Boat Naming Instructions

Trudeau Yachts is no longer taking boat naming orders. Instead, we are publishing links to our templates and detailed do-it-yourself instructions on this page.  All these instructions are for Photoshop CS2. If you are using another graphics editor that reads PSD files, please translate for your application :)

If you do not have experience or familiarity with 3rd party graphics applications or feel any of this is out of your comfort zone, please contact Jaqueline Trudeau inworld and I’ll forward some names of those who can create your naming graphic for you.

Naming Sea Sharp, Sojourner, Bluewater or Trucordia

The template is here. Download, unzip and open the template. You will notice there are quite a few layers and two copies of the name and port text. (PS menu – Window/Layers to display the Layers window if it isn’t open) The upper text is outlined in black and the lower text in white. The boat’s hull has a script that offsets the graphic to display the black outlined text over lighter hull colors and the white outlined text over darker hull colors when using the /1 set color command. As the name image lays on top of the hull texture, it makes the naming much more legible inworld :)

Edit the text layers with the Text tool and Free Transform to fit within within the hull guides if necessary. Also, the Warp Text tool (menu – Layer/Type/Warp Text) is valuable in editing the text arc Bend and Vertical Distortion to make your name fit the hull curvature:

Make the same changes to the upper and lower copies of the text. For the image offset scripts to work correctly, please make sure the text layers end up centered over the horizontal guides (menu –  View/Show/Guides if they are not visible):

When you are done editing the text to your satisfaction we will now set the text within a transparent alpha channel. Hide the Hull Guide layer so that only the text displays over the green mask layer:

Menu – Select/Color Range (with a Fuzziness of around 20) and click the eyedropper over any part of the green background. Click OK. Then menu – Select/Inverse (very important!). Menu – Window/Channels to display the Channels window if it isn’t already open. Select the existing Alpha 1 channel and remove it by clicking the Delete current channel (garbage can) icon:

Create a new alpha channel by clicking the Save selection as channel layer icon:

Go back to the Layers window and hide the green mask layer so that the text appears over the anti-halo background layer (this prevents that annoying white halo around the alpha edges):

Now save your graphic as a 32 bit Targa file (don’t check Compress!).

In Second Life, File/Upload Image (L$10 … sigh). In the preview make sure the text is displayed within a transparency. If it displays over a solid background, something got messed up with your alpha channel. In that event, please go back and reread these instructions carefully :)

Upload it and we’ll apply it to your Trudeau yacht (Sea Sharp used here as an example). Rez the boat inworld. Zoom the camera in on the stern area of the boat, right click it and select Edit from the pie menu:

On the Edit dialog box, choose the Select Texture radio button, select the Texture tab and click around on the boat’s prims until you see the existing name texture in the (very tiny) Texture window:

Click on that Texture  window to bring up the Pick:Texture view into your inventory. If you have difficulty finding the texture you just uploaded, type part of it’s name which will filter to it:

Select it to apply your name. Voila! Stand back to admire your work – it’s beautiful, isn’t it?

Rename your boat to reflect it’s new christening. Again, select the boat and Edit from the pie menu and in the General tab, just change the name:

Save it back into inventory and our work is done here!

The Trucordia Life Ring is somewhat easier. Download the template here.

There is only one text layer over a semicircular guide:

Edit the text, keeping within the radius of the guide (Free Transform and the Warp Text tool are your friends!)

When done text editing, hide the text guide layer:

And save the image as a targa – 24 bit this time, as there is no alpha channel. Upload the image to Second Life, apply to the outside faces of your Trucordia’s life rings (you are getting to be an old hand at this!) and you are done!

Naming Larinda Schooner

Naming Larinda is essentially the same as the Sea Sharp procedure, except use this template.

Naming Defender

Naming Defender (template here) is very similar to the Sea Sharp procedure, except there are no hull guide layers as part of the template. Instead, make sure the text layers are centered on horizontal guide bars and try to keep the text within the vertical guide bars:

Otherwise, Defender’s round stern introduces some annoying text warping if you go too far to the edges of the template:

Naming Tradewind

Tradewind (template here) also follows the same procedure as Sea Sharp, etc. except there is only one set of text layers – they always display over a fixed hull texture color so the texture offset script is not needed.

Naming Trudeau 32

This one is a little bit different, the instructions follow. Download the template, unzip and open it. Once you done editing the text layer (again, try to stay within the vertical guides), hide the Trim background layer:

Select PS’s Magic Wand Tool (a tolerance setting of around 10 is good) and click anywhere within the transparent part of the name/port layer:

menu – Select/Inverse, then menu – Select/Modify/Expand and expand by 3 pixels:

Click OK. Now delete the existing Alpha 1 channel and save the selection as a new channel as explained in the Sea Sharp instructions.

Show the Trim background layer:

Save as a 32 bit targa, upload to Second life and apply to your Trudeau 32.

Naming Tahiti Ketch

Naming Tahiti Ketch is relatively simple - just open the template, keep the name and port text within the guides and background. Save as a 32 bit targa, upload and apply.

Naming JacqCat and Friendship

Even simpler. JacqCat’s template is here, Friendship’s is here. Just open, modify the text and keep it over the background. Save as 24 bit targa (no alphas on these), upload to Second Life and apply to your boat.

Good Job!