Black hull ok?

[maine50]

Yes- I had a C & C 38 painted Black when I bought it. As the hull was balsa core minimal heat transfer to interior. Then I had it painted Dark blue- again no problem. Dark colors do require more care.

[Bowdrie]

Black looks good on a '32 Ford Coupe hot rod.

[Oeanda]

I haven’t noticed that it’s difficult to keep clean. There is the Gino Vanelli effect I agree, but luckily it’s usually shady here, and not a deal breaker when it’s sunny, anymore than it is with a car. I’ve never noticed unsightly dried salt on the hull. Obviously it’s there but it’s just never caught my eye at all, so the effect is minor, and/or washed off by the constant rain lol.

The potential heat and the white undercoat showing through seem like main concerns.

[clockwork orange]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

One practical issue is when you paint any dark color over white every scratch stands out starkly. This may or may not matter to you.

Jim

I have built a couple of 34ft sailboats with the epoxy/wrc strip construction method, one in dark blue and one in black (customers choice) Both required repainting after a year due to the difference in expansion of the cedar and the epoxy glue line. Not an issue in any way other than cosmetically but you could see every longitudinal glue line, highlighted by the high gloss of the dark paint.
Surprisingly it all came out in the thickness of the paint. Incidentally it is common to use gray primer under dark colors and white under light colors to reduce scratches showing as much. Btw, epoxy/wrc is an excellent building method for custom boats imho.

[boatman61]

Both boats in my post were done using West System epoxy with their black dye..
The mono is pitch pine planks on oak frames, the Wharram is ply with epoxied glass sheathing.

[skipmac]

I can only report my only experience with a black hulled boat. Bought a 34' sailboat that was Awlgripped black with gold trim and accents. Really beautiful until some yahoo tied his dink up to my dock and gouged the side up pretty badly. So we painted it white. In Florida and the Caribbean it was dramatically cooler.

One very telling issue, when we painted we left a black stripe around the rub rail for looks. Inside you could tell exactly where the black stripe was. Inside you could feel the heat radiating from the remaining black area like an electric space heater. Anyone that tells you that black hulls aren't hotter and don't radiate heat into the interior of the boat should try this little test.

[JC Reefer]

Salt dries on the hull and is really noticeable on a dark background.

[Oeanda]

Does anyone have photos of the dried salt problem? Just curious. I couldn’t find any and we don’t get the issue here because of all the rain. Cheers.