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29-01-2013, 23:06
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#1
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Registered User
Join Date: May 2011
Location: san francisco
Boat: oyster yacht 66
Posts: 3
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Blue Hull Concerns
My wife and I are about to purchase a sailing yacht to cruise through the south pacific and then around the world mostly in the tropics. We have settled on the boat however we are having a slightly heated discussion concerning the hull color. She really likes dark blue rather than white. I have major concerns about the hull getting excessively warm in the tropics. I am also concerned about difficulty in keeping it clean and ship shape. Do any of you have any thoughts on this?
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29-01-2013, 23:15
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#2
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Registered User
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Philippines in the winters
Boat: It’s in French Polynesia now
Posts: 11,368
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Re: blue hull concerns
No! You don't want a dark hull/deck in the tropics. I repainted mine!
__________________
Faithful are the Wounds of a Friend, but the Kisses of the Enemy are Deceitful! ........
The measure of a man is how he navigates to a proper shore in the midst of a storm!
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30-01-2013, 00:12
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#3
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Marine Service Provider
Join Date: May 2012
Location: New Orleans
Boat: We have a problem... A serious addiction issue.
Posts: 3,974
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Re: blue hull concerns
Dark hulls have massively more heat gain than white. Unless you have made the commitment to run the generator 24/7 anyway for AC, it's a bad idea.
__________________
Greg
- If animals weren't meant to be eaten then they wouldn't be made of food.
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30-01-2013, 03:33
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#4
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Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2010
Posts: 679
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Re: blue hull concerns
Go for a blue hull to break the mould and stand out from the crowd, but top it with a white deck to help keep things cooler below. Thus, a happy compromise is found to set the theme for life at sea
Anyhow, why worry about the heat; ain't that why you're heading to the tropics?
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30-01-2013, 03:48
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#5
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Registered User
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 803
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Re: blue hull concerns
Dark hulls can be beautiful. On the old boat we had a dark blue awlgrip (don't remember colour name). It was done at the factory and required no maintenance except for a washdown when cleaning the boat and once a year or two a polish. Polish would remove most nicks as well.
That said, would we get a dark hull again? No unless it was the only option. It does get hot. It was a benefit when we were cruising Eastern Canada, but not down south or in the Med.
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30-01-2013, 03:58
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#6
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Moderator
Join Date: May 2012
Location: At sea somewhere in the Pacific
Boat: Jeanneau Sun Fast 40.3
Posts: 6,346
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Re: blue hull concerns
Generally dark hulls require a lot of polishing to remain looking nice.
If you or your wife have a polishing gene - go for it! If not, don't even think about it
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Our books have gotten 5 star reviews on Amazon. Several readers have written "I never thought I would go on a circumnavigation, but when I read these books, I was right there in the cockpit with Vinni and Carsten"
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30-01-2013, 05:15
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#7
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Senior Cruiser
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: Thunder Bay, Ontario - 48-29N x 89-20W
Boat: (Cruiser Living On Dirt)
Posts: 49,082
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Re: blue hull concerns
Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, dbrown.
I, and Nat Herreshoff would agree with you.
“There are only two colors to paint a boat, black or white, and only a fool would paint a boat black.”
Nathanael G. Herreshoff
__________________
Gord May
"If you didn't have the time or money to do it right in the first place, when will you get the time/$ to fix it?"
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30-01-2013, 05:25
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#8
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Registered User
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Heathsville, VA
Boat: Gemini 105Mc 34'
Posts: 1,457
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Re: blue hull concerns
Welcome aboard! (One more vote for "talk her out of it" -- It will make the boat interior significantly hotter, plus the thermal cycling will probably eventually cause surface imperfections that look like a basket weave (actually the pattern of the fiberglass laminate layers).)
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30-01-2013, 05:35
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#9
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Senior Cruiser
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: PORTUGAL
Posts: 30,561
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Re: blue hull concerns
Quote:
Originally Posted by Waterway Guide
Welcome aboard! (One more vote for "talk her out of it" -- It will make the boat interior significantly hotter, plus the thermal cycling will probably eventually cause surface imperfections that look like a basket weave (actually the pattern of the fiberglass laminate layers).)
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Never seen that happen... must be the way you guys build over there...
Personally... having had 'dark' boats in temps of 40c... I never found that much difference to be honest... not enough to warrent repainting my boats..
Just another urban legend...
__________________
It was a dark and stormy night and the captain of the ship said.. "Hey Jim, spin us a yarn." and the yarn began like this.. "It was a dark and stormy night.."
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30-01-2013, 06:16
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#10
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Bradenton, Fl
Boat: 1974 Cal 29
Posts: 148
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Re: blue hull concerns
Dark colors do help keep condensation (and hence mildew) at bay by raising internal temps to slightly higher than ambient. You can still insulate and shade your boat as well, and get all the airflow (ventilation) as possible.
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30-01-2013, 06:21
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#11
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Registered User
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Tampa, FL
Posts: 5,009
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Re: blue hull concerns
Definitely NOT an urban legend! I had a San Juan that the previous owner had painted white. I decided I wanted a bolder statement so during the winter (relatively speaking, it's Florida, after all) of my second year of ownership I painted the hull fire-engine red. By the end of summer I had realized my mistake, as the boat was very noticeably hotter. Pulled it out and put it back to white. Nope. Very definitely not an urban legend.
For any boat that spends most of its time less than 35 degrees of latitude away from the equator, I would not consider any dark hull color. Maybe a pale yellow, if you really don't like white. But very definitely not anything dark.
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30-01-2013, 06:38
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#12
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Senior Cruiser
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: PORTUGAL
Posts: 30,561
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Re: blue hull concerns
Quote:
Originally Posted by denverd0n
Definitely NOT an urban legend! I had a San Juan that the previous owner had painted white. I decided I wanted a bolder statement so during the winter (relatively speaking, it's Florida, after all) of my second year of ownership I painted the hull fire-engine red. By the end of summer I had realized my mistake, as the boat was very noticeably hotter. Pulled it out and put it back to white. Nope. Very definitely not an urban legend.
For any boat that spends most of its time less than 35 degrees of latitude away from the equator, I would not consider any dark hull color. Maybe a pale yellow, if you really don't like white. But very definitely not anything dark.
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Awww... come on... you guys are pussy cats..
Air conditioning in the Caribbean for Chrisake... its balmy there
__________________
It was a dark and stormy night and the captain of the ship said.. "Hey Jim, spin us a yarn." and the yarn began like this.. "It was a dark and stormy night.."
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30-01-2013, 06:48
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#13
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cat herder, extreme blacksheep
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: furycame alley , tropics, mexico for now
Boat: 1976 FORMOSA yankee clipper 41
Posts: 18,967
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Re: blue hull concerns
only thing i noticed a blue hull to be different from other colors was when the pelican slammed into the hull when he was hunting--he slammed us 3 times, thinking, i spoze, the boat was air or water....silly birdee....
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30-01-2013, 09:20
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#14
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Registered User
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Bradenton, Fl
Boat: 1974 Cal 29
Posts: 148
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Quote:
Originally Posted by denverd0n
Definitely NOT an urban legend! I had a San Juan that the previous owner had painted white. I decided I wanted a bolder statement so during the winter (relatively speaking, it's Florida, after all) of my second year of ownership I painted the hull fire-engine red. By the end of summer I had realized my mistake, as the boat was very noticeably hotter. Pulled it out and put it back to white. Nope. Very definitely not an urban legend.
For any boat that spends most of its time less than 35 degrees of latitude away from the equator, I would not consider any dark hull color. Maybe a pale yellow, if you really don't like white. But very definitely not anything dark.
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The red end of the color spectrum absorbs light / generates heat much better than the blue end. Yellow would be hotter than the same shade/tint of Blue.
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30-01-2013, 09:35
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#15
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CF Adviser
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: sausalito
Boat: 14 meter sloop
Posts: 7,260
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Re: blue hull concerns
Blue hulls are perfect for Newport, Rhode Island. Anywhere south of there, a blue hull is an abomination.
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cruising is entirely about showing up--in boat shoes.
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