Dark painted hulls

chuck53 · #1 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

I'm looking to replace our just sold boat and one has caught my eye.
My biggest concern is it has a dark green Imron'd hull. Not sure when it was done and it looks beautiful now but how long that will last. If I were to go forward with this boat, what's the best way to keep it looking good or am I destined to spend thousands of $$ down the road to bring a faded hull back to life?
I much prefer a white or off-white hull that with decent care, will not fade out on me.
I've seen some beautiful dark hulled boats but there's nothing worse than a dark faded hull
Any insights on this will be appreciated.

klem · #2 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

What is the hull material? It sounds like fiberglass?

Also, where are you located? Dark hulls work better in some places than others.

chuck53 · #3 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

Sorry, yes it's fiberglass and I'm in VA

US27inKS · #4 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

Keep a good wax job on it. I wax mine twice a year. The good news is that you've got Imron, and you can buff it if need be. Perfection and Awlgrip are not buffable. Someday it will fade out and need to be repainted. How you care for it will determine whether that happens sooner or later.

Faster · #5 (**permalink**) 11-01-2009

Nothing updates an older hull like a nice contrasting paintjob - makes you different from all the other 'bleachbottles' out there.

The fact that this boat is painted is a bonus as long as it was done properly, the Imron should hold up better than gelcoat.

klem · #6 (**permalink**) 11-02-2009

A fiberglass boat in VA should be fine painted as long as it was done well. The boat is going to be a little warmer down below because of it but it won't hurt the boat. As stated above, it will make your boat stand out and still look good.

Freightman, wooden boats tend to need repainting at least every 2 years if you want them to look good. There are some newer paints (such as epoxy based ones) that are a lot tougher and might give you a few more years. If you take your boat out in rough weather and it works at all, all your seams will crack anyways. The advantage of painting a wooden boat is that it is relatively easy as long as you take the time to prep right and most people are capable of doing a decent job.

JohnRPollard · #7 (**permalink**) 11-02-2009

Quote:

Originally Posted by Faster

Nothing updates an older hull like a nice contrasting paintjob - makes you different from all the other 'bleachbottles' out there.

The fact that this boat is painted is a bonus as long as it was done properly, the Imron should hold up better than gelcoat.

Ditto. I'd consider a nice professional Imron job a big bonus. Lower maintenance than gelcoat, too.

We have a forest green (gelcoat) hull on the Chesapeake and we like it.

sailingfool · #8 (**permalink**) 11-02-2009

IMROn will not fade for the practical life of the finish, I'd say used seasonally you should ge 15-25 years of good appearance...provided you minimize the amount of damage the hull receives. On a dark color boat, any scratches into the finish will show as they tend to show the underlying lighter colors. So always deploy a good number of large fenders when approaching anything hard, put colth covers on the fenders to minimize fender rash. And make sure you keep the hull clear if and when you cover the boat.

chuck53 · #9 (**permalink**) 11-02-2009

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses. I really appreciate it.

Faster · #10 (**permalink**) 11-02-2009

Further to SF's fender advice, the spherical fenders (as opposed to the cylindrical ones) will abrade the hull much less. The round ones can "roll" against the hull in all directions, whereas while the cylindrical ones roll on a horizontal axis, they slide and abrade the hull vertically (such as when the boat is rolling against the dock from wave action). This results in the oft-seen "flat spot fender rub" in a shiny paint job.