Picking color palette for a black hull

[Ted Hoppe]

http://images2e.snapfish.com/232323232%7Ffp537%3C5%3Enu%3D3267%3E24%3B%3E%3B8%3 B%3EWSNRCG%3D345%3A%3A29%3A5332%3Cnu0mrjPrimed and ready for painting...

As I stripped and sanded through the paint ring years on my 50's sloop - It appears to have been a white cabin, grey and powder blue originally.

Now what color do go with? What would you suggest?

[Nanoose]

taupe...I like taupe and black - a pale taupe, not too strong

[James McMullen]

Show that you're confident enough in your masculinity to shrug off any question--stick with the powder blue, baby! Nothing gives salty dockside cred quite like a pastel.

[wizbang 13]

white

[Steve Paskey]

Definitely taupe. I don't like pale blue on boats. The sky and the water are blue. Taupe instead of white because it's warmer and looks better in that warm glow just before sunset.

[Ted Hoppe]

A factor is the boat is next to a working container yard and shipping in Oakland, the fallout coats the paint with soot in rapid time. Wash the boat - three days you can't tell.

Taupe might work with white combings.

[mmd]

Black hull
Bright or white toerail
Dory Buff decks and house top
White house sides & deck fixtures

The toerail will accentuate the sweep of the sheer, the buff decks will be easy to clean and on the eyes on a bright day, the buff house roof will make the house look longer and lower, and the white house sides are just the way they should be...

[Michael D. Storey]

Salty dockside cred. I will save that.
Suggest a 1/2 qt of a few colors; try different motifs. (Or is it motives?) I did this try out thing for a client years ago. Sort of folk who would spend $200 to get just what they liked.

[JimConlin]

I like the color that my wife's decorator calls taupe. I prefer to call it tan.
I'd go with tan decks and white toerail, coamings and house sides.

[OconeePirate]

Royal blue w/ lavender or pale yellow pinstriping.

[James McMullen]

Wait! How about plain white with a yellowish tinge from sun damage and a blue sailcover? So you can stand out.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1013/1097111496_c51b4aed0f.jpg

[TimH]

Just pretend the green is black.

buff nonskid, custom mix buff/off white deck

http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr133/hoehnt/R6.gif

[wizbang 13]

Graphics are for ugly boats. Taupe is tan? Wait, what is taupe, I thought taupe was purple!!

[David G]

Speaking of being sure of your machismo... on of my buddies picked this trim for his black hull:


http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3462/3792863891_a4d5c259f5_o.jpg
<photo by John Kohnen>

[Ted Hoppe]

Just pretend the green is black.

buff nonskid, custom mix buff/off white deck

http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr133/hoehnt/R6.gif

Is that Z-Spar Spar Buff? If so, how does that do over easy poxy?

[botebum]

Royal blue w/ lavender or pale yellow pinstriping.Rule #1- Never ask a tatooist what color to paint your boat:D
I'm going to agree with mmd. The rest of you better stop using the word 'taupe'. It makes me nervous.

Doug

[Paul Pless]

The rest of you better stop using the word 'taupe'. It makes me nervous.

Dougits bad enough we fisherman have been subjugated to 'chartreuse', 'fuchsia', and 'bubblegum'. . .

[TimH]

Is that Z-Spar Spar Buff? If so, how does that do over easy poxy?

Interlux Brightsides

[Michael D. Storey]

Graphics are for ugly boats. Taupe is tan? Wait, what is taupe, I thought taupe was purple!!


Purple is the new Majestic Interlude

[Falcon500]

its bad enough we fisherman have been subjugated to 'chartreuse', 'fuchsia', and 'bubblegum'. . .


thats why i stick with blood, motor oil, firetiger, perch, and black for lure colors, you should hear our salmon spoon colors, monkey puke, OJ simpson, Kevorkian Ice, Lorrain's Tan Lines, Jager Bomb, Confused Blonde, then it goes down hill with Chartreuse Pooh Bear


anyway white and TAN always look alright like everyone else said (taupe is as bad a "Sun Down Buff" ) forgot which company own it though

[BBSebens]

http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr133/hoehnt/R6.gif

daddy like.... what design is this? and nice color choice as well...

[S B]

Black is the absence of colour, so any adjacent one will have no affect. That is vibration or souring of the mix. Pick what ever you like. It's your boat.

[MattM]

Taupe is what interior decorators paint your living room with. Buff is what goes on boat decks. I've always known it as Bristol beige as well. but I think thats the name of an interlux color.

I'm with mmd.

Buff decks have a classic look, it will complement the bright toerails well and tone down all the white which can start to look plastic when its all over the deck and house.

[nonsly]

daddy like.... what design is this? and nice color choice as well...

That is a Cape Dory Typhoon.

I like buff as well, but if I had a black hull I'd try to work in a dash of yellow; maybe a cove stripe. Very traditional in Britain for workboats to have black hulls and yellow trim. In that case, a yellowish cream might look better than buff on the deck.

[Jay Greer]

In the sign trade, we have a color called "False Gold" this goes well with black as does real gold leaf for a cove stripe. A soft moss green goes well also. The best way to approach color coding a hull is to make a transparant over lay of your sheer plan and insert various colors under it. While this can be done on a computer, the above method is preferred as you are working with true color chips.
Jay

[ILikeRust]

Taupe is what interior decorators paint your living room with. Buff is what goes on boat decks.

Ha!

Pretty funny - as the walls of nearly every room in our house are painted with a color called "Gallery Taupe" (at wifey's request - although I have to say I do like it). Taupe actually is slightly different from "Buff". It's slightly darker and slightly warmer.

I wholeheartedly agree with the white/buff combo. Man, that boat already looks sharp with just white. I love the combo of a dark hull and topsides (dark navy, dark green, or black), with a white/taupe (buff) deck and white cabin sides. Sharp, sharp, sharp! Crisp.

With all respects to ZZ Top, eEvery girl's crazy `bout a sharp-dressed boat, y'know.

[donald branscom]

Definitely taupe. I don't like pale blue on boats. The sky and the water are blue. Taupe instead of white because it's warmer and looks better in that warm glow just before sunset.

I agree with wanting a warmer color around all that coldness of the water.
White on the deck of a boat can be blinding in the sun.

Howard Chappelle talks all about this in his book Boat Building.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

One of my favourite color charts is Pettit Easypoxy, which have some great colours, some of which I have used, including brightwork brown, Grand banks Beige, Platinum, and blue ice.

Shipendec from Pettit also have a couple of great colors including Marshgreen, and Dull dead grass. Wonderful traditional colors.

http://www.pettitpaint.com/fileshare/tech_bulletins/pettitcolorcard.pdf

[donald branscom]

Just pretend the green is black.

buff nonskid, custom mix buff/off white deck

http://i477.photobucket.com/albums/rr133/hoehnt/R6.gif

Now there is some nice color combos.

[TimH]

Hard to go wrong with traditional color combos :)

[Iceboy]

What type of boat is that little cruiser in post 14? I kinda like the way it looks.