White is right,,,,?

[ianwright]

I have, until now, always gone along with the conventional wisdom that the only colour for a traditional wooden yacht is white. I’m having second thoughts… Why not a change after thirteen years of the whitest of white topsides? Perhaps a light buff colour or a Britannia royal blue,,,,,,,,,,,,,, or what?
Am I about to make a dreadful mistake?

It occurs to me that you may not be as familiar with Patience as I am should you feel like advising me you will find a couple of pictures of her at: http://fp2k.interalpha.net/vertueowners/images/TheBoats/Patience V203/Patience.htm

White or not?
IanW.


Vertue 203, Patience

 

[ccscott49]

Shes a vertue, carvel planked? In the northern climes? If so I think she would be OK, in Buff or blue, I prefer blue myself. If you are in hotter climes, keep it white or buff, any light colour. The darker colours in the sun/heat in hotter climes, absorbs the heat and drys out the timber, causing seams to open up and the caulking filler/putty to fail (drys out the linseed oil in the putty) My boat is splined and white, in the med and is drying out so much, that a few of the splined seams have split, not a problem really, as it will take up eventually, so I would not reccommend dark colours in hot climes.IMHO

 

[hillyarder]

Our hillyard was white, we did her cream and she looks beautiful. all boats are white, be different

 

[Mirelle]

Mirelle has been black (not a good idea, looks ravishing for the first day or two, but the seams crack in days, if not hours!) dark grey, light Admiralty grey, Blake's "Biscay" and now Blakes "Pearl white (aka light cream). The "Biscay" colour, a pale blue-green, looks very nice with a white boot top, I think. You might consider it. Primrose yellow or pale blue or even, if you are not superstitious, pastel green, would suit Patience I fancy but I am not sure about Britannina Blue for her.

Cheers, and have fun deciding (GRP boats miss all this fun)!

 

[Guest]

Cream would be nice - You have loads of varnished wood which I think looks great with cream.

PZ

 

[Gordonmc]

Even in the chilly climes of the Scottish West Coast, heat absorption is a problem with dark hulled carvel boats. I will be changing the dark green of the topsides to a lighter hue because of plank seperation and seaming.
I was going for white, but after reading the threat I may go for cream. It should be easier to keep clean as well.

 

[Plum]

Re: White is classic?

Hi Ian. I lost touch with you at the East Coast Classics (ECC) in June so I hope you are still well and sailing lots.

You may remember from the ECC event that very few boats were white! Yes, I know that many of them were work-boats which were black, but your boat has grace and black or any other dark colour would detract from her good looks. Personally, I would avoid any shade of blue.
If she were mine I would go for cream, cream or cream.

 

[ccscott49]

I had a cream coloured hull once on a wooden motor boat, looked lovely, I concur.

 

[ianwright]

Cream Eh?

Hi Plum,

But what shade? Between them International and Blakes have six shades of white and cream can range from Arctic White with a bit of Owetrol added to Buttercup Yellow!
I may dump the idea, it's far to complicated.

Vertue 203, Patience

 

[Plum]

Re: Cornish clotted cream!

will probably depend on cholesterol producing saturated fat content on the label, but I expect that as long as it does not look too yellow or like dirty white it will be just fine.

 

[Mirelle]

Seams cracked in hours when black, even when pale greenish-blue (Blakes "Biscay") some had cracked by the midsummer (UK East Coast) Now cream (Blakes "Pearl White") and not a crack showing except where some recaulking was done and she has naturally squeezed it.

 

[macp]

Ian - mirelle's right - Blakes Pearl White is a lovely colour.

 

[pyrojames]

I changed Dawn Wind to from white to cream (Internationals Cream 027) about 10 years ago. DW is splinned, and even when white in Australia, the seams would split after about 12 months. Cream seemed to make no difference. Now that she's in the UK, I haven't had a seem split since I've been here. (The decks don't open up either)

Pyro.

 

[Guest]

Re: Cream Eh?

I did my dinghy in Oyster white (International from memory) which is basically cream coloured, looked pretty good I thought.

Our boat is green, darker coluors seem to show up scratches and blemishes more than light colours aswell as the heat problems mentioned.

Cheers

The Lash

 

[Guest]

>I may go for cream. It should be easier to keep clean as well.

My boat's been back in the water for just a few weeks and already the white paint's looking surprisingly dirty around the waterline - I might try cream next time around.

Have seen a couple of red hulls which I think can look lovely with dark wood - any views on this, or on the heat issue with red?

 

[ccscott49]

Red is also too dark, in the heat reasons.

 

[Guest]

I thought this might be the case, but still people seem to do it... (talking strictly in the UK here, too...)

 

[ccscott49]

Rather fond of a burgundy type colour, with all my varnish, but not on my splined wooden hull, in the med!!

 

[chippie]

Re: White is right,,,-Red instead?

My trimaran is red hull with a white boottop and black antifoul It looks quite smart in my opinion,(or will again after its upcoming repaint) but it is glass over ply so seams etc. arent a worry.

 

[ccscott49]

If anyone is in doubt as to the heat absorbing qualities of dark colours, I have two of those natty solar showers, which when laid on deck for a couple of hours or hung in the rigging for 3 or 4 the water gets so hot, it is too hot to shower with and needs cold added to prevent you becoming scalded! Now think of your dark hull in the sun all day, day after day, heating up and cooling off only to go through the cycle everyday for a meddy spring/summer/autunm, get my point?