Black hull, Why not ?

RibRoy · 20 December 2004, 21:02

Hi !
About to order new boat, And I want black hull. At the Tornado web its written :We do not normally advise black glass, however black tubes are OK if you have pressure relief valves fitted.
I mailed them and asked why some 4 weeks ago, but no answer yet.
Apart for obveuse reasons like scratches and dirt is more wisible, why do they not advise black glass ?
Have a big black truck, Lot of work to keep it cleen all the time, but black looks really nice.

Any advice ?

Regards

Roy

Actionboat.dk · 20 December 2004, 21:54

When I ask Graham from Scorpion he did't want to make it. I had to pay more for it. but now he have made more black boats.

I think we have 2 tonados black here in Denmark.

Best Jan

The Black Scorpion

tsunami · 20 December 2004, 23:30

In the past I've built a lot of Black and dark hulled pilot and patrol boats. However in the past 5 or 6 years we always did the underwater gelcoats in white or clear gels.
The reason being that the dark coloured gelcoats are very heavily pigmented and normally have a lot of filler content. This leads to a lesser quality gelcoat that is much more prone to osmosis if the boat is to be left in the water for long periods of time.
Most classification bodies like Lloyd's Register for example will not pass a boat unless it has a clear or white gelcoat under the waterline for this very reason!

Alan Mckewan · 20 December 2004, 23:35

AH but for yhose of us who never [or only for short periods] leave the rib in the water black can look good AND not show all those oily mucky marks from the not so clean harbours etc. It also grows much less green stuff if left in the local marina for a few weeks [less sun reflection].

Alan McK.

paul tilley · 20 December 2004, 23:39

i am tubing at least one 10.5mtr black hull every week with nice black tubes my customer loves them

scm · 20 December 2004, 23:51

Hi,
Got my new Ribcraft in Black Hull, Black tubes with Black console and seats. And yes i have been in touch with BOSS to see if the ever need a rib for hire

Perhaps you should spk to Ribcraft !!
Regards
Stuart

Ian Jones · 20 December 2004, 23:57

Jono G use to have 2 black pro sports (hull, tubes, seats and consoles)
In my opinion they looked absolutely superb!
They were not left in the water long! maximum being about a week and they were washed off every time they came out of the water!

So in my view's take care of your boat and it will always look good

codprawn · 21 December 2004, 02:31

One very good reason is that they are hard to spot from a helicopter if you have flipped!!!

Rogue Wave · 21 December 2004, 07:54

Black does look good but beware of the heat it stores up. you can get some pretty fierce burns from the tubes in summer!

Bilge Rat · 21 December 2004, 09:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rogue Wave

Black does look good but beware of the heat it stores up. you can get some pretty fierce burns from the tubes in summer!

This is one good reason i like you Rogue

Mark Halliday · 21 December 2004, 09:49

I was told once that hull moulders do not like dark colours because they leave the mould in a bit of a mess and require more cleaning. Perhaps this is because the heavily pigmented gelcoat affects the release agent. Any comments?

Jono · 21 December 2004, 09:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Halliday

I was told once that hull moulders do not like dark colours because they leave the mould in a bit of a mess and require more cleaning. Perhaps this is because the heavily pigmented gelcoat affects the release agent. Any comments?

Yup.. that's exactly what our builders tell us.. they will do it, but expect to pay a premium... 15% off the top of my head... anyway, "black is soooo yesterday, dude"...

Mark Anderson · 21 December 2004, 10:00

Cleaning the mould is an issue with coloured hulls, I used to sell yachts and they would only build coloured hulls in batches as it took too long to clean the mould properly to constantly be changing from white to coloured.

It is much easier to match white gelcoat if you ever need to do a repair and that even applies if you get gel from the boat builder !

A white hull can be scratched and faded and you may struggle to notice, a coloured hull, especially a black one will show up every bit of dirt and damage and you will also notice any moulding imperfections much more easily.

Phil Davies · 21 December 2004, 10:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jono

"black is soooo yesterday, dude"...

You talkin' to me, Honky?

MeMe · 21 December 2004, 11:20

........however, this is well deserved. raotflmfho

Rupert Bear · 21 December 2004, 12:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

One very good reason is that they are hard to spot from a helicopter if you have flipped!!!

This ain't really true, black is an excellent colour to spot at sea during daylight hours.

codprawn · 21 December 2004, 18:49

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rupert Bear

This ain't really true, black is an excellent colour to spot at sea during daylight hours.

Not if it's overcast or really dull weather - which we get quite a lot of!!!

They don't make lifeboats dayglow for nothing!!!!

Know what you mean though - in the right conditions it would stick out like a sore thumb - then again maybe they would just think it was a whale!!!

roofer · 21 December 2004, 19:16

i had a black hull on a jetski and i wouldn't have another because they show every scratch and stress crack up,even minor ones.

RibRoy · 21 December 2004, 20:19

Been to a meeting with the Norwegian Tornado dealer this evening. Looks like its gonna be a 750 with black hull,console, seats etc. Yellow tubes with the wide rubber strikes at the sides and the antiskid reinforcement on the top of the tubes ( all rubber in black ) Delivery late march.
The Norwegian Merc/Marine importer has allready sold all the 70 Verados they was given for 05. Guess i go for the 250 E-tec

Will fit 2 Ullman sats also.

Thanks a lot for all good advices on this forum. Really helped a lot in the confusing prosess to choose the right RIB. And a lot of good advice as a bonus too :-)

Regards

Roy

Rupert Bear · 22 December 2004, 09:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by codprawn

Not if it's overcast or really dull weather - which we get quite a lot of!!!

They don't make lifeboats dayglow for nothing!!!!

Know what you mean though - in the right conditions it would stick out like a sore thumb - then again maybe they would just think it was a whale!!!

Even in overcast weather black stands out very well against a grey sea, especially from the air. Still, I bought my boat in all over yellow and recover stuff from the sea for a living, what does this tell you?