It will be like a black car, the only time it looks good is just after a wash.
There is a reason most boats are white, it works. I have seen silver grey hulls, like auto metallic silver, it looks good and won`t show the dirt, salt, etc,like dark blue or black. I`d hazard a guess dark hulls get repainted more often than white ones.
A TF member "wrapped" his boat. Might cost less and be more easily changed.
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BruceK
2005 Integrity 386 "Sojourn"
Sydney Australia
Vessel Model: Malcom Tennant 20M and Noordzee Kotter 52
Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 984
I hear the comments on white being easier to keep clean and I would certainly agree in terms of cars.
Also keep in mind that I am in the PNW where warm is good, not bad. Also that my boat is steel with 12 coats of Awlgrip and not gelcoat.
Now having said that, Klee Wyck gets washed about once or twice a year and gets Finessit once very two years when in the yard. For some reason it always looks very clean and shiny, never shows a salt residue on the dark blue hull, and never looks dirty. Could be the constant Seattle rain I suppose....
Libra has an off white hull and generally looks a little dirtier. I always feel like it needs a wash. also steel but not as great a coating as Awlgrip I think. First trip to a US yard coming up here shortly and I will try Finessit on that hull.
I really like the blue hull.
Colored hulls are very hot, and show every little spray of salt and wax swirl. Even your canvas should be as light-colored as possible.
it is true that the dark color warmer, and that's why I dark blue, here more than half of the period of cold. wax eddies are history, my armor does not leave swirls see the picture, the best investment to keep the boat like new!
here salinity of only about 1%. the other loss is another victory, but I guarantee that Rupes big foot on a white boat makes great!
Rupes big foot 21 mark 2 random orbit polisher 21mm stroke
Everytime my wife and I would head south on the ditch, we would see a beautiful Hinckley, sitting on a lift. Beautiful blue on the north facing side, and whitish pale blue on the south side. It was also under a shed.The major complaints we always heard, were fading, and hot, also the same with dark canvas. We found this to be true even on the Chesapeake Bay, but to a lesser degree. We have also seen, a literal stripe from the sun on some boats, from being in the same spot for periods of time.
Like mentioned previously, I guess color is a matter of personal taste. So speaking of my taste, I find white hull with a navy blue accent strip at the top very elegant. I saw one trawler like this and I liked it very much.
Dark colored boats are a dime a dozen here. Everywhere you look you see flag blue Hinckleys, claret red Morris's and dark green Sabres. I prefer my oats to stand out from the hohum dark colored crowd so I keep mine white.
Dark paint over white gelcoat is a nightmare. Fades and scratches are bright white. And hot. If already dark gelcoat, dark paint at least won't show the scratches.
I painted mine light yellow, closest I could get to scum stain color.
Before I painted a boat a dark color, I would do some research on post cure of the resin used in the glass. There have been quite a few reports of print through showing up after painting on a dark color. Even some reports of delamination of the glass. Aparrently the heat caused by the dark color will cause the resin to cure more and or faster than normal and you might get some print through of the fiberglass cloth or roving if enough mat was not applied on the outside. If memory serves me Passagemaker or Steve Deantonio wrote an article about this some years ago. I would check it out before spending a lot of money on dark paint and then having a problem. Also location would make a difference. If the boat is in Maine or Canada it might not be as big an issue as a boat in Florida.
Just had mine done in Aristo Blue Awlcraft. Love the color......My old Bristol 35.5 was the same color and still looked new after 10 years..No issues and no regrets 8 months in on the paint job..
My paint guy did an exceptional job on Prep and priming. Same guy did Jimmy Buffett's new Surfari 44 to be unveiled shortly!
Dark colored boats are a dime a dozen here. Everywhere you look you see flag blue Hinckleys, claret red Morris's and dark green Sabres. I prefer my oats to stand out from the hohum dark colored crowd so I keep mine white.
Kinda makes sense up there in the NE. its funny because i think its the exact opposite in Florida. Go to a Miami boat show and its nothing but a giant sea of bright white fiberglass..... So down south if you want to be unique, you throw a little color on the hull
Quote:
Originally Posted by Heron
Just had mine done in Aristo Blue Awlcraft. Love the color......My old Bristol 35.5 was the same color and still looked new after 10 years..No issues and no regrets 8 months in on the paint job..
My paint guy did an exceptional job on Prep and priming. Same guy did Jimmy Buffett's new Surfari 44 to be unveiled shortly!
Heron, thats a very pretty shade of blue!
Lots of people say dark color is hotter and they will even say they prove it by pointing an IR sensor on the outside of the hull. Truth is, that's only half the story and all boats/hulls are not created equal in this sense because you want to know how much of that external heat seeps to the interior.
Much depends on the thickness, density and makeup of the core material, not to mention how good of an air conditioner you have, Ha!
Anyway I kind of like the look on many boats, especially the other TF member on here who just got a new American Tug in what I believe is a light "Sea Foam" green...
Just had mine done in Aristo Blue Awlcraft. Love the color......My old Bristol 35.5 was the same color and still looked new after 10 years..No issues and no regrets 8 months in on the paint job..
My paint guy did an exceptional job on Prep and priming. Same guy did Jimmy Buffett's new Surfari 44 to be unveiled shortly!
Not only is your boat a nice looking boat, the paint job shows very well. The bottom color with the white boot top is really the classic look with that combination too.
I have a garvey with the same color and its still going strong after 15 years of saltwater use. It did take some serious fairing of the sides to get things correct. The only downside as always with the darker colors is that it will show salt. Its kinda like a black vehicle. That only looks good right after you wash and chamois it.
My new boat will be a medium shade and custom color I have made myself and painted one other hull. I was able to get The chemist guy at awlgrip to duplicate it from a sample. So now its one of their custom stock colors with its own number. This way I will be able to repaint if need be without scratching my head while using tons of this, that and the other from their high dollar quart cans again that I had leftover from other paint jobs. .
Not only is your boat a nice looking boat, the paint job shows very well. The bottom color with the white boot top is really the classic look with that combination too.
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Thanks!...I do love the look. We boat in Brackish water (Pamlico river and sound) so keeping the boot white is a challenge. I plan to do an application of Awlcare this spring which should make that easier. As to the Blue, easy to keep clean and shiny with minimal work. My old 28 yr old Gelcoat took constant effort to look good and the mustache trimmed (!). This not so much, An occasional brushdown and rinse is all it seems to need..
I was concerned when we first looked and considered Mainship with dark hulls.
After owning one for several seasons and having to do some repair repaint I now consider painted hulls easier to care for and repair than gel coat.
Think modern car paints...You don't see many dull faded dark colored cars like you used to. Hull paints are similar to !Odern car paint systems and can be clear coated as well.
Dark does show spots more than white but we still get many compliments on the boat, color scheme and like the look ourselves. To be fair we are in fresh water in the NEand !Ight feel different in hot clime or salt water???
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Don
2008 MS 34 HT Trawler "Bacchus"