Custom crew shirts work when every shirt carries the same drawing of your boat and only the text underneath changes. You give us the make, model, and boat name once, then add one shirt per crew member with their own position, size, and color. No minimum order, no setup fee, printed when you order.
Last updated: August 22, 2026
Outfitting a crew used to mean a screen printer, a fifty-shirt minimum, and a guess at everyone's size in February. It does not any more. Here is how to do it properly.
What goes on a crew shirt
Three things, and no more: the boat, the boat name, and the person. The boat is a detailed line drawing of your exact model. The boat name sits with it. The third line is what changes shirt to shirt, and it is either a crew position (Foredeck, Trim, Pit, Nav, Galley) or a first name.
Positions look better in photos and on the dock. Names work better for a family boat or a delivery crew that changes roles. Some boats do both: Captain and First Mate get titles, everyone else gets names.
A fourth option that comes up on charter boats and one-off deliveries is a date or a passage: the year of the season, or the leg you sailed together. It works, but only once. Positions stay useful season after season, and a shirt that is still worn in three years is the one that was worth ordering.
Positions or names: how to decide
Use positions when the roles are stable and the shirts will be worn racing. Bow, mast, pit, trim, main, helm, and nav cover most crews, and everyone on the dock understands what they mean. Positions also make a set look deliberate in photographs, which matters if the club posts regatta pictures.
Use names when the crew rotates, when the boat is family rather than a program, or when you are ordering for people who do not think of themselves as racers. A shirt that says Sarah gets worn to the grocery store. A shirt that says Pit does not, quite.
If you cannot decide, order titles for the two people whose roles never change and names for everyone else. Nothing about the design forces consistency, because each shirt is set individually.
Sizes, colors, and mixed orders
Because each shirt is printed on its own, nothing has to match except the artwork. One crew member takes a long sleeve, two take sweatshirts for a cold October series, the rest take tees, and every one of them shows the same boat. Ask everybody for their size before you order rather than guessing, and order the size they actually wear rather than the size they wish they wore.
On color: navy, heather grey, and white are the safe crew choices, and they photograph cleanly against water and sail. Darker colors hide a season of sunscreen and dock grime better than light ones. If you want the crew to be visible from the committee boat, one bright color across the whole crew does more than a mix of five.
The whole range shares the same design: see custom crew shirts, or start with the crew tee.
How the options compare
| Local screen printer | Generic marketplace seller | Boat-specific custom (SB Shirts) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum order | Usually 12 to 50 shirts | None | None |
| Art of your actual boat | Only if you supply the artwork yourself | Stock anchors and wheels | A line drawing of your exact make and model |
| Per-shirt names and positions | Extra charge per variation | One name, dropped on stock art | Included, different on every shirt |
| Adding a crew member later | New minimum, new setup fee | Art may have changed or vanished | Same drawing on file, orders match |
| Turnaround | 2 to 4 weeks plus proofing | Varies widely | 5 to 7 business days |
The screen printer wins on unit cost once you are past roughly fifty shirts of one design. Below that, the setup fee dominates and the flexibility is worth more than the discount.
Ordering for a crew, step by step
- Collect sizes and text. One line per person: size, color, style, and the position or name that goes on their shirt.
- Add the first shirt. Enter your boat make, model, boat name, and that person's text on the product page. Add the year if your model changed across its production run.
- Repeat per crew member. Same boat details, different text and size each time.
- Check out once. Everything ships together.
If your model needs a drawing prepared, we do that before printing and send a proof when there is any question about which version of the boat you sail.
Timing it for a regatta
Order at least three weeks out. Printing and shipping runs 5 to 7 business days, and that leaves room for a proof, a size swap, and the one crew member who replies late. If the date is tight, say so when you order and we will tell you honestly whether it works before anything is printed.
Five mistakes worth avoiding
- Guessing sizes. Ask. It takes one message in the crew thread and saves a round of returns.
- Ordering one shirt per person in a different style each. The set works because the artwork is shared. Vary size and color freely, but pick one placement.
- Cramming text under the drawing. Boat name plus one line. A fourth line makes the whole thing look like a giveaway item.
- Leaving it until the week of the event. Made to order means printed for you, not pulled from a shelf.
- Ordering the wrong model. A Catalina 30 and a Catalina 320 are different boats. If your model spans a long production run, give us the year.
What about the captain?
The captain's shirt is the same shirt with a different word on it. Everything about titles, placement, and what to leave off is covered in our complete guide to custom shirts for boat captains.
FAQs
Is there a minimum order for custom crew shirts?
No. One shirt is a normal order, and so is twenty. There is no setup fee and no quantity you have to reach before ordering, because nothing is screen printed in batches.
Can each crew member pick their own size and color?
Yes. Every shirt is printed individually, so sizes, colors, and even styles can differ across the order while the boat drawing stays identical on all of them.
What text goes on each crew shirt?
The boat name plus whatever that person should carry: a crew position like Foredeck or Trim, a title like Captain or First Mate, or simply their name.
Can we add a crew member later and still match?
Yes. The drawing for your boat stays on file, so a shirt ordered months later carries the same artwork as the original batch.
How long do crew shirts take to arrive?
Shirts are made to order and typically print and ship within 5 to 7 business days. Tell us if you need them for a specific regatta and we will confirm the date before printing.
Ready to outfit the crew? Start with custom crew shirts, or browse every style in custom boat shirts.