The process of manufacturing marine signs

Dolphin Marine Limited, based in Poole, Dorset in the UK design, creates and manufactures high quality marine signs for boats, yachts and even super yachts.

The vast majority of new yacht builds will have a bespoke sign created for their vessel as the yacht name and style gives the owner a chance to identify their boat with their own unique idea and it allows them to reflect their own personality, similarly pre-owned yachts can also be updated to include a bespoke yacht sign designed by the new owner.

The team in the sign design department at Marine Signs give us some insight into the processes involved with bringing an idea to life, to ensure that the final design is what the owner wants and to deliver a ‘sign of distinction’ that will add the finishing touch to any yacht.

Neil Ball at Marine Signs advises, “We’re always amazed at how many different ideas and drawings a client will come up with for their boat name. With some many fonts and options available these days, the most important thing at the outset for us is to plan ahead and help guide the client through the options available.

Our website now features an online sign designer which has proved extremely popular and very useful for visitors to our site as it allows them to experiment with different fonts, colours and finishes.”

Once the style, font and design of the yacht sign has been finalised on paper the next stage is to turn that initial idea into a design that can be manufactured and installed.

Dolphin Marine uses their CAD Software to render the yacht sign so that it looks exactly how the client wants it. After sign-off the design is used for machining and punching the letters. Choice of finish is also a consideration, with the popular options being stainless steel, acrylic, carbon fibre and wood finishes.

Neil Ball mentions, “We have a varied range of finishes available for our boat signs, all made from high quality materials and most importantly we only use waterproof or marine grade materials during the construction process…”

As well as the font and finish of the sign, lighting is also something that can make a yacht sign stand out from the crowd and give it that extra “Wow factor”. Backlit yacht names look superb at night and give yachts a whole new identity of their own.

This is where Marine Signs come into their own and as Neil explains, “We now, not only create illuminated yacht signs, but in the past few years there has been a boom in dynamic lighting, so we can create and program a backlit yacht name to change colour and cycle through numerous colour changes, which can create an amazing display.

It is very important that all materials and lighting systems are all made from the very best quality materials. Dolphin Marine ensure that all of their signs and lighting systems are protected from the elements so that they perform well in a marine environment and handle all the elements and seawater that the yacht will no doubt come into contact with during it’s life on the high seas.

“Should your current yacht sign or boat name need a service or repair call our team on 0044 01202 777772” says Neil Ball. “With years of experience we can help you repair your marine signage or advise you on how we could assist you create a new yacht sign from your own designs”.

Dolphin Marine Limited obviously know what they are doing as they are experts in the marine sector, they provide the skills and designs to create a marine sign that can be something to treasure, something that adds that bit of personality to your yacht and a sign of distinction that you can be proud of.