Water Line Boot Stripe

[northern]

My boat is in for hull repair and the boot stripe at the water line is worn out. It is pealing and faded. They have quoted me about 2,000 to replace it.
Questions: Does it serve any purpose than look? Has any one just taken it off and not replaced it? Has anyone seen boats with out it and does that look bad? The hull in the water is black so I have a contrast line just above the water line.

 

[ZZ13]

Mostly looks but also a reference line to tell if your boat might be dropping in the water.

 

[bahamabreisus]

That price is absurd, I just replaced boot stripes on a 370 aft for a neighbor. Stripes were available from Paxton, about $200 for double 2" stripes. Took about 3 hrs to remove and replace.

 

[Pack66Dad]

I call BS on that price too!

I had my whole boat re-striped when it was out for repairs this spring. They had to custom cut the red stripe so that it would match the name and it still only cost me $850.00 for labor and materials.

 

[vernh59]

No way that price is right. I replaced mine in a day and I think I paid a couple hundred bucks for the stripes.

 

[Jaay757]

Check out boatus graphics they have a lot of sizes and colors of boot stripes, they r also 3m. I did one last year, removed old with light heat from heat gun and replaced in a couple of hours. If you have 2 stripes remove one and use the other as your guide.

 

[J.Wilt]

I replaced mine through a local Sign Shop, they matched the vinyl that was used for boat name, two stripes installed less than $150.00.

 

[KC_Sundancer]

Premium vinyl striping is just that - nothing special needed for boats.
I have cut and done vinyl graphics for years and used Prostripe on our boat 4 years back. http://www.prostripe.com/PDFs/v52psc.pdf
You can get in a large selection of colors from them and it's available at a majority of your autoparts stores. :huh:
Lots of options out there for a hundred or so bucks doing it yourself.
When doing two stripes you can also use a narrow piece of masking tape as a temporary spacer / guide between them.

 

[dpmulvey]

I'm thinking maybe the OP fat fingered an extra "0". I had Saint Max stripped and striped including the new name for $340.

 

[jason78]

I'm thinking maybe the OP fat fingered an extra "0". I had Saint Max stripped and striped including the new name for $340.

Let's just put it this way. If the quoted price really was $2,000 I hate to think about what the hull repair might cost. I had mine redone too along with all the stripes on the deck and it did not cost anywhere close to that.

 

[Carver370]

If you can peel the backing off of something you can install the stripes. I think boats look naked without a boot stripe.

 

[390x]

They look awful without the stripes. The long thin stripe draws your eye to it and makes the boat look longer. Find someone much, much cheaper, and put the stripe back on!

 

[The Sandbar]

I just had a new boot stripe put on. All together 425$.



Turned out well. I was planning on doing it myself. But between work and the weather it just did not work out.