Hull colors?

For anyone ordering or building a new boat recently, are you getting the hull in a color other than white?

I've always liked (and have generally owned) boats with dark hull colors, in blues or greens. I like the looks, but of course the tradeoff is the darker the color, the more maintenance it needs to keep its color, and the faster it fades. Despite being anal-retentive about waxing and usually doing it several times a season, I have never gotten more than 4 years out of a dark green or blue before it has faded to the point of needing paint (or a very deep compounding with temporary benefits).

Does anyone have experience with light colored gelcoats? Do they keep their color long enough compared with dark to be worthwhile?

Thanks!

There is a reason why 90% of the boats are white. You have a good understanding of what happens with colored hulls. Bright light colors fade the worst. I have seen some light grays hold up well but not as well as white.

I have always liked navy blue hulls but have never been willing to spend what it takes to keep them nice.

Our boat is white. 21 years old and still looks great with annual waxing. Also much cooler in the FL Sun than a dark hull.

Hi Nick, I like the look of a dark navy hull on many hulls, especially the east coast lobster style day boats. The colored hulls definitely age out much quicker than white, at least in our area which is not Florida hot, but still fairly intense sun in the Summer. The only gel coat color that seems to have some decent UV resistance is the very light grey that is often used on Nordhavns. We were actually considering that for our build, but defaulted to the standard white. Also easier to repair.

IMO there is a night and day difference between dark gel coat and painted hulls re maintenance, chalking & fading.
How many only buy white cars because others only "last" a couple like years before needing compounding and excessive maintenance? Maybe paints decades ago but moden paint systems w clear coats are a whole different story.

A lot is just taste. I like traditional white.

Agree with easiest to repair.

I would not put much into a heat issue, but ...

In the chilly PNW a dark hull might absorb a bit of welcome heat. Further south that would not be welcomed.

Bacchus said:

IMO there is a night and day difference between dark gel coat and painted hulls re maintenance, chalking & fading.
How many only buy white cars because others only "last" a couple like years before needing compounding and excessive maintenance? Maybe paints decades ago but moden paint systems w clear coats are a whole different story.

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The OP is asking about a new build, so its gel coat, not paint.

There was an article in PMM some years ago about post curing of the fiberglass hulls when they had a dark color on them. Don’t remember the specifics.

<<The OP is asking about a new build, so its gel coat, not paint.>>


We bought a new Selene 55 in 2008. We chose a flag blue hull as on option. It was painted with Awlgrip. So new builds with colored hulls can be painted, too.
Regards,
Scott

Thank you everyone!

I agree that painted hulls with any of the modern finishes (Awlgrip, Awlcraft, Alexseal) seem to last much longer and be much less maintenance than gelcoat. I've accepted that the next boat, if done in a 'color', will eventually need painting.

I can't bring myself to paint a brand new boat. I've been obsessive about waxing previous dark hulls, which is 1) hard if you do it yourself and I'm too old for that now, and 2) expensive to have it professionally done frequently enough to make a difference.

I've given up on the idea of a dark color. I'm trying to figure out if a 'light' shade of blue or green would hold its finish long enough to be worthwhile before painting (with a reasonable but not crazy amount of waxing). In my experiences a dark hull seems to only last 4-5 years before needing paint - would a pastel color last longer?

The alternative is as @Fletcher500 suggested, a light gray, which to my eyes is more interesting than 'white', but something like 'Stars & Stripes Blue' that really speaks to me.

Endeavor GB 32 said:

<<The OP is asking about a new build, so its gel coat, not paint.>>


We bought a new Selene 55 in 2008. We chose a flag blue hull as on option. It was painted with Awlgrip. So new builds with colored hulls can be painted, too.
Regards,
Scott

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I didn’t realize people painted new builds, thanks for the clarification. I believe I know which brand Nick is thinking of for his build. I haven’t heard of anyone from this mfg. getting theirs painted at the yard during the build, but I could be off on that as well.

Nick, one other gel coat color I have seen and was also considering for ours that may last is an ice white/blue. I am not describing it very well. A very light shade of blue that almost looks white at some angles. With a blue boot strip would be sharp.

Edit: check out the video that Doug just posted of the 43. I only watched the first 10 minutes, but it looks like the hull may be the ice blue color I am trying to describe. Or, it’s an optical illusion and it’s white.

I think Hatteras painted their new boats.

Comodave said:

I think Hatteras painted their new boats.

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That's true. Always have. "Hatteras white" is (or used to be) a stock color for Brightsides paint.

Dark hills tend to magnify any imperfection. I've heard rumor that at least one well respected builder refuses to paint their hulls dark for that reason.

Peter

Fletcher500 said:

I didn’t realize people painted new builds, thanks for the clarification. I believe I know which brand Nick is thinking of for his build. I haven’t heard of anyone from this mfg. getting theirs painted at the yard during the build, but I could be off on that as well.

Nick, one other gel coat color I have seen and was also considering for ours that may last is an ice white/blue. I am not describing it very well. A very light shade of blue that almost looks white at some angles. With a blue boot strip would be sharp.

Edit: check out the video that Doug just posted of the 43. I only watched the first 10 minutes, but it looks like the hull may be the ice blue color I am trying to describe. Or, it’s an optical illusion and it’s white.

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Bill, thank you very much!! Yes, it is indeed a Helmsman for which I've signed a purchase agreement (details to come soon!).

Thank you for the suggestion! I'm going to check it out and ask Scott about it!

I think the majority of bigger luxury boats are painted hills, that gives the builder a chance to long board the hull sides in problem areas and get it nice and flat.
I did an awlgrip paint job many years ago, custom color, deep red, kind of black cherry color. After three coats of color I mixed color and clear together for the top coats.
The clear really extended the longevity of that paint job. It was almost 15 years before it needed any attention.

There's no reason a new boat can't be painted (and as some mentioned, Hatteras and others do it). The biggest reason to use gelcoat is just to keep cost and effort down, as you can just take the finish it comes with out of the mold and run with it. Paint requires extra work after it comes out of the mold.



That's the same reason most builders don't glass the hull/deck joint together. No big deal if you're painting it, but if you want to use a fresh out of the mold gelcoat finish, you'd have extra work to do after glassing the joint together.

Hard to beat white.



Question: With new builds, assume the paint over the glass, and not bother to gel coat.... how well does paint do over gel coat Suspect fine?


As for paint, the Formula boat came with poly urethane paint, not sure which one but the one I had looked brand new. My plane is painted with Poly urethane, Emron, and look like new after 20 years. The stuff lasts, but very hard to fix a ding, which boats get all the time.



It it weren't so figgin expensive, I'd paint over with a poly urethane, but afraid to even ask the price.


Yes, white and you can accent with whatever accent strip you wish.

Regarding Gelcoat vs. paint, I still think the repair aspect during the life of a boat is an important factor to consider. I have some core samples of our boat, so I have a general idea of the gel coat thickness in various areas. If one is using their boat alot and traveling into different marinas etc, some road rash is going to occur even for decent boat handlers. Boats that stay in the harbor and only exit and return to the same slip not so much. Or if hit by someone else, which did happen to us in a different boat, twice actually. The larger thickness of gel coat provides more material to sand and work with than paint. It is also easier to match as far as the color.

Surprised to hear some of the larger big boats are painted when new for the reasons I noted above.

Back to our boats; say 30 to 60 ft., roughly what percent of boats are gel coat vs. paint for new builds?

mvweebles said:

That's true. Always have. "Hatteras white" is (or used to be) a stock color for Brightsides paint.

Dark hills tend to magnify any imperfection. I've heard rumor that at least one well respected builder refuses to paint their hulls dark for that reason.

Peter

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Selene? Due to previous “print through” issues awhile back (now reportedly resolved so I am not implying they have a problem). Or were those gel coat?

Nathaniel Herreshoff I believe said

There’s two colors for a boat - white and the wrong color

Still matching white is a PIA. Truly an art to get it to look right initially but harder still to have it match years later. When we did our new build asked for a few cans of gel coat. Opened that up a few years later and it didn’t match any longer. I’ve found only two or three people who could get a match that still matched years later. Fortunately our needs have been minor and the mismatch only visible to my eye or when I point it out. I’ve never seen a paint repair for a dark color that didn’t look obvious unless a large area is done.

So if I every build another boat will opt out. Build in Al and leave it bare except where bare feet or hands will touch it or immersed in water. No maintenance. Same aluminum oxide dull grey for ever. Even a patch will match after a few months.

My .25 cents worth;
When deciding on a dark color many boats will have a trim color that makes up about 5 - 15% of the painted/colored surface. I can’t recall a bad choice right now so absolutely no offense to anybody but many people haven’t got a clue about pairing colors. I say pairing because “matching” is a misleading word. And certain colors paired re norms re women's opinions on what colors to combine and wear are also or sometimes without a clue.

A tip I have is to be very careful about the parent color and what you choose for a trim color.
The amount of each (re surface area) requires the right balance. If the trim color is very bright a lower surface area works better. If the parent color is dark trim color should be minimized .. especially if is very bright. Too much contrast.
Then there’s value. It’s kinda like heavy or light. Same value colors will be hard to identify at mid range and impossible thereafter and frequently don’t go well together. But some colors of the same value will not be contrasty as they might go well together. Like two slightly different colors.

One of my favorite colors is yellow and white. But may not look great on a boat.
Speaking of boats dark colors look best low on the boat .. like the hull. Because dark colors are visually heavy. You wouldn’t want your boat to look like it’s about to capsize. Another tip for colors is to avoid a lot of heavy and bright colors on a big boat. A 16’ ski boat looks great in bright red w a bit of yellow trim. On a 100’ vessel .. no.

Lastly (and perhaps most importantly) numerous colors don’t elicit a positive response from many people. Color combinations like this are not applicable to the expression “it’s in the eye of the beholder”. Color combinations and art are good and bad. Those that use the “eye of the beholder” expression usually are lacking in skills in this body of knowledge.

Fletcher500 said:

Nick, one other gel coat color I have seen and was also considering for ours that may last is an ice white/blue. I am not describing it very well. A very light shade of blue that almost looks white at some angles. With a blue boot strip would be sharp.

Edit: check out the video that Doug just posted of the 43. I only watched the first 10 minutes, but it looks like the hull may be the ice blue color I am trying to describe. Or, it’s an optical illusion and it’s white.

Click to expand...

I found out the color of the Helmsman in the video is Kingston Grey.

It’s not on the RAL color chart, but apparently one that Helmsman uses.

I personally like the Pastel Blue better, but wonder if the Kingston Grey would hold up significantly better?

Seevee said:

Hard to beat white.



Question: With new builds, assume the paint over the glass, and not bother to gel coat.... how well does paint do over gel coat Suspect fine?


As for paint, the Formula boat came with poly urethane paint, not sure which one but the one I had looked brand new. My plane is painted with Poly urethane, Emron, and look like new after 20 years. The stuff lasts, but very hard to fix a ding, which boats get all the time.



It it weren't so figgin expensive, I'd paint over with a poly urethane, but afraid to even ask the price.


Yes, white and you can accent with whatever accent strip you wish.

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There’s a couple types of urethane paint. The imron on your plane, and original awlgrip are polyester urethane. Tough as nails, and lasts a very long time. These paints are what they call non repairable. Once the surface is damaged you pretty much need to repaint.
The other urethane is acrylic urethane. This is what’s on your car, and is also becoming popular on boats because it is easily repaired. You can cut and buff to perfection, and blend oanels just like a car.
Acrylic urethane isn’t as tough as polyester urethane but is still very good.
Both would stick to gel coat without issue, but I would epoxy prime first.
A lot of painters I know are using the Alex seal paint as it has a long flow time and is good for big projects like boats.
Your main ship would probably cost 15k or so to paint, maybe more depending on materials used. Cost can be area dependent too, maybe labor is cheaper in your area?

Nick14 said:

I found out the color of the Helmsman in the video is Kingston Grey.

It’s not on the RAL color chart, but apparently one that Helmsman uses.

I personally like the Pastel Blue better, but wonder if the Kingston Grey would hold up significantly better?

Click to expand...

2FF in the attached color code of ice blue or even a bit lighter is what I was trying to describe earlier. I am looking at a boat across from me that has it, just a bit lighter than as shown. This boat is about 5 years old, and its gel coat looks good. I would think any of these lighter greys and blues would be fairly similar in UV wear durability, but I have never had a boat with a colored hull.

Pastel Blue looks sharp as well.

Fletcher500 said:

2FF in the attached color code of ice blue or even a bit lighter is what I was trying to describe earlier. I am looking at a boat across from me that has it, just a bit lighter than as shown. This boat is about 5 years old, and its gel coat looks good. I would think any of these lighter greys and blues would be fairly similar in UV wear durability, but I have never had a boat with a colored hull.

Pastel Blue looks sharp as well.

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A comment regarding colors in hot climates; I have had dark colored boats, both gelcoat and painted, in the Caribbean. They would get too hot to even touch. And come evening, the heat radiated through the hull and cooked the inhabitants all night. Never do that again. Current boat is white and so much cooler.

Whether paint or gel coat the color obtained is function of the pigments. Oxidation of dark colors, paint or gel coat, is more prevalent because of the nature of the pigments. White is obtained with titanium oxide which reflects the UV rays more effectively than a dark pigment. UV is what causes the oxidation deterioration. Even with house paint, dark base is less durable than light (Ti Oxide) base for this reason. Its just chemistry. So even if new coatings can last longer, eventually chemistry and physics wins out.

Nick14 said:

I found out the color of the Helmsman in the video is Kingston Grey.

It’s not on the RAL color chart, but apparently one that Helmsman uses.

I personally like the Pastel Blue better, but wonder if the Kingston Grey would hold up significantly better?

Click to expand...

Kingston gray is the hull color we selected for our 38e. It seems to reflect the color of the water, looks gray or light blue sometimes, and light green others.

Fletcher500 said:

The OP is asking about a new build, so its gel coat, not paint.

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Not all boats are production out of a mould fiberglass
Timber, steel, composite, aluminium
None use gelcoat

Hippocampus said:

Nathaniel Herreshoff I believe said

There’s two colors for a boat - white and the wrong color
.

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It was white and black
And only a fool would paint a boat black.

The avatar shows the Awlcraft claret of my hull, not what I would pick for this NWFL climate, but it is what it is. I am reasonably certain it is the original 2005 paint with the exception on a patch I had repainted on the stbd bow a few years bad. We matched a new can of Awlcraft claret to it with zero modification, and the area is completely indistinguishable from the rest of the original paint. The boat was supposedly kept in the water for five years and then in a boat barn for five years until 2015 when I picked it up. Since then it has lived in a covered boat lift, but the stbd side gets a fair amount of sun exposure both direct and reflected. It was rather amazing to me that the paint is still so fresh, especially a red hued one.