The Graphics Boat

Attempt of website hacking

2012-02-22T17:31:00.002Z

Wow some people are really sad, they have been trying to attack our website for the past few days now.

Luckily for us our logs are full of their IP address and they have been reported to Sky and we have taken the matter further. So they should have a nice warning soon :-)

More boating stickers added

2012-01-08T16:16:00.002Z

We have added some more new products on our website today, adding to our popular sticker range, and as before we know that if anyone else has them they have to be inside my brain as I have just made them up, or doing a naughty as if they would lol

Our New Products: - Boats a rockin - A, Bow Thruster - A, Cruised Canals - A, Do it afloat - A, Do it on Canals and Rivers - A, Do it slowly - A, Stern Gland - A and Have wet cratches - A.

Added to compliment our current range, more to be added very soon.

New Wall Art Catergory

2012-01-02T14:30:00.003Z

Happy New Year everybody, I hope 2012 is a fantastic year for all of you.

Just to keep you updated we have now added Wall Art to our site to compliment the other ranges. At present we have only designed 60, but fear not, more will be added in due course, and of course you could always design your own.

Please take a browse through and if you would like to suggest any designs please feel free to contact us.

Christmas Shutdown

2011-12-17T13:42:00.002Z

We are now closed until 4th January 2012, any new orders placed on the website will not be posted until our return.

We would like to take this opportunity to wish all our customers and friends a very merry Christmas and New Year.

Thank you to our customers!

2011-12-05T15:32:00.001Z

Well our new website has gone down a storm and is bringing in new customers. We have several projects on the go and a few in the pipeline. So all the hard work in setting up and revamping all our websites is paying off.

Thank you to all our customers old and new, we strive to be the best and give the best, so do not hesitate to Contact Us if you require a custom graphic or if you require something that you can not see on the website. We are here to help...

New Products

2011-12-04T20:14:00.001Z

We are constantly coming up with new designs, and we add the designs as soon as they are complete. So keep checking back to our main catalog area for new ideas.

If there is something else that you would like to see us design, just let us know!

Facebook Like Button

2011-12-03T16:05:00.001Z

Unfortunately we have had to remove the Facebook Like button off our new sites due to it reaching over 100 it seemed ok with under 100, however that extra digit throws off the header bar for some reason, and to change the code would alter the style.

We wanted to thank all you guys for taking the time and pressing the like button it was appreciated.

Grrrrrrrr

New products

2011-12-02T21:23:00.005Z

We have added some more new products on our website today, including adding to our popular sticker range, and we know that if anyone else has them they have to be inside my brain as I have just made them up, or doing a naughty as if they would lol

Our New Products: - Bow Thruster, Do it afloat, Do it Slowly and Stern Gland. Added to compliment our current range, more to be added very soon, well as soon as my brain recovers for all this work :-)

Also added is the gift vouchers again, sorry for delay in getting these back on but with the change over to our new websites some of our modules were missing without us realising, tut tut...

More products old and new coming back online very soon so keep popping in and have a look.

Some companies!

2011-12-01T19:08:00.003Z

Yes! Some companies do make the most absurd false statements to try and look better. Makes us laugh, can happily say we aren't one who has to....

We are who we are and our customers make us proud to be in business :-)

Helpful hints when applying our graphics

2011-12-01T13:28:00.000Z

So, you have received your order and it's sitting there staring at you, and you are thinking 'this is overwhelming.' Don't be afraid! It's really not hard, and once you have done it, you will be hooked. Here are a few suggestions...

1. Don't get too excited when your package arrives and try to put your decals up right away... unroll them and let them sit and rest for awhile to try to keep them from rolling up on you while you are applying. Also, wait for some help, especially on larger decals...an extra set of hands definitely helps.

2. Take it slow...Seriously, don't do this in a hurry.

3. When applying your decals the flatter the surface, the better. But if you do have to fit somewhere textured, take it even slower. It is not uncommon for the vinyl to not want to stay on the wall...it will want to come off the wall when you are taking off the transfer paper... it's okay. Just pull the transfer paper back at a 45 degree angle very slowly. I am right handed, so I usually pull the paper with my left hand, and use my right hand to help the vinyl separate from the transfer paper.

As always, do not hesitate to call or email if you have any questions at all...we want you to be 100% satisfied with your vinyl decals and lettering.

New website

2011-11-27T01:25:00.007Z

The Graphics Boat is now up and running after we had to change hosting companies, but at least it gave us a chance to install the new website. :-)
.

Website down!

2011-11-25T17:17:00.000Z

Ok everybody,the website has now been intermittently down for the past two days whilst the hosting company is rebuilding the server after they broke it doing updates, the silly people.

We hope to be back on soon, but in the meantime please phone us for urgent orders.

Michelle

The best unique graphics company out there? Yes it's official!

2011-11-20T17:25:00.001Z

A BIG thanks to Gerry for finding our business good enough to publish in The Graphics Display World

The Graphics Boat

WRITTEN BY GERRY MULVANEY | 20 NOVEMBER 2011

http://www.graphicdisplayworld.com/en/categories/wrapping-world/787-the-graphics-boat

A narrow boat is only 6’ 10” wide because it has to fit into a standard single lock on the British Waterways network. I only mention this because you will have to picture the rather cramped inside of the narrow boat Robyn, home to The Graphics Boat run by Will Graham and Michelle Guest, as I tell you about their business.

I went to meet the couple at their winter moorings in the Engine Arm canal in Smethwick, just outside Birmingham City centre. They will be here until March 2012, when they will begin their summer cruising programme around the canals of the Midlands and the North. The Graphics Boat started life three and a half years ago to fund the couple’s new boating lifestyle. Prior to that Will had been a tiler, travelling the length and breadth of Britain working on building sites. After a canal boat holiday, the pair decided to buy a boat as their permanent home and lead a more relaxed life.

The front of Robyn has been converted into a workshop, equipped with a Roland Uniform Cadet SP750c, a small workbench and storage area for the vinyls, chemicals and other consumables. The couple’s dining table also doubles as a workbench when they are producing some of the larger signs and banners. Knowing a bit about boats myself, I wondered how they managed to power the Roland from their 12 volt batteries, but Will explained they had installed a large 2.5Kw inverter to give 240 volts and had a pretty powerful set of batteries which are charged by the engine, so they are self-sufficient. Boats are notorious for being damp, something that would ruin the vinyl rolls, so everything has to be kept in waterproof bags, stored under their large double bed at the back of the boat. Will has also fitted an air extractor system through a small roof mounted chimney.

From the start they decided to focus on the market for boat signage. Michelle designs boat name panels and decorative patterns, as well as patterned frosted glass for portholes and windows, using Corel draw as the main application, driving the Roland through a ColorRIP running on a PC. The customer base is drawn from the boating community and they get their orders from their web site, www.thegraphicsboat.co.uk or from passing boaters, who spot their well-placed signs on the roof.

Usually Michelle will get some photos of a client’s boat and then superimpose the proposed designs into the picture for the client to choose and approve the finished result, although they are currently investigating an online portal for their website, so the prospective customers can enter their own boat name or design, select from several fonts and layouts, proof the finished results and generate a PDF for production.

Will and Michelle will spend the summer months attending many of the canal festivals and exhibitions held every year which provide a ready source of prospective customers. They are often contacted several weeks after an event, by people who saw their boat and have decided to upgrade their signage.

The canal community also has a large number of authorised traders selling everything from coal to cheese, and they too are good customers. This wandering lifestyle requires a high degree of planning to arrive at the canal festivals on time, since with a maximum speed of about 4 miles an hour, the Robyn doesn’t get anywhere very fast.

It may be a slow paced life, but running a business means they need access to modern amenities. Internet connection is provided by a 3G dongle, which seems to work very well for them. It also enables them to order their consumables and I was intrigued to find that their suppliers manage to track them down by the postcode of the local pub, garage or Tesco store close to their temporary moorings. MDP Supplies Ltd gets a special mention from Will as one of their key suppliers, happy to supply complete vinyl rolls to some strange locations!

Once the jobs are completed, Will and Michelle prefer to fit the panels and signage themselves. This requires a bit of planning as well, since Will needs the boat to be alongside the towpath to fit the vinyl. He doesn’t want to be leaning over the boat to do the other side and this entails turning the boat around, something that needs a special turning point, called a winding hole, on a narrow canal. Where customers are too far away, Will and Michelle have a 125cc motorbike carried on the back of the boat, which enables them to reach the local Post Office and despatch the items around the country.

Boat signage used to be painted in the same way as vehicle signage, but now modern vinyls are taking over and the traditional arched and shadowed boat names can be cut in solid colours giving a 7/10 year life on the waterways. There is also a traditional type of artwork which decorates the inside door panels of many older canal boats which is called “Roses and Castles”. It is pretty descriptive of the style and Michelle produces a range of printed vinyls in all the traditional designs. They get some strange commissions as well. One lady wanted a series of stars on her boat bedroom ceiling and another ordered frosted glass panels depicting Egyptian dogs. Strange people these canal folk.

Will and Michelle are spending the winter in Birmingham updating their web site and putting the finishing touches to Michelle’s new kitchen. They want to create a web portal where customers can design their own boat names and panels and see the finished result before ordering - a sort of Canal MoonPig. They also want to get their Roland serviced, so if any of you freelance engineers out there are looking at GDW, give Will a call. Come March they will be back travelling around, so do look out for them on your next canal towpath walk.

www.thegraphicsboat.co.uk

Drum roll please.......

2011-11-15T17:38:00.001Z

Nice drum covers made by us!
Obviously having nice drums covers will send their fans wild for them :-)

Good Luck with the tour!

www.dakesis.com

Dakesis: 5 piece Birmingham, UK Power Metal band

Christmas Canvas Prints

2011-11-15T15:06:00.001Z

As they done so well last year, we have added a 10% discount code for our Canvas Prints.

Just use discount code: canvas10 at checkout for the discount to be added to your basket. As they say 'every penny counts'.

Personalise your design or choose one of ours. What a wonderful gift to give a loved one for Christmas!

View our canvas prints here

Christmas is coming!

2011-11-14T18:47:00.006Z

I can't believe we are almost in December. Things have been so busy, it has been crazy here... but we can't complain as we wouldn't want it any other way.

We have also been working on some Christmas items which will be added to the website very soon, plus we have been stripping out the bedroom ready a new one, and as you probably know, fitting a bedroom on a narrowboat is not fun.

It's all go! :-)

Thought this was quite funny.... for all those that enjoy BW bashing

2011-11-12T13:06:00.003Z

Well for those that enjoy a bit of BW bashing, I found this recently..... a picture of BW Chairman Tony Hales alongside every one's favourite Simpson's villain Mr Burns...

Well I thought there was a likeness!

Time to do some work....

2011-11-11T10:50:00.001Z

Over the last few weeks we have been busy refitting the kitchen. As always these things should be straightforward but, hey, wrong deliveries, broken parts, waiting for replacements all added to the long list of delays. Anyhow, all is now in place. In between the waiting we have also fittted a back boiler to our squirrel. Busy Busy!

So now we are doing some work - it's great to have a rest!

Boat name Lucy & Flourish supplied & fitted by us

A mooring for Winter

2011-11-11T00:30:00.001Z

It's get some work done on the boat time.... So we have taken a mooring so we can get deliveries, work without moving and just get on with it.....

We are at Smethwick, not the lovely countryside but at least it's secure and has facilities right next to the boat.

They say imitation is the sincerest for of flattery.....

2011-11-11T00:19:00.002Z

But I have to say we find it rather sad that a certain company is copying our idea's and using them on their site - category for category. Perhaps they are struggling for their own idea's?

All our idea's are our own, perhaps other people may have done them before (we can't help that), but we don't set out to purposely copy our competitors products and website's.

Someone will ask us for something, and if it's a product we like, it will make it onto our website. We make tons of stuff that's not listed on our site, to add it all would be an impossible task.

/rant !

Welcome

2011-11-11T00:04:00.001Z

The Graphics Boat is an adapted narrowboat that currently travels the system selling our goods and we are proud to be British Waterways Licenced Canal Traders.

We offer a full range of services to Individuals, Clubs and Organisations throughout the UK, and produce a full range of graphics including boat names, boat graphics, shop signs, pub signs, taxi signs, A-boards, magnetic signs, window graphics, full colour banners, canvas prints and much more. We also welcome one offs and custom made designs

Our staff have over 10 years experience in the trade and The Graphics Boat was established in the summer of 2007, with our fast and friendly service we have built up a good customer base with many repeat orders.

Follow our blog for details of the more interesting projects and any new investments or offers we may have for our customers.