Boat is wrapped and I am happy

craigswardmtb · April 2016

So I was tired of my faded blue hull. I would get it in decent shape every spring after heavy compounding, Polish and wax only to have it look crumby by July. So I bit the bullet and took a chance on wrapping my 360. I used Avery Dennisons marine grade wrap in Indigo Blue, which is very close to the factory blue. I did a lot of research on the different mfgs wraps their quality, durability etc and Avery is really top tier. Most of the installers are preferring it over 3m these days for car and boat wraps. Comes with a 10 year warranty but the installer was telling me the stuff looks amazing even once old. It's just removing becomes a challenge at that age.

Well the installer came down on Monday at noon and was done by 5. They did an amazing job and the boat looks like a new boat. If anyone local is considering this talk to Andrew at Computer Signs and Graphics out of Old Saybrook CT. Stand up guy, his team does great work and offers a great value. I can rewrap the boat 7 times over versus what I was quoted for an awl grip job. We will see how it holds up.

The Picts.

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020499/uploads/editor/y6/aptifw0hpleg.jpeg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5020499/uploads/editor/8i/e9iiu0ytpysy.jpeg

craigswardmtb · April 2016

jme097 · April 2016

Looks great!! Love the blue hulls!

Robs_232 · April 2016

Looks awesome and no more buffing!

raybo3 · April 2016

Looks great. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts without getting dinged up. Best of luck and keep us posted on how you like it....... Again looks awesome.

aero3113 · April 2016

Looks great! How do you like that bow thruster?

craigswardmtb · April 2016

Like it a lot when in a hairy situation. Works well and very easy to install. I suppose it looks a bit goofy but when in water you don't see it at all.

russellh · April 2016

Looks great! Ive been looking into having mine wrapped. I think it's the way forward

jme097 · April 2016

How much ballpark did you pay to have it wrapped?

summerx · April 2016

looks great! I could completely consider doing that, as I like the colored hull sides better. My concern is how it would hold up to any dock contact.

SeaHare · April 2016

looks fantastic!! ide be interested in hearing a price figure too

craigswardmtb · April 2016

I paid $2200 on a Rinker 360 which I thought to be a great deal. Cost would be more if you did not prep the boat accordingly. I stripped the old boot stripe and all letters off prior, which was a PIA.

Yes durability is my concern as well. I have talked to quite a few folks that have newer boat wraps and claim they are very durable. The newer materials are a lot better than say 10 years ago. If you play with the material it seems to be pretty darn tough. I am confident it will hold up fine to normal conditions. Now if you hit a dock corner or do anything that would normally gouge your gel coat than obviously its going to mess up the vinyl. However he showed me the one seam on my boat and it is barely noticeable. Repairs are apparently easily accomplished. You can either cut out a dinged section, or if its minor just use a heat gun to flatten it out and just seal it off with 3M vinyl glue.

The installer did recommend using fleece bumper covers, which my wife made this off season. And quite frankly I should have bought bumper covers a long time ago as the ridged bumpers are not nice on gel coat either.

Interestingly this wrapping market seems to be taking off. He has bunch more boats to do this spring and he also wraps alot of cars. He currently has a new corvette in his garage which he is doing a total wrap on. The owner just wanted a new look... Pretty crazy if you ask me, but the finish is that good. Plus the stuff has similar fading characteristics to awl grip, which is minimal, and is very low maintenance. Hose off and go. He did say Caranuba wax really brings out the shine but to obviously not use any abrasives like polish or compound.

I'll be sure to post back on this topic in a few months as to how its holding up.

rasbury · April 2016

I can't keep my pin stripe on so would be concerned about the wrap, will be interesting to hear how it holds up!

MarkB · April 2016

Wrap is very durable these days. My friend's boat is wrapped. Had another boat come in and swipe it fairly firmly and it left only two scrapes about 1/2" x 1/4". Hardly noticable. If necessary, you could easily replace a section without it being obvious.

partlowr · April 2016

Looks great! I just got a partial wrap graphics done on my boat, I also went with Avery, the do have the best marine grade film available on the market right now because of their marine adhesive. Avery is one of the few films that work well above and below water line. Definitely make sure you use fender/bumper socks otherwise the friction can wear through the film. All you will need to make it shine is a spray on product like Meguiar's Quick Spray Detailer or a similar product. You will find that you have to spend a lot less time cleaning and waxing so that in itself is probably worth the $2000 you spent.