sanding

To change the color of the hull if this 1946 wooden hulled lobsterboat, from white to glossy black, how much sanding or preparation needs to be done? Do I need to sand it down to the near bare wood? Or do I just need to scuff up the white just enough to hold the new paint? Top plank near the gunwhale will be a medium dark red. Majority of the hull will be glossy black with the splash rail near the stern also be red. Top of cuddy cabin, as well as top of pilot house, gunwhale and top of bow will remain a sort of sandlewood color. The sides of the cuddy cabin and the pilot house will remain white. How would I go about this?

Salty

 

Painting is 95% surface prep and 5% (likely less) actual brush, roller, spray gun in hand time.

If the paint is in good shape, then a scuffing is all you need, if the next top coat is compatible with what you're painting over.

Dark colored hulls, especially black and midnight blue require the smoothest, fairest hulls of all. Any and all surface defects or unfairness in the planking, will show like a wart on the end of a pretty girl's nose. Worst of all will be high gloss black. This is also the most difficult color to apply uniformly.

If it was me, I'd long board the whole hull to check the fairness, then fix what will obviously be there. You'll be surprised with the amount of unevenness, a hull may have and the skill necessary to make it smooth. Again, 95% prep and 5% painting.

 

You can't paint a hull black, it's just not done. They've got to be white.

It's the rules.

I remember going over the Fremantle Traffic Bridge, yes in West Ozz we call it the Fremantle Traffic Bridge, due to fact that we have traffic going over it, we're a bright lot.

My mate said, that's my boat anchored down there, it's the white one????

Getting back to paints, light colours cover better than dark colours because the chemical they use for whiteness is also used to provide good cover. By cover I mean how the paint hides the previous colour.

One way to reduce the number of coats required is to first coat with the darkest colour you can in a light base, obviously a light grey and then cover with the black.

Don't forget the comapatability of the new coat with the existing.

Poida

 

Jbowers, black & dark colours also get pretty hot in the sun, dunno how hot it is where your at but in Oz white relects the heat more & your seams stay sweeter. regards from Jeff.

 

Waikikin

I'm in the State of Ohio, in the United States. Been an unusually warm summer this year with temps. in the high 90's and lots of humidy. Normal temps around here in the summer range in the low to mid 80's. Appreciate your input. Will check with the fella who painted this boat last to find out what brand and base that fella used. I have seen many black hulled trawlers,and lobster boats for sale, as well as dark navy blue, and medium dark green. All wooden and all looked real sharp.
Salty

 

Poida

Thank you for your comments. Check out www.pacificboatbrokers.com as well as Great Lakes tug boat photos. I have a screen saver of a tug boat named "Magnetic". Check her out. Seems there are many a mariner not following the "white only" rule. hmm!

Salty

 

Black - white - whatever. But bear in mind, (fingers crossed it never happens) but one day someone may have to search for you and your vessel at sea. Black is a hell of a colour to spot in angry water.

 

Bergalia;

You have an excellent point. Sort of like a helo pilot 200 ft. up searching in rough seas for a person wearing a navy blue or black PFD. Then of course there are GPS on ones vhf and EPIRB for rescue to hone in on, and nav. lights. If I were a commercial vessel I'd have the ball-diamond-ball light configuration on top of the pilot house. However, commercial I'm not. So would have to rely on GPS off of the VHF and my EPIRB to pinpoint me to rescue vessels.

 

White may be the color of choice now because most boats are fiberglass. Scratches in or that go through the gelcoat and into the layup show up the least on a white boat. White also shows up imperfections in fairing the least. I don't know if it's cause and effect, but white gel is also the cheapest dollar wise.
Black works but the two big things about it is , it's hotter and shows up imperfections more than any other color. It hides dirt better, which may be why work boats are painted dark.

 

Black-painted wood planking will "work" more than any other color. The best color to paint a wood-planked hull is white. The worst, black, and common sense will place the other colors in line.
I love a black hull, but I wouldn't paint a carvel hull black. Cedar can probably take the heat better than some other woods, but black does get hot. The inside of the boat is cool. The temp difference inside to outside causes the moisture to move inward, which slightly cups the outside of the plank.
Over time, the effect can be detrimental to the seam caulking staying put, and fasteners staying tight. In Seattle or Eastport, Maine, this isn't such a big deal. Less sunlight, less heat, more rain and fog. But in some parts of the world, the effect would be more of a concern.

Alan

 

I worked in a boatyard at Leigh on sea years ago and my boss bought a smart 40 ft motor sailer carvel planked in Iroko, he got us to repaint her black and she looked a picture. One week outside the shed afloat and her topsides opened up until you could see daylight through every seam, he couldnt use her as she leaked so bad as soon as she got under way. He repainted her white a month later.

 

Keith 66,

I reckon that says it all, you are quite right, unfortunately white is the colour to use for boats.

 

My own boat is black---- fiberglass hull, and everything else wood. So in terms of fiberglass hulls, whether black or white, makes no difference except the black will chalk out and require painting sooner (less a problem with two-part paint).
Really, it's the carvel hulls that are going to suffer. I think clinker will suffer too, but show it less, since clinkers aren't faired. Another hull type to avoid painting black is seam-batten. Especially wide planks on the flat sides and transoms of runabouts and such.

A.

 

I see no reason why you couldn't have a black hull, given the fairness quality and heat build up issues. In Ohio, the hull warming problem will be worse then if the boat was white, but not that bad, especially compared to the tropics or areas considerably further south then the Ohio valley.

Folks having issues with carvel or other traditional hull constructions, with dark colored paint, had issues before the paint went on, just brought to light with the addition of the dark paint. Modern construction methods have more difficulty with dark colors then traditional. Epoxy looses 50% of its grip around 150 degrees, which can easily be reached in my neck of the woods on a summer's day. In Ohio, I don't think this is very probable on a vertical surface, like the hull. Horizontal surfaces, possibly, but Jbowers417 has a traditional build, not a sheathed or composite vessel, so the point is moot.

Paint your hull black and let the nea sayers wear a more boring color, so they can blend in with the rest of the harbor queens. I live in a tropical climate and have had midnight blue hulls on dayboats, with no difficulty. I wouldn't do this to a cruiser that I planned to sail for extended periods, as it can be unnecessarily uncomfortable, but in Ohio, I'd be tempted.

 

Par

Appreciate your support. Outside of comfort of ride, the main reason I purchased a lobster boat type vessel was because I wanted something different from what everyone else had. I'm talking sportfishermen. To my eyes, from a distance, when you've seen one you've seen them all. All my life I've loved the looks of a work boat be it shrimper, lobster, or crabber. Anyway, this vessel is subject to not only spend a lot of time on Lake Erie and up into Canada, but will be part of a flotilla from time to time doing river cruises headed in a Southerly direction. I'm a member of the United States Power Squadron and safe boating instructor. I really enjoy doing that. However, getting back to the painting issue, given all the negativity attached to the side effects of black on a carvel wood hull, perhaps an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. There are other things I can do to spruce up the old girl to make her look sharp.