BEAUTIFY YOUR V- 32

by: Robert “COZ” Cosgrove

With its gleaming hull, varnished wood deck and bright sails the V-32 really stands out in a crowd. It is the only kit boat that is offered in such a wide variety of both hull (7) and sail (10) colors allowing you to customize your yacht to suit your own unique taste. Although the V-32 is a beautiful boat right out of the box there are some neat things you can do with graphics to make it a show stopper.

On my new Victor built V-32 “Windshadow” I used vinyl graphics to enhance its appearance with a boat name, flames, sail numbers, club burgees and an American flag. With a computer and a little imagination you can knock their sox off.

Let’s start with the easy stuff ie; the name and sail numbers. On your search engine, type, ‘vinyl lettering’ into the box and click search. Most of the sites will probably suit your needs, frequently they allow you to design your own graphics using a large selection of fonts. In addition, they let you view your creation on line. Play around with different fonts and colors until you find the one you like and then place your order. For ‘Windshadow’ I used ‘Brush Script’ in yellow to match the sails. The letters are 1.5 inches high which fit the hull perfectly. The sail numbers (your hull number) are 1.75 inches high in block type. (This article was written prior to the current Class Rules, Please refer to the class rules before ordering any sail numbers.) You will receive your order in about ten days with complete instructions on how to apply the graphics. This all takes about a half an hour on the computer and costs about $30, 25% of which is S&H. The flame decals were purchased at a large auto supply store which had dozens of designs to choose from.

Now let’s look at the flag and burgee. I looked all over for a cloth flag but couldn’t find one in the right size so I made my own. Type “American Flag” into your search engine and you will find 1000+ sites. Scout around until you find one you like and download it into “My Pictures” or any other photo or graphics program that you happen to have. Size the flag to ( 3X4”) which are about the right dimensions for the V-32. Print on Glossy photo paper in the usual way. Then print another copy using the “mirror image” command. Glue them together using rubber cement. Now, laminate both sides leaving enough laminating material to wrap around the back stay to hold it in place. If you are really ambitious, pick up a swizzle stick at your local watering hole and cut it to the size of your flag. Slit it lengthwise with an Exacto knife and put it on the backstay. Wrap the extra laminating material around the swizzle stick instead of the backstay itself so it will rotate and act as a wind vane. It’s a cool idea but you can’t really see it out on the water, so why bother.

For the burgees, type “yacht club burgees” into your search engine and you will get a myriad of sites. I used the “Yacht Club Burgees and Flags (Spain) site because it had the prettiest flags in the right size to fit the V-32. Once you find one to your liking, download it and proceed as with the American flag. Once again, if you are really ambitious you can design your own personal burgee or one for your club using the “Paint” program or better still a more suffocated graphics program.

There are probably a million vinyl graphics on the web, so be creative and have fun. You’ll be the envy of everyone on the pond.

PS: Don’t forget to post your masterpiece on the V-32 site so we can all enjoy the pictures.

Robert “COZ” Cosgrove
Philadelphia PA