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Is Black or Charcoal Too Hot?

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by discokachina, May 22, 2012.

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  1. discokachina

    discokachina Senior Member

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    Mar 21, 2010
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    Ft. Lauderdale
    I have seen several yachts Grayzone - Luxembourg | Flickr - Photo Sharing! Motor yacht Streamline @ Torre Saracena, Capri | Flickr - Photo Sharing! with black or dark gray hulls and or superstructures which are strikingly beautiful. I must wonder if having dark components are uncomfortable for the crew to work on or for the guests to enjoy?

    It seems to me that working on or lounging on black or dark gray surfaces in a hot sunny climate could be dangerously hot to the point that a potential buyer should be concerned.

    I am hoping some of you have had experience with these colors and can shed some light on the topic.
  2. C4ENG

    C4ENG Senior Member

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    As far as human comfort inside is concerned, it all depends on how well the builder has insulated the vessel. Done right you would not know the difference.
    I have heard about matching dark color satalite domes causing heat related electronic issues for the antenna dishes inside.
    On a hot summer day the teak deck wood will read 140F with a therm gun so haul color doesn't matter there.
    The most common issue I have seen and the main reason I would not want a dark colored vessel, is because it is so easy for inexperienced deck crew to make mistakes on the paint. The mistakes will stick out like red flags for every one to immediately notice. Like when they are unnessarly acid cleaning the teak decks and they do not pay attention to the acid run off on the side of the haul and you see the perfectly burned acid edged lines in the paint running down to the water line. And don't forget about the Mate who one day thought it would be a good idea to buff the paint and while doing it wrong you can see exactly the spot where he then realized he was doing it wrong. And then you try and hire a good painter to correct these issues and then you find out he can not fade the painted patches properly to save his life and you have all theses square painted noticable patches all over the boat. And then..I better stop here Ha!
  3. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    As C4ENG points out the hull color should have little effect on the interior temp. However, it's insane. Black looks gorgous, but it is impossible to keep clean (especially in salt water) and it shows everything. Black decks are another thing, and yes they can be dangerously hot, especially to barefoot children. There's a good reason we had the chlorox bottle boats for so many years. They're classy yet still fairly easy to keep looking good. Actually the best color is tan, but that's not appealing to many. There used to be a yacht in F.L. called 51 which was tan. First time I saw it I said "There's a thinking person". Unfortunately today there's a lot more money than boat sense out there. My father used to say that "Once in his life everyone has to own a black car. Once, not twice". (Not being fast on the uptake I'm on my second:) ).
    P.S. I've worked on Black painted steel decks and had my feet burned through workboots and heavy socks.
  4. carelm

    carelm Senior Member

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    I noticed the Lazzara LMC76 in the reviews has a metallic tan hull which looks pretty nice. Also light bronze as shown on the Palm Beach PB45 at their website is pretty slick as well. Maybe not strictly tan, but seems to be close.