Racing to the finish with ‘222 Offshore’ and Gold Coast Wraps

In 2021, 222 Offshore, the Australian-based powerboat racing team, entered into a strategic alliance with the Royal Australian Navy, which saw their racing assets rebranded with a new livery. When borders were re-opened in 2022 the team were able to head back to the United States to compete in the Class One World Championships, taking with them the team from Gold Coast Wraps to complete the rebrand and prepare the boat for racing.

Gold Coast Wraps, led by Managing Director Clayton Witney has a longstanding relationship with 222 Offshore, having designed their livery for many years. In preparation for the trip to the USA, 222 contacted Witney to rebrand their US-based assets, replicating the Australian Navy livery already wrapped across their Australian assets.

Initial talks centred around sourcing material and completing the work in the USA, which was believed would be more cost-effective. However, further research proved otherwise, and the printing was completed in-house on an Epson SureColor S80600. Something Witney calls “a blessing in disguise” as the sign shop was then able to colour match, with only minor adjustments to the artwork given that the US and Australian boats had almost identical hulls. Witney says the team love their Epson due to its consistency and high-quality print when using Hexis Media.

Gold Coast Wraps chose Hexis as a partner for this project, as the Hexis products were a perfect fit for the project. Additionally, Hexis ensured access to a global network of suppliers and installers. Between Hexis Australia and Hexis Americas, it was ensured that Gold Coast Wraps had everything required onsite.  

Knowing that the boat would have to endure extreme racing conditions throughout the season, the team selected Hexis’ premium cast HX190WG2 print media and matching PC190G2 laminate for the project.

The next challenge involved receiving vague measurements and strange photographs from odd angles of the US transport trailer. To compensate for the unknowns, the team added extra bleed.

As the travel dates approached, concern mounted regarding shipping times, logistics, reliability, and costs. With some research, the team concluded they could take excess baggage with their flights at a lower price than freight on a pallet. The team packed all the printed media into six boxes ranging from 27 kg to 32 kg.

A delayed flight from Brisbane meant that the team missed their connecting flight to Miami. After rearranging flights into Miami via Atlanta, the team were horrified to discover the airline had lost their luggage!  Some intrepid sleuthing led to the discovery that their boxes had not been removed from the connecting flight into Atlanta, the airline forwarded the boxes on to Miami, and the team drove a four-hour round trip to collect the boxes themselves.

Starting work, removing the old livery, which was a partial wrap from the first decal; the clear coat and the silver paint on the boat peeled off with the vinyl.  This added days to an already tight schedule for the rebranding. After removing what proved to be almost all the clear coat and most of the base coat along with it, the team had lost three days of preparation. It took several trips to various hardware stores, some online shopping and navigating unfamiliar product names to source the right materials for the removal and preparation of the hull.

The trucks and transporter were much easier to prepare, as 222 had been able to remove the decals themselves.  Witney says 222 now has a deeper appreciation for using quality materials that may seem more costly upfront but are so much easier to remove, saving days when they are to be replaced.

As a Gold Coast resident, Witney says he had an appreciation for working through summer but says he has never been more grateful for his airconditioned factory than after sweating through the heat of West Palm Beach in the Rock’n’Roll Rigging workshop. The warehouse roller doors had to be shut and fans switched off, so the dust settled through the wrapping process. Witney says the team had a car fridge delivered to keep a steady supply of cold drinks on hand.

After working non-stop, the team finished up with one day to spare and headed down to Miami to do some sightseeing before driving four hours north to Cocoa Beach to watch the first race of the season. 222 Offshore led the race until the second last lap, where a broken gearbox forced the boat to retire.  The livery looked awesome on the water and was so well received in the Powerboat world, which is why 222 Offshore trusts Gold Coast Wraps to get the job done time after time.