How big should your boat name be?

Enter your boat and get the letter height that fits, the exact width the name needs on your transom, and how far away it stays readable.

Boat name

Boat length (ft)

Transom width (ft) — optional

Units

Font

Recommended letter height

Name width

Clearly readable

Comfortable reading distance — the next slip over.

Recognisable

Still identifiable across the harbour.

To scale — name against transom width

Boat lettering size calculator by M.Square Marine

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How the numbers are worked out

We laser-cut boat lettering every day, so these are the rules we apply to real orders:

Letter height: roughly one inch of cap height for every five feet of boat length, kept within 3–24 in. Below 3 in a name disappears against the hull; above 24 in it starts to fight the transom.
Name width: measured from the actual letterforms of the font you picked — not an estimate. Script fonts run much wider than condensed ones at the same height.
Transom fit: a name should sit within about 70 % of the transom width, so it is framed rather than crammed.
Readable distance: about 10 ft per inch of cap height for comfortable reading, 30 ft per inch to still recognise the name.
US registration numbers are a separate rule: plain block letters, at least 3 in high, in a colour that contrasts with the hull. The name and hailing port have no federal size requirement — only documented vessels must display them.