: I have a couple of boats I want to put a Logo on and perhaps the
: boats name. They may be going to a big race and I want my logo
: on there. These are painted dacron so I can obviously paint on a
: name. But I have no skill at sign painting. I have thought about
: and looked for a stencil of some sort. I was thinking maybe you
: could find one that you put on like masking tape, some kind of
: adhesive back material. Painted it and then peeled off. No luck
: yet.

Look for artists Frisket film. It is easily cut and peels off of it's backing sheet so you can apply it to the boat.

Print out what you want on plain paper, set the frisket material on top and trace around the lettering with a hobby knife. After you handcut the lettering, use small pieces of masking tape to keep those centers from letters like "O" and "D" in place. once the frisket is positioned, peel off the masking tape, and hit it with a few blasts of spray paint, or use a brush. Let it dry and peel off the frisket.

If you can't wait to get frisket material, you can try clear Contact paper, sold at grocery stores as a shelf lining material. It is a little tougher to cut, but easily available.

To make a more durable stencil, print your lettering in reverse (mirror image) and cut it out. Stick the frisket to a piece of nylon tulle fabric, or cheesecloth. The open weave of these fabrics will hold the stencil pieces in place, but not significantly block you from applying paint. Tape down the fabric/stencil with the frisket touching the boat skin and apply paint through the fabric. You can remove the stencil immediately.

Silkscreen printing is basically this same thing. you can get silkscreen fabrics and better materials for making your stencils.

http://www.dickblick.com/products/scratch-art-mask-ease/
http://www.dickblick.com/products/monofilament-polyester-screen-fabric/

You can get a photosensitive silkscreen material and eliminate the hand cutting. Print your design on a clear plastic transparency, lay this on top of the the photosensitive material and expose to a strog light for several minutes. The light hardens the exposed material, but areas which were protected from the light are water soluble. Wsh the screen in warm water to open up the areas you want to replicate.

Jo-Ann's Fabrics sells a Yudu silk screen printing system. You can make your own frames with silk screen fabric from Dick Blick (www.dickblick.com) or buy the replacement materials for the Yudu machine from Jo-Ann's.

: Vinyl lettering is a option and I know a good sign shop that can do
: that. All I have do is give him an image file and he cut most
: anything I want. Not sure I like it though. He may be able to
: make a stencil or have some options I am not aware of.

Use that for your stencil. Use the background and trow away the letters! again, adhere it to an open weave fabric and it can be reused. For best results, stretch the fabric in a frame before you attach the stencil materials. Look at scrapbooking materials and you'll find personal electronic diecuters and vinyl cutters. Cricut is one brand. You can use these to cut vinyl for stencils.

: Someone have another better idea I am not aware of?

For onetime use, you can cut your stencils from Reynolds freezer paper. Run a sheet through your printer and cut out the letters. One side of this materila is plastic coated. Lay that side against the fabric on your boat and apply a warm clothes iron. The plastic coated paper sticks to the fabric, and stays put while you apply paint. Peels off neatly when the paint has started to set up. If you are careful you can reuse these two or three times.

Hope this helps

PGJ

picture below of Yudu screenprint system is from Jo-Ann's website.