Many of our builders also like to place the boat name on the bow or perhaps further aft. One way to do so is with the use of decal film paper called "Experts Choice" Clear Decal Film and is sold at most hobby stores. We have found that as long as the decals are printed on a laser printer they are satisfactory, provided the decal gets a couple of coats of clear-coat over the decal after it has dried. Decals printed with an ink-jet printer so far have not been shown to be satisfactory as the ink is not stable enough. The laser printed decals hold up somewhat better.

Here is an example of a laser-printed decal on "Seabiscuit", a larger 1 meter boat. (An America-3 by Victor)

Note the use of LED running lights which are running continuously through a connection into "shore power" on its display stand in the family room. On the water, the lights run off a pair of AAA batteries for sailing after dusk.

 G7b: Vinyl name and accent decals

 A better technique to apply a name on your Victoria is with custom vinyl lettering available from a graphics & sign shop. You can specify any font style, size and colour and the shop will make a vinyl decal that is not only easy to apply but is much more durable than the laser decals shown previously.
Arthur Post applied the yellow image before laying down the name
"Sun Dancer" overtop. The yellow and blue accent stripes are made from the same material. total cost: about $10 cdn. per side.

"Victoria Secret" by Larry
Wensley is another great example of custom vinyl graphics from a sign shop applied over a lightly sanded and unpainted hull. A suit of BlackMagick sails completes the job.

 G8: Sail Numbers:

Your new sailboat won't quite be ready for the local pond until you apply a set of sail numbers.

Unique international sail numbers are issued by your national r/c sailing organization such as the CRYA in Canada or AMYA in the United States. Go to our our "links" page for their web site addresses.

By far the best method of applying your sail numbers is to carefullly draw them with an indelible ink marker pen.

This link to a sample MS Word file sailnumbers.doc will make it easy for you. Edit with your own numbers and nationality and print the file to use as a template for your sail registration numbers.

Sheets of paper that are pre-printed on a home computer with the correct size of numbers and letters are taped to the back side of the sails. The sail numbers are clearly visibile through the sails for an easy tracing and filling in with the marker pen.

After the ink has dried the opposite side of the sail is tackled.

With the sail numbers installed, your boat has now has been suddenly transformed into a formidable racing sailboat with a just a bit of "attitude".

12. IDENTIFICATION ON SAILS

12.1 RRS Rule 77 is deleted and replaced with the rest of this rule.

12.2 The Victoria Class insignia is a single letter capital ‘V’, at least 2 inches (52mm) in height, times New Roman font and shall be placed on the top 1/3 of the mainsail. The class insignia may be placed back to back or at different heights on the two sides of the sail. When placed at different non-overlapping heights, the insignia on the starboard side shall be uppermost.

12.3 Sail numbers shall be at least the last two digits of a boat’s registration number (as assigned by the Class Secretary) and shall be at least 3 inches (76mm) in height and shall be solid Arabic Numbers of an easily readable font.

12.4 Sail numbers shall be placed in the middle 1/3 of the mainsail and on the bottom 1/2 of the jib.

12.5 Sail numbers shall be placed at different non-overlapping heights on the two sides of the sail, those on the starboard side being uppermost. The only exception to this is if the numbers are such that they coincide when placed back to back on both sides of the sail, they may be so placed.

12.6 In the case of duplicate numbers, the Race Committee may require that one or more boats with the same number temporarily add a ‘1’ or other number to a boat’s sail number.