I'm Going To Paint My Stack

What colour? I thought black...opinions, suggestion? Just don't suggest that I polish it

This...

I think either red or maybe green?

Red was the first thing that popped into my head upon seeing the billowing flag though.

Red, White and Blue. Be like Leona Helmsley.

Why mess with work-a-day, rugged, hairy chested perfection?

Because you're in the north and presumably in the deep at some points, I'd suggest something bright and visible from the air. If the Coasties (or your Canadian version thereof) is looking for you, don't blend in with the ocean. Be distinctive.

Not white, and not blue. As I recall in the Fastnet post-race autopsy, the lifeboats that were orange were more likely to be found/rescued.

janice142 said:

Because you're in the north and presumably in the deep at some points, I'd suggest something bright and visible from the air. If the Coasties (or your Canadian version thereof) is looking for you, don't blend in with the ocean. Be distinctive.

Not white, and not blue. As I recall in the Fastnet post-race autopsy, the lifeboats that were orange were more likely to be found/rescued.

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Yellow Orange is definitely the color for visibility.

I think red would look good . I see how you launch your dinghy now . I like the mast setup .

Very Kool boat I am thinking red send some closer pics

Hi there,

Just wondering...

Gwaii Haanas (a most awesome vessel with no ostentatious *bling* that just oozes BC coast ruggedness I must say) is the closest hull design I've seen to either a Category B Dutch barge or a Great Harbour N47 that is plying BC waters here on TF.

How do you find its seakeeping qualities?

I would think that because of BC's long channels one would only occasionally take waves on the beam, and if a long crossing was in order one could either wait out bad weather or send out the paravanes and make the crossing quartering the waves 1/2 upwind, then 1/2 downwind.

Also...when making your way along a long channel into a stiff wind, do you find you punch straight into it or do you tend to send out the paravanes and zigzag your way through the oncoming waves?

Love your boat and can only imagine the adventures Gwaii Haanas had resupplying the remote Haida Watchmen camps on Haida Gwaii, and I'm sure you're having a great time as well

Murray

Something very eye-catching such as bright yellow. And while at it, why not similarly paint the pilothouse roof and its edge? Makes one's boat recognizable at long range (several miles).

I would paint a lot more than just the stack. Check out Yellow Cat.

Gentlemen, your ideas are much-appreciated! Dave, I'm not sure that I'm a hazard to aircraft, although I have personally step-taxied float planes up many BC inlets in visibility too low to fly. Encountering Gwaii Haanas would have been an unpleasant surprise just as some fish boats were! In those condition, a strobe light would be better than paint!

I will definitely NOT be painting the superstructure. Although it's a good idea and would almost make the old lump look snazzy, the entire process and the maintenance of paint on aluminum, in fact part of the reason I bought this boat, would be negated.

As for her sea-keeping abilities, she is surprisingly good. She was not designed for the coast, she was built to service the reservoir on the Revelstoke Dam and did so for nearly 20 years. When she finished there, she was brought to the coast and when Parks Canada bought her, they changed the bow, added the hydraulics, a larger windlass, the freight crane, added four feet to her stern, added the stabilizer poles and repowerered her with the Cummins engine. She then spent 5 years thrashing back and forth across the Hecate Straits, travelling from Queen Charlotte City up and down to the new park on Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) servicing the watch stations and doing crew changes. She earned her rough water credentials even before I found her. Strangely enough, the stability poles were a CSI requirement in order to be used as a passenger ship. Judging by the dents in the side of the hull, the operators found it as difficult to retrieve the fish as I do. They removed them. They were lying on the deck when I bought her.

My rough water experience has been limited, thankfully, but I did get caught in a 35 knot Southeaster coming down Malaspina Strait where we had about 6 foot waves on the nose. She shot a lot of spray about but she was comfortable, did not roll too badly when we turned across the waves at 2 places; I did not think to deploy the stabilizers because once we were underway and I realized I had them(!) I didn't want anyone to go on deck. They weren't needed. The roll is not excessive and despite her hard chine, the recovery is not as snappy as my previous Grand Banks 32 was. Fair to say, this one is 20' longer and 3' wider but we didn't have to worry about getting smacked with a cupboard like you did in the 32 and all my unstowed tools stayed put on the workbench.

I suppose as she was a Forestry boat in her past I should plan something green but the jury is definitely out still.

Xsbank said:

Strangely enough, the stability poles were a CSI requirement in order to be used as a passenger ship.

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This sounds unlikely. Stabilizer poles do not affect stability, only motion. Someone is confusing stability and motion. Two different things. There are stability requirements in Transport Canada regulations but there are no motion requirements or limitations.

That sounds logical, Tad, I'm just repeating the oral history I learned. The original requirements were for Parks Canada? Maybe they required it, along with the refit that was done when they acquired it?

I was also thinking about the last time we went to Nanaimo, we quartered the swells/waves in a sort of tacking process, because of the way the wind was blowing I was getting water on the windows, which was a nuisance.

If anybody has ever been on a Spirit-class BC Ferry in a blow, that "bang shudder" they do is very similar in my boat. It must be a characteristic of metal boats?

Speaking of which, the Metal Boats site seems to have gone tits up. Presumably after Connall set sail?

I am very partial to the RNLI 47' motor lifeboats. This feeling was greatly reinforced when I was given the opportunity to drive one several years ago during a patrol exercise in Morcambe Bay in the west of England. In fact they were the inspiration for a recently completed newbuild project in Europe.

I think their colour scheme makes for great visibility but still looks quite classy.

Xsbank said:

...
I will definitely NOT be painting the superstructure. Although it's a good idea and would almost make the old lump look snazzy, the entire process and the maintenance of paint on aluminum, in fact part of the reason I bought this boat, would be negated. ...

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Doesn't even paint used by airlines (flying aluminum planes) have long-lasting qualities?

markpierce said:

Doesn't even paint used by airlines (flying aluminum planes) have long-lasting qualities?

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Yes, but the surface prep process, the multi-part paint itself (which is NOT off-the-shelf paint as many believe but is specially formulated by companies most people have never heard of and is mixed specifically for each application), and the application process costs more than a new Nordhavn. Probably a couple of new Nordhavns.........

Painting aluminum, then spraying it with salt water, is ok as long as the paint membrane is intact. If it fails, salt gets in, prevents oxygen from getting in, then you get pit corrosion and crevice corrosion. Look at any painted aluminum boat, you will see bubbling and blistering around non-welded fittings. That is why I am choosing to not paint, except for decoration. I thought I would polish her, but life's too short. Apologies if I have posted this before:

Thanks for the stability/motion report

Xsbank said:

What colour? I thought black...opinions, suggestion? Just don't suggest that I polish it

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Black or nothing. Why paint now? Once you start.....?

If you paint the stack, you better do something nice for the engine, too!!

A bud bought a boat and put nice hardwood in for the cabin sole, and did that before he spent a dime on the engines. The engines felt ignored and treated him to four failures, one quite expensive.

So go change the oil or something before you do any bling. Engines get jealous, too.

Paint it silver or grey so it will be less noticeable. If you think it is one of the most attractive parts of your boat paint it white.
At least your stack is actually a stack and serves the expected function.

On second thought pick a really nice non-offensive color that you'll like as much next year and paint the whole boat. Two tone or three tone highly recommended.

If you go ahead with painting the stack consider painting the boot stripe the same color. My preference is for red...but yellow is distinctive too.

Xsbank--- Since your boat is Canadian and given the waters you cruise in, what about using the Union Steamship Company stack colors, red with a black top? Painting is the Caronea approaching the Goose Bay cannery.

That's a good idea, if I hold my hand over the hull, the fact my hull is not black isn't a detriment. I'll ask my friend the historian if those colours are sacrilege or? The top of the stack gets some black stuff on it so it's practical.

Ski, I've been spending all my time on the systems, they will understand!

No, I don't think there is any issue with using a red stack with a black top. It was actually a fairly popular paint scheme for passenger liners large and small back then.

Wifey B: Ok, I know I'm the only one but every time I read the thread title, I think he's going to blow his stack.

Common to paint the very top of stacks black- Soot will turn them somewhat black anyway- why fight the black.