Re: [Paddlewise] Art and Kayaks

From: "Pat Hartley" <pat_at_hearthfyre.com>

> Has anyone done this sort of work on their boat before? Can you recommend
> any particular kind of paint that will adhere well to the gel-coat and would
> be lightfast? Any tips?

I met a gent at a symposium last spring who had put a design, based on a 
Bill Reid work, onto his kayak.  There's a photo of it in a magazine
somewhere, Adventure Kayak I think , but I can't find the article.

Anyway, what he did was create the design on the computer and then
transferred the file to disk.  I can't remember whether he used 
Autocad or Photoshop or whatever - it was a well-known, graphics
capable package. He took this to a company that made automobile
decals.  It cost him a bit to have the transfer done to their
computer system ($50?) but they were then able to make two
copies that were mirror images and "print" them as decals.
Thus he had one for either side of the kayak.

This isn't guaranteed to last forever, but since they are designed
for the outside of cars and trucks, they do last in the weather 
for some time.  And since they are now in the company's format, 
he can get more copies without incurring another set-up charge.

Mike


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