible results. I refinished a 1967 Chris Craft Commander in Awlgrip at a large expense, several years ago. I did another 1970 Commander a few years later and restored the original gelcoat. It was awesome on completion, way better than the paint job. Older boats generally have more gel than newer ones to allow for wet sanding, (that may not be necessary on your boat) compounding and waxing. Also, don't get sucked in by miracle products like Vertglass, Polyglow, etc. Jim.

Barrie, in case you're thinking the guy I mentioned above simply got cheap vinyl, it was a seven thousand dollar job! I advised against it but the cost was more attractive to him than a paint job. He ended up paying for both in the end.

LOL, I'm sensing the idea is bad

I haven't considered what this stuff will look like in a few months or a couple years, it sure does look good on the internet though!

From what I can tell my boat has been damaged and repainted in the aft half, with poor results, so a repaint is in order.

Thanks for all the input, it is appreciated

If you are willing to trade time for money, you might want to consider Rustoleum marine topside paint. It is a one part oil based alkyd with limited colors available. I personally have not used it, but have heard from others who have that the cost is good, the paint takes a while to dry, but is durable when it dries. The bad news is that you have to put a number of coats on and then sand/buff if you want it to look good. If you google "rustoleum topsides boat" or something similar, you will find a bunch of info. There are other marine paints that are better, but at a much higher cost per gallon.