Design

Best Watercraft Graphics of 2016

Designs that really float your boat

Published

7 years ago

October 21, 2016

Steve Aust Signs of the Times September 2016 Issue

FIRST PLACE
Fabricator/Designer/Installer
SignZoo
Sarasota, FL
(941) 355-5653
www.signzoo.com

Client
HUK Performance Fishing/Mexican Gulf Fishing

SignZoo is the exclusive provider of Kryptek™ camou-flage-pattern marine wraps; the customer chose one of Kryptek’s aquatic-environment designs for this wrap that adorns a deep-sea-fishing boat that patrols the Gulf of Mexico. SignZoo produced the wrap on 3M Controltac IJ180-10C air-release media that’s printed on an OKI Data Corp. (formerly Seiko) ColorPainter H2-74S solvent-ink printer. To enable the wrap to withstand humid, saltwater conditions, SignZoo applied 3M’s Scotchcal 8520 matte-finish overlaminate. Installers used Geek Wraps felt squeegees to situate the film over the boat’s contoured, fiberglass hull.

SECOND PLACE
Fabricator/Installer
SignArt Inc.
Malden, MA
(781) 322-3785
www.signartboston.com

Designer
Rich Miner

Installer
Derek DeGioia

Client
Richie Sica

Sica brought this speedboat to SignArt wanting a Day of the Dead wrap theme. Miner cre-ated the traditional calaveras (albeit depicted as painted faces, not skulls) using Photo-shop, and the shop produced the graphics with Controltac air-release media that’s deco-rated on a Mimaki JV-33 solvent-ink printer. The graphics are pro-tected with a Scotchcal 8518 gloss-finish topcoat that’s applied on a Seal 62, and instal-led with 3M Gold nylon squee-gees and a combination of heat guns and propane torches. SignArt also used Olfa knives, 3M Primer 94 adhesion promoter and Monkey Strips thin-edged buffers to complete the project.

THIRD PLACE
Fabricator
Absolute Perfection
Sykesville, MD
(410) 795-0080
www.apcorp.com

Designer
Brandon Antol

Installers
Marc Fong
Don Peart

An American-flag design for a wrap will never go out of style, but it makes more of an impression if it’s not photorealistic. To that end, Antol created a stylized Old Glory image using Adobe Illustrator. The shop executed the wrap with its HP L360 latex-ink printer and 3M Controltac media. The Stars and Stripes will remain resplendent thanks to an application of 8518 topcoat on a Seal 54 laminator.

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