6/26/2020
Finally I’ve gotten around to painting the name on the boat! It’s only been just over a year since I launched…
My wife is Egyptian so I thought it’d be nice to name it after a well known ship in Arabic. Definitely nothing punny, I can’t stand the endless Reel Times or Frayed Knots. I went through lots of names: Bounty, Beagle, Dove, Endeavor, Endurance, Fram, Ranger, Spray, Victory but they were all long or really hard to pronounce. Arabic has some sounds that just aren’t in English. Joshua Slocum’s circumnavigation in Spray is a favorite read so I started asking her to translate similar words. “Wave” translates to “moga” which is nice and easy and has a hint of some far flung Pacific island in it. So Moga it is!
A client of mine runs a sign shop and I could have gotten her to make me a vinyl sticker, but I decided to try hand painting it. Just choosing a font took a while and I eventually decided on Copperplate. I like the serifs which I think give it a little more classic look. Then I printed off a template which I cut out with a razor knife to make a stencil.
Next I penciled in the outline so I’d have something to follow with the paint.
Then I started painting with a tiny artist brush and some oil based enamel. I have a newfound appreciation of sign painters, within five minutes my hand started cramping and it was hard to make nice straight lines or fair curves. But I think it passes the 10′ test.
Moga finally has a name on her transom!
Out at the boat ramp.