Yes, it’s goodbye to Lafayette Venture ll – Sadly for Hugh and John who owned her for the past 22 years.
Now its time for her to embark on new adventures under new owners and a new name.
First however is the de-naming ceremony which entails removing the name from the boat, then appeasing Neptune, then applying the new name followed by a naming ceremony.
First, the removal of the name:
PS
How do you remove a name that’s been painted on a boat without damaging the underlying gelcoat? With difficulty, it seems – but there is a fairly easy way!! First, forget about paint strippers and the like as they will eat into the gelcoat. So, how? Well, I used a tip I picked up from the Cruiser’s forums – Spray the old painted name with heavy duty oven cleaner – yes, that’s right, oven cleaner. I used Easy Off. Spray it on, let it dry, use a nylon kitchen scourer to wipe what you can off. Then repeat 2-3 times and it will all, almost magically, come off. Just need to use a bit of old fashioned elbow grease for a few stubborn spots.
Be warned that the oven cleaner will discolour the gelcoat yellowish. Then, I used Chlorox bleach to bleach the yellow and, voila – a name easily removed!
