While it is true most boats are painted white, there are a handful of boats out there that opt for something unique. While it is true that you may see other colors of boats, particularly freighters and military vessels, that are in colors other than white.
Boats are painted white because this allows the interior of the boat to remain cool because it reflects the majority of the sunlight hitting it. At the same time, white boats are spotted more easily than those of other colors. White boats also show less damage caused by slaine conditions.
There may not be a huge difference between these two boats, but well-maintained white boats just seem to have more appeal compared to the hulls of the other colors. A white sailing ship has timeless class, as opposed to colored hulls which wax and wane in popularity.
Coloring your sailboat white allows it to reflect the most light, preventing your deck and metal frame from heating up often. Because of its ability to reflect the majority of light instead of taking in heat like other colors, white boats offer cooler temperatures inside compared to those in other colors. Painting a white boat will cause it to reflect all of the light, and the boat will then have comfortable lower temperatures without taking a lot of strain on your air conditioning.
Salt Water and Its Effect on a Boat’s Color
Salt water may leave white saline residues on a boat’s hull, this will be less noticeable on a white boat. Mold, mud, oil spots, rust, and more can easily be seen when a boat is painted white, so workers will need to clean it at all times. If a manufacturer has to make boats of other colors, then the process would be a lot longer because a mold of the boat hull would need to be cleaned specifically after every use to make sure that no remnants of previous colors remain. While both colors will require periodic cleaning or waxing, the white boat often does not require re-painting.
White boats, especially, offer better visibility at night compared to most other colors, which will be extremely useful when maneuvering the boat around an approaching vessel. White boats are usually easier to install onto a boat, requiring little setup since they can be taken anywhere in the water with no trouble.
The shallow draft and broad beam features of Grady-White boats make them perfect if you want a boat to fish both in saltwater and freshwater as well as to cruise around in the daytime as well as at night. Today, Grady-White has approximately 27 model boats, ranging from smaller 18-foot boats up to larger 45-foot boats.
Before the company made the Canyon 456–the largest boat in its line–the largest was a 37-feet boat. Grady-White started in 1559 in Greenville, North Carolina, and became one of the most popular manufacturers of fishing boats for coastal areas. In 1968, Eddie Smith bought Grady-White and continued the original company mantra; build boats of uncompromising quality.
Boats Have Been Painted White for Decades
According to the builder, the boat manufacturer relied on the North Carolinas saltwater tradition in creating boats that rowed smoothly, even in the most challenging of waters. The reason why most saltwater boats are white is that boats tend to be very warm on the inside, and white does an excellent job at keeping the boat cooler than most other colors.
In addition to being more affordable and tolerant (white ends up showing fewer dock scratches and dock rash — not to mention bird poop), white boats are also more noticeable to other boaters out on the water, any time of day. Plus, there is a reason cruise ships are white, and it is not just for poshness at overseas ports. Turns out, it is for that very reason cruise companies have a color of choice when it comes to painting their cruise ships, and it is, obviously, white.
Luxury cruise ships, sailing ships, or freighters, whatever kind of vessel you are thinking about, a consistent paint job will always be evident. No matter which marina I visit (a marina is a marina for smaller boats), I have noticed, as have countless others, that the predominant boat color is white, most sailing boats, powerboats, yachts, and cruise ships are mostly sailing boats are white, or shades of white if we are being precise.
I could tell the most popular among various types of vessels being white are the cruise ships, sailboats, and yachts. If you have ever been to your local boat show for a window-shopping session, watched a regatta, or even taken a stroll down a marinas waterfront, you have noticed all of the boats are mostly white.
Painting a Boat Another Color Is Unwise
Do not forget, either, that my friend changed his older sailboats’ color from white to a deep-green one, which, in turn, absorbed the majority of the sun’s rays and heat, as opposed to the white one, which expelled the majority.
When my friend changed his boat from white to dark green, it increased the temperature of the boat shell, and since he did not understand the importance of heat insulation, (thermal insulation just means restricting heat transmission from one place or thing to another), this is exactly what happened to his old sailing vessel.
My friend decided to re-build his old sailing ship, and made a few improvements, including changing the boat color from white to dark green, and replacing the old outboard motor with a new, stronger, more efficient, nicer, and more efficient, engine on the inside. A test run of our boat against my friend’s white one, on a blazingly hot day, revealed their boat was equally, if not more, uncomfortable.
These small imperfections would be visible with a darker, glossier boat, while it would not have worked with the white boat. A white surface is particularly useful when you need to clean the boat since it is easier to see if there are organisms adhering to the hull, like mussels, barnacles, algae, and mold. While the white hull conceals imperfections, it also acts as a warning system of problems in your boat.
