The Gales of November

[Robare M. Novou]

Next Wednesday November 10th will be the 35th Anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, named after the president of Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co., the owners of the ship at the time of its initial launching in 1958.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgI8bta-7aw

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Edmund_Fitzgerald

I have lettered a few boats in my day, but nothing ever this big.
Has anyone here lettered a big ship like this? Or know of someone who has or does?

Would like to see a post from someone who letters up these types of vessels on what its like to do this type of work.

RMN

[vance galliher]

Robare,

My good friend, Bill Blumberg, who lives in North Bend, Oregon, not only does amazing calligraphy, chipped/gilded glass, pictorials and other handcrafted work, but also has been painting beautiful graphics on large vessels for the past 40 years. When the ship is in the water, it’s an amazing site to see him standing on a narrow plank, suspended between two extension ladders, bobbing up and down, laying out the pattern with just a yardstick and stabillo, and then free handing an exquisitely crafted two to four foot letter with outline, drop shade, and a thin outer outline. He occasionally visits this site. I’ll see if he wants to comment………

[vance galliher]

...........and I might add, most of this is done on a compound curve !!

[Patrick Mackle]

I don't know about lettering Big ships, but my Dad bought a sailboat with a cast iron hull that had 3/4" rigging and was designed to sail the North Sea.
Being that I had purchased quills and was taking a sign painting class at Pasadena City College, I offered to paint the name across the stern. My dad turned backed the boat into the slip so that I could paint it. But the dock was at such a level that I had to do the entire job laying on my back with my neck and shoulders hanging off and lower than the dock. My dad held my knees so that I would not slip into the water. My neck would never go for that nowadays. The name was script in an arch on a compound curve.
Pat

[Jerry Berg]

Christianson Yacht is here in Vancouver, WA. and I have done work for them and they refere clients to me.
The average yacht is in the $30 million dollar price range so they aren't small. The last one I did was from Australia
and it was a $60 million dollar rig. The letters, if where I remember correctly 40" tall spun 23k, outline and drop shade.

I did yachts for the owmer of Citizen watch co. It seemed He was getting a new one every few years. Gold leaf on the transom and lettering on the sides, dingy and jet skis that where all on the yacht. They called me in to letter this particular yacht and I brought my son with me. No one was there and he had to use the rest room. Well, he decided to try out the one in the master suite. The boat was so new they where not functioning yet, but he didn't know that. He clogged the toilet and stunk the place up very bad. Some of the crew came in later that day and where complaining about the foul odor. Enough stories I guess.... but some jobs just got 'em!

[Robare M. Novou]

Oh Jerry, that is just too funny!