I don't know nothin about sailboats and also font help

[signmeup]

Here is a layout for a carved sign for a cottage. The sign is a gift for a boyfriend of the client. The boyfriend has a "40 foot sailboat". Is my crude depiction close enough to a sailboat? I mean are the sails totally wrong? The client doesn't know any more than I do and I can't ask the boyfriend.

Also I need a font that the sides curve in like the rectangle beside the picture but real simple like Arial.

 

[SignManiac]

Optima or Letterheads font, Stevens Percepta. Sailboat is okay Adrian but maybe add a mast in there somewhere..

 

[signmeup]

Thanks Bob. I looked on google at sailboat pictures till my eyes glazed over. Decided to just wing it with something I could carve easy. I'm going to do the water with some Magic Sculpt I think. I want it to spill over the outline of the oval in the front a bit. Should look cool.

 

[SignManiac]

Dug this up. An old one I painted a long long time ago on a carved sign. Just to help with the visual of the mast.

 

[signmeup]

Nice

 

[Gino]

I think you're covering up too much of the 'O'. I know you can read it, but it still bugs me.

 

[eye4clr]

+1 on the "o" cover.

The sails are generally correct but the front sail (jib) is usually a bit bigger than you have it and the aft sail (main) is a bit more narrow and it's base further back for most mainstream boats today.

Also, the bottom front corner of the jib should look attached to the front point of the boat.

A simple way to make it look like there's more motion is to have the trailing, curved edges of the sails be scooped concave and have both trailing edges parallel. Most of the time when a sailor looks at sails they want to see symmetry.

 

[weareryan]

Get A Picture

Consider getting a picture of the actual boat from her. If you're going to the effort to draw it up, might as well make it personal and precise.

"Honey, I've got a friend who just loves boats, and when she heard you have one she wanted to see a picture. Do you have any really good shots of it?" or the like should be subtle enough to get an existing picture.

Or she could go take one.

For a nice carved sign she could spare the small amount of effort.

 

[Gino]

I can see it now.................​

Oh yeah, I'd really like a carved sign of my boat. I have the frickin' thing right there... why do I need a picture of it on a sign ??

Look girlfriend, just give me the money and let me blow it on something I really want, so I don't have to act happy everytime I walk under it. Besides, what if we break up...... can I use it for target practice ??

 

[oldgoatroper]

The leading and bottom edges of the mainsail are attached to rigid members (mast and boom) and therefore should be straight.

Also the leading edge of the jib is hanked (or attached otherwise) to the forestay, which is also straight and which is attached either to the bow or to a sprit extending forward from the bow.

I'm a sailor and when I first looked at your depiction, the klaxons went off -- "WROOOOONG, WROOOOONG, WROOOOONG..."

A sailor will always notice the sails and how they're set. Fix those couple things and you'll be fine...

 

[signmeup]

Here's the final with Optima. I left the sails with curved lines because it's prettier. I'll dick around with the kerning a bit but I'm happy with it. Thanks for the input.

 

[Marlene]

still thinking too much of the letter is covered by the sail. maybe move the boat down some. please post the pix of this once you are done as I love to see your work.

 

[oldgoatroper]

Here's the final with Optima. I left the sails with curved lines because it's prettier. I'll dick around with the kerning a bit but I'm happy with it. Thanks for the input.

Ummmmm, yeah. You might think its prettier and you might be happy with it.

But I guarantee you every sailor worth his/her salt who sees this will ridicule the curved leading edges of the jib and main.

Sailors are funny/weird about that.

Fair warning.

 

[oldgoatroper]

Oh, and another thing... the foot of the main is always higher than the foot of the jib -- the opposite to what you have.

 

[signmeup]

Here. Note the curved jib. I'll give you the main but I have no trouble finding curved jibs. This is for a cottage so I think it will be fine. Thanks for your help though.

 

[Billct2]

I think traditional serif fonts look better for sailboats, and an extended version to fill some space.

 

[signmeup]

Also... ask 90% of sailors to draw a sailboat and you'll get something like this. I'm not too worried about being ridiculed.

 

[oldgoatroper]

Here. Note the curved jib. I'll give you the main but I have no trouble finding curved jibs. This is for a cottage so I think it will be fine. Thanks for your help though.

The leading edge of that jib is not curved but rather hidden by the curved sailshape in that photo. If the forestay was really curved that much, that boat's rigging would be in serious trouble...

 

[signmeup]

Oh, and another thing... the foot of the main is always higher than the foot of the jib -- the opposite to what you have.

Almost always.

 

[oldgoatroper]

Also... ask 90% of sailors to draw a sailboat and you'll get something like this. I'm not too worried about being ridiculed.

The ability to draw a sailplan and the ability to recognize what's wrong with a sailplan are two entirely different things.