I have lost my mind over registration #'s

I put mine on a boat plate , then I drilled
Each end and used wire ties to attach to dinghy. Yep they flop around a little but I
Never notice.
 
I'm convinced nothing sticks to PVC well. It simply sweats too much in the sun. I tried vinyl lettering, then placards, then zip tied placards that ultimately broke, then gave up and only ran with my state reg year sticker. Now I have a Hypalon dink and I am about to give the vinyl lettering another shot.
 
When I had a PVC dink (2004 Merc Inflatable), I used some degreaser and cleaned the spot and went to Fast Signs had them make me some vinyl numbers $10 each side and it worked perfect. Not sure why you are having so many issues, strange mine were still on when I sold it 3 years later. Always inflated and hanging off the back of the boat.
 
you could get a plastic placard, look around you will see them on lots of boats, then zip tie them to the line that goes around most dingies. Or you could do what i do, Dont bother with registration. 40 years boating on the Chesapeake and i have never been stopped for registration numbers on the dinghy.
 
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I mounted mine on a plastic board and hung the board on the handles with electrical ties. Never had an issue with this method.
 
Or you could do what i do, Dont bother with registration. 40 years boating on the Chesapeake and i have never been stopped for registration numbers on the dinghy.
I have been without for 3 weeks now with no problem...

I can’t remember if it was St Clair or the Chesapeake bay but you could put your registration sticker on the transom.... does anyone know if you can do that in Erie?

I did the plastic boards for 10 years on the last dinghy and hated it it was always in the way.....so wanted to stick the numbers on
 
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Local Coasties pulled me over in the dinghy when it was still new and I was going through the same struggle. (it was newISH, but old enough to have a scum line, so they were suspicious of my story)

They told me yes, I could affix registration stickers on the fwd and aft-facing sides of the transom if necessary. The ODNR website offers no such accommodation though, so I opted for the glued placard.
 
I'm convinced nothing sticks to PVC well. It simply sweats too much in the sun. I tried vinyl lettering, then placards, then zip tied placards that ultimately broke, then gave up and only ran with my state reg year sticker. Now I have a Hypalon dink and I am about to give the vinyl lettering another shot.

Keep your expectations low. I've actually had better luck adhering things to PVC than hypalon. (It might be that my glueing skills have sharpened since I had hypalon)
 
I seriously don't care...I will drive the dinghy around with no Reg #'s ....but my wife is a rule person....and I am being kind she is a crazy rule person

We have a new dinghy... So I do this west marine sham

View attachment 87905

Seems innocent... Pay $35 get your little placards.... No info on how to attach your investment....so you email them....is glue included ?....no answer....No reply to your request on how to attach.... Then comes the box... Oh great...my wife will now get off my ass.... Instructions say go to Lowes, Home Depot, any hardware store and buy these products...... Nothing.... There is literally nothing to glue PVC ....wtf ? But their first recommendation is go to West Marine....and buy the most expensive glue on the planet.... $37 ..... More then the phuck'n placards?!?!....and the tube is smaller than a toothpaste tube....no way this is going to do two coats on the placard and one coat on the dinghy.... But phuck it.... I buy a hard brush and a putty knife just in case...... So now into $45 to glue a $35 sticker to a frickn dinghy..... Not a problem.... Got my son coming up with my first grandson....they will enjoy it....

So I have my placards.... That I have been flattening out for 4 days, got my acetone... Stiff brush... Forgot the cardboard....but thank God I loaded the fridge with a case of beer so I have a cardboard box to cut up and lay flat to spread glue on, got tape and sand paper.... I got this

Okay ....so now all you have to do is place the Plackard on the dinghy.... Tape around it....sand your dinghy so the glue can adhere ...put a coat on your dinghy....and two coats on your Plackard and you're good to go..

So time to hold the Plackard to the dingy so you can tape around it...... NOTHING frickn sticks to a new PVC dinghy NOTHING !!

You can't tape it to hold it so you can tape around it..... And the damn placard is a frickn potatoe chip.... The edges are all turned up....are you kidding me?,!,.?., and no tape will stick to hold it....I was surprised I had every tape on the planet on the damn boat and not one tape would frickn stick....

Again....I can't believe I got scammed by west marine again....

Last weekend I saw two new friends with just numbers attached to their pvc dinghys .... I wished I asked ....but I had my solution coming.

Does anyone know where to buy just the numbers that stick to PVC?....without a nightmare prep
We just used black Flex Seal tape. It is liquid rubber and taped around the registration. It stuck on very well.
 
This is what I ended up doing….. wife’s happy, I’m happy, the dog could care less….all good
And Reg sticker on both sides of the transom

4D0FC07F-B1B9-4150-AA4D-0F6FBA99D0C6.jpeg
 
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15 years with no reg # on the dinghy and no problems...
Everything was better in the past…..except cancer

edit: I thought I read you said 15yrs ago…. That’s a good run…. Marina I was in last year had dinghy police. You had to register your dinghy by your Reg # with the office…. I never did ….got letters all summer. I can’t imagine what they would have done if the dinghy didn’t have Reg # :eek::rolleyes:
 
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The only time I've ever been pulled over on my dinghy the Sheriff's did it explicitly to give my kids Culvers tokens for free ice cream and thank them for wearing life jackets. Man that made me feel fricken old! Back when I had my little Baja go-fast boat, cruising around with friends and girls feeling like a big shot, they certainly never pulled me over just to give me free ice cream. :):)

Old...fricken old....
 
This is what I ended up doing….. wife’s happy, I’m happy, the dog could care less….all good
And Reg sticker on both sides of the transom

View attachment 120780

I did reg stickers on both sides of the transom and used a pro grade sharpie with a stencil to write the numbers on. Never knew there was a 'pro' grade sharpie...about $5 each at Lowe's....so far so good.
 

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