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jsoceanlord · 14-08-2010, 16:27

an aquaintance won't use blue or black bottom paint. He said that the herding instinct of whales is that they might mistake you for an a stray 'outcast' whale and turn on you (maybe that's what happened not long ago with that whale that landed on the deck of a sloop!).

apparently African herd's will turn on stray's that aren't part of the tribe or team.

fstbttms · 15-08-2010, 10:46

I think your aquaintance has serious paranoia issues.

Blue Stocking · 15-08-2010, 10:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by fstbttms

I think your aquaintance has serious paranoia issues.

Uhhhh!!- then do you think a fin keel hull shape, seen from below by an amorous male whale, could be mistaken for a female making herself available for some fun--the hussy

Patient · 15-08-2010, 12:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by fstbttms

I think your aquaintance has serious paranoia issues.

I don't know Fst, it kind of makes sense.
Lets explore the requirements for the argument.
I know you are in the business of looking at bottomsides, but allow me to use part of my lazy sunday on this. Heh.

1.) Can whales identify color?
There are over species of 80 of Cetacea (Whales). Some are deep divers and others that stay closer to the surface. It has been surmised that the deep divers do not identify color ranges as much as their counter parts.

In terms of the mechanics involved for color reception I found this post by Pieter Folkens of the Alaska Whale Foundation.

Quote:

It appears that whales and dolphins that keep near the surface have the most accute eyesight. while the deep divers rely less on eyesight.

Eye sight relies on receptors which are modified nerve cells called rods and cones. Seeing in dim light relies mainly on the rods. Cetaceans have a greater number of rods as well as larger rods than those of terrestrial mammals. Deeper diving mysticetes (baleen whales) have the longest rods of all. Cones are the receptors associated most with colour perception. The retina of most whales do have cones.

Therefore we can say that most whales can perceive colour. However, colour becomes meaningless as one dives more than a few meters below the surface where most of the light at the red end of the spectrum has been absorbed by the water above.

The reason I say "most" can perceive colour is that some species of cetaceans have very small, much less functional eyes. For these few species, seeing dark and light is about all they can hope for.

So technically Whales do seem to have the parts needed to differentiate color. Killer whales are actually closely related to dolphins and have similar eye and corneal structure so it is said they have the same color reception as cats.

2.) Shape
Pretty self explanatory really. Can't deny that a fin keel resembles a whale on its side. How that effects their behavior, who really knows.

3.) Behaviors involved.
Are Whale interactions with vessels that result in damage accidental? It is related to mating? Territorial behavior? Defending a calf? Just playing?

Hard to say.

They do attack boats? Yes, that much has been documented as we all know. I am not talking about small collisions, but determined attacks on a vessel. The proposed reasoning as to why the attacks occurred vary from place to place.

The incident involving a 27' Bayliner, "Blind Girl" opened my eyes a bit. (Kind of ironic boat name in terms of this discussion..)

Quote:

Last Wednesday evening at just before sunset, Gerald Gormley left Santa Barbara harbor in his new 27 ft Bayliner boat. It was a brand-new boat, only the second time he had taken it out, and two friends accompanied him for a planned sunset run. They were off Leadbetter Beach and Santa Barbara Point when a 30 ft long gray whale suddenly breached - came completely out of the water - and landed on top of the boat. The weight of the whale crushed the cabin (see photo above) and it rolled off the boat back into the water. Just to show this wasn't a clumsy whale accident, the beast came around and took another run at the Bayliner and slammed the boat with its tail. This damaged the boat's rail and injured Gormley's friend Robert Thornburgh. The whale's tail broke some of his ribs, cut his hand, and imbedded some barnacles in his back. Finally the whale made a third run at the boat, rolled one of its eyes out of the water and stared at the boaters.

Will changing your hull color prevent a whale attack?
Like you said, who knows, probably a paranoid decision, but I'd rather be a one of those crazy superstitious types than a statistic. I will be in the market for a cruiser soon (My heart is set on a Baba 35), I will be going with Red below the waterline instead of Blue or Black. Not really because of my fear of being hit by whales, but for the plethora of other reasons that have been debated on this forum regarding bottom colors. If ever asked about my decision, I might just say that it was "whale related" depending on the company involved, just to see their reactions heh.

**David M** · 15-08-2010, 13:17

I think whales are more intelligent than to think a boat is a whale. A threat?...possibly, but not another whale.

If cetaceans could not tell the difference between a cetacean and a boat then wouldn't we find teeth marks in rudders and keels from predator cetaceans like orcas?

fstbttms · 16-08-2010, 07:56

I don't believe whales attack other whales, for any reason (orcas being the exception. And orcas are not even whales, strictly speaking.) If whale attacks were enough of an issue to be a danger to boats, then it would be a relatively common sight to see whales attacking each other at the surface. And we don't.

TexSail · 16-08-2010, 08:24

There are nutty people - maybe some nutty whales too.

gettinthere · 16-08-2010, 10:04

patient

can you link to the discussion about bottom paint colors?

Thnx

Strygaldwir · 16-08-2010, 10:24

Orca's (killer whales) are a member of the Dolphin (Delphinidae) family.

I am not certain that whales are looking up when the broach. I know quite often bump my head when I am going through hatches even when I now it is there, even though I can discern it's color. I am just focused on going straight.

Patient · 16-08-2010, 11:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by gettinthere

patient

can you link to the discussion about bottom paint colors?

Thnx

Hey GIT,

There are a ton on here if you use the advanced search.
I do have a few discussions bookmarked and saved somewhere, I'll dig through my archives and send you a PM if I find anything.

MarkJ · 16-08-2010, 11:21

I heard that it was male whales that thought the keel was the.... ummm... doodle of another male whale. And in mating season that might not be a good thing! (Look at Penis Fencing - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penis_fencing <-- the site is from Wikipaedia so I'm not being dirty. Do have a look at their example photo - blown up its quite funny)

Maybe May West Whale said "is that a keel in your pocket??????"

Anyway I thought I would mention it but I think its just a load of cock and bull.

Mark

capt.bobfm · 16-08-2010, 12:39

Whales may see well at depth or poorly anywhere depending opon species,but they all use and depend on sonar for shape and density determination.They live in a world of sound, not sight, like terestial critters as we.You can't assume they percieve the world the way we do.Who knows what evil lurks in the minds of whales? The shadow don't!

sailorboy1 · 16-08-2010, 12:56

Well I get a kick that this is getting serious thought involving research etc. to prove a given point. I cann't wait till it is all worked out before I start adding anti-whale stripes to my botton paint job next season.