Emblems
 

When Bikecop posted a picture of the near perfect emblem on his 69 in a thread about another resto, it got me to thinking about how almost all of Carl Moesly’s original Zamak emblems are now toast - this one isn't all that bad, but most are:

Attachment 16274

Those originals had the SeaCraft script with ‘MIAMI, FLA.’ Below the script. Here is a blown up copy of what Bikecop posted (I admit to taking liberties with his photo – sorry!).

Attachment 16270

I know Carla (65Bowrider) had some stainless emblems made up with CLASSIC where MIAMI was on the original and some other differences – she also had some larger ones made up to fit the scale of a 23; she sold several of them but they are all gone now (I grabbed a couple – that is part of this story). So now when someone wants an original emblem they are SOL and even the replacements that Carla put together are almost impossible to get.

The guilty parties (other than myself) get to remain nameless but the end result is that I started putting together a 3D CAD model of the original emblem that can be 3D printed in plastic or metal. I used a photocopy of Carlas emblem to get the script (non-standard, one-off font) and scaled dimensions off of various photos to start it. Four or five versions later and this is a comparison images of Bikecops original and the CAD model – I tried to roughly replicate the point of view of the photo (~30 degrees off of straight on) for the comparison below:

Attachment 16271

It is a decent replica, but not perfect and I don’t have the overall dimensions quite right yet. This model is scaled to match the size of Carlas large emblems for now and there are some other subtle differences. Since I have a ’77 23, I decided to start playing with variations – here is an example of that:

Attachment 16272

Like my 23, this is a work in progress… maybe I will finish one of these projects someday.

Looks great there Flexpat. When and if I take possession of my dads boat I can get some more exact measurements.

I have access to a laser engraving machine and a 3axis 4ftx8ft CNC machine at work. I would like to help out if possible. I can try and cut out a couple things if you can send me the .dxf files. I have been playing around with engraving on yeti cups lately and would like to find a line drawing of the 20SF so i can engrave that with the boat name.

Very cool!!

It never ceases to amaze me the talent that this site has...;)

Hey, FLexpat nice job for sure....

More and "MORE" later on this project coming soon !! :D

Very excited about this worth while project!

Very impressive!

Getting there...

Attachment 16309

Pretty good chance I will finish this before my 23 gets new decks.

Seems like it would be pretty easy to put a pad below, or in place of, 'MIAMI, FLA.' and have the HIN or even the boat name.

great project, lookin good

WOW!!! Count me in for 2!!!

I’m in for 4!

Very nice! I would definitely take a few.

Emblems
 

Flexpat-
Hey Mitch, your emblems look great. I was going to offer to loan you one of the large laser cut, stainless steel ones I got from Carla. However, it looks like yours are more three dimensional as if with some casting draft to them.

Last year I was finally able to remove the decals from my '76 Seafari which had become diffusion bonded to the gelcoat. I like the current clean look, but would consider ones with the boat name where it originally said Miami. Keep us posted on your progress. You are talented!

Ok - so here is a comparison of my latest 3D model (plan view; lower image) to a scanned image of an original emblem that has never been on a hull (upper one):

Attachment 16329

There are still some differences and they are becoming pretty trivial in my opinion - but I welcome constructive criticism (PM or post).

I am not quite sure where to take this next...
It seems like we may be able to engrave logos onto Yeti Cups (Hobiekanobie has connections).
The original concept was for a replica emblem and then there are variations on that theme. The replicas are about 9.5" long and .200" thick. I am still working on how to come up with the textured finish below the script.
I came up with a few concepts for how emblems could evolve - here is a view of the original replica, one using the 'CLASSIC YEAR', and one using Boat Name (mine is named Cardinal Sin as an example - it is a red 23 Sceptre, 1977). I am thinking boat name is kinda complicated and a pain though.

Attachment 16330

The emblems could be CNC machined or 3D printed - starting to look into that now. My first thought was 3D print in bronze infused stainless; that would run over $140 each from the first vendor I checked, but plastic is obviously cheaper. My son used to work for a company that does CNC production work with .0002" tolerances so he will check with them and we might request a formal quote. I am open to other options too but the concept is to provide a revenue infusion to the CSC site - I don't need or want to be making any profit on this and we are not quite sure how it would work yet. That said, I am hoping we could have something (not sure what- Yeti cups, emblems, ginzu knives?) for the Ft. Pierce gathering. More news to follow if/as this gains traction.

BTW - I have gained serious respect for the guys that hand digitized stuff - it is WAY more time consuming that it seems and I started this with lots of scar tissue from developing digital performance maps for engines.

I put a 8 degree casting draft in on the script text - it seemed about right but no science behind it. No draft yet on the rest of the replica although it looks like there is some on the original - maybe I will add it if I get even more deranged.

These are very cool. Too bad I have an '86.

Haha I have an `89 and I have 2. I hid the classic script behind the CC grab rail...

Mike at international marine has been custom engraving yetis at boat shows and killing
it. Whatever you want printed. They also have a cnc machine....

I will ask if he would help/guide us.

Keep on matriculating, Mitch - they're looking good.

Here are some pics of the logos from my '65 or '66 "21", which I believe are original. Mine are made of some type of plastic, maybe nylon. Note that they do not have the "MIAMI" block below. Also note the 6 rivets. While I can't find a legitimate depth gauge the appear to be slightly less than a 1/8" (I know that's useless to a guy that easily measures to .001").:D

These are probably easier than the cast Zamak ones and appear to be pretty much the same size - in addition to the MIAMI block not being there, the loop of the f is partially filled and the waves may be a bit thicker. I guesstimated the height of the back plate (behind the waves) to be 0.100" and the waves to be another .050" taller on the Zamak one but the plastic 21 is probably a little different there as well.

And here is another concept that probably makes a lot of sense...

Attachment 16339

Nice tribute

I would be interested in buying a few myself for my 2005 . There is nothing on it that identifies as Sea Craft unless you look inside the transom.

This project did not die yet...
I went ahead and had one 3D printed in 'stainless' - unfortunately I think the 60% 420 grade stainless infused with 40% bronze will probably rust, but it is a proof of concept. Getting there and I have another dust collector for the desk.

Attachment 16450

Nice!!!!

Looking good!

Im in for a set. Is aluminum a possibility?? Red/white painted plastic is my other idea... I know this 69 originally had em cuz i just filled the rivet holes :)

My goal is to have them available by/at the May gathering but it is still a work in progress with the production side now being the big issue.

Looks like we can have a couple of options:
Plastic is the easiest and cheapest - I am working on setting up a way that people can order them in their color of choice from a company that will 3D print them for each individual and ship them out with a few bucks going to the CSC site to help cover site expenses. I still have to figure out which plastics will survive best in sunlight and get the logistics dialed. This is the company I used to print the 420SS one shown - their price on aluminum is stupid high but it looks like they have an aluminum/plastic matrix that might work. I am not sure if they do 2-color plastics but will check.

CNC out of 1/4" plate stock (316L or AL) is probably an option but because of the contours that I copied from the original casting (casting draft and multiple thicknesses), it is a more advanced CNC operation with a design effort for tool paths and probably special bits - so not cheap. I have gotten quotes of $500/ea with the price dropping to $90-150/ea on bulk orders (30-50+) but I am still chasing a reasonable option there as I am not excited about shelling out that kind of money.

I really wish the 3D print shop could use 316 instead of 420 because that would be a winner. I have spent hours trying to figure out how passivate the 420 so it wouldn't rust, but it looks like it was annealed in the printing process so that probably wouldn't work.

send it to china,they will do for 20 box

emblems
 

There is an outfit called "O'Brien Truckers"
They cater to to custom car crowd
They advertise that they make car club plaques, among other things
Maybe they could give you an estimate

count me in!

I'll certainly be in for two but we will need to investigate what they are making the emblems of. I would have concerns on ones made for automotive use as most I've seen are chromed pot metal.

I found a company (ExOne) that can 3D print them out of 316 Stainless/Bronze for about $100 each. I ordered one without any protective coating and will use it to run a corrosion test with hot saltwater with some SS screws attached :eek: but the production/sales engineer I talked to thinks it should do fine. I should get it in a week or so.

Printing metal is much different than plastic. The technology ExOne uses is called binder-jet - basically they use finely powdered 316SS covered with a binder to print the part in ~.003" layers. Then they do a vacuum infusion in a furnace where bronze fills the voids and displaces the binder. Net result is 60%SS and 40% Bronze (bimetalic, not an alloy). Then they do blast and polishing - I ordered a grit-tumbled polished finish.

They also offer what is called their 'Navy' coating; a baked on clear lacquer coating they developed for the US Navy - he thinks the finish should last 10-15 years in this application. Probably a good idea but I want to test the unprotected metal first.

I looked into doing them with the aluminum (Thx Doug - good connection) but am pretty concerned about corrosion on that when it gets scratched, around the bolts, and on the back side where it will stay wet. These things are too much of a PITA to be replacing regularly. For a lower-cost option I think we can get plastic 3D prints but I love the look of the one I had printed out of 420SS/Br - unfortunately 420 will get surface rust. One interesting thing is that the 3D printed metal parts shrink non-linearly so the size needs to be scaled up a couple of percent - I am trying 1.7% on this one based on the shrinkage of the 420SS/Br one.

This just came today.
316 stainless infused with silicon bronze, 9.5 inches long and I can scale future prints to whatever size is wanted.
The finish looks a bit like sand cast stainless.
Starting brine immersion corrosion test now - really hoping it survives...
Attachment 16542

Pretty sharp Mitch! Nice work.

Yeh I like that!

Agreed.

That looks sharp! Hope it holds up to the corrosion test. I'm down for a couple of these once you get things figured out.

That is very sharp!

Amazing work!

Great work! Im in for 4 and am willing to help you recover any development expenses.