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Old     (cougarfan83)      Join Date: Sep 2011       07-11-2012, 7:42 AM Reply   
We are looking at buying a boat in the near future. My wife and I both love the look of a black boat. I have a black car and hate it because of how hard it is to keep clean and how easily it shows scratches. I don't want the same problems with a boat.

All you owners with black boats...what is your opinion? Do you find it hard to keep clean? Do they get too hot or get scratched too easily? Do I need to worry about oxidation?

Any regrets it or should I just sack up and go for it?

Please share!
Old     (jarrod)      Join Date: May 2003       07-11-2012, 7:51 AM Reply   
We're on our second, solid black boat.

Water spots and oxidation haven't been an issue. We're diligent about keeping it clean and so far, no regrets with getting a black boat.

I have noticed that in contact areas where the bumpers rub, people step, or slide gear bags across the gel coat, there is a haze or sometimes a dull looking area. If you plan on keeping the boat for several years, it might be an issue.
Old     (murphy_smith)      Join Date: Dec 2005       07-11-2012, 8:25 AM Reply   
Black boat are beautful but the require consistent attention to keeping them clean.

I owned a white before my black boat and was pretty meticulous with cleaning habit. We did not change a thing when we bought the black and we have not had any issues with keeping the gel clean and in perfect condition.

The old addage "ounce of prevention worth a pound of cure" applies. Wipe it down with a wipe down product everytime you get off the water (babes or boat bling), spot treat any waterspots with a hard water spot remover and keep a coat of wax on it. We use collinite twice a year and had no problems.

Old     (FunkyBunch)      Join Date: Jun 2011       07-11-2012, 8:27 AM Reply   
Black boats are work.

You will have to work to keep the water spots off. If your the type to get on the lake and stay on the lake all day the spots are worse than if you get on the lake ride your sets trailer the boat and wipe down when you leave. The spots from being on the lake all day are more difficult to remove since they are baked on.

Also if you have a black top deck this can be very hot to hands and bare feet if you live in a hot area of the country. I have friends that have white boats and I would say they have 30% less trouble with these things. One other thing about a mostly black boats, they are very hard to see on some lakes, they blend into the water.

Pro's
They look great when clean.
Old     (wakebrdjay)      Join Date: Apr 2008       07-11-2012, 8:32 AM Reply   
A black boat will only MAKE you take care of your boat like you really should anyway.X2 on what Murphy said.
Old     (michridr69)      Join Date: Dec 2008       07-11-2012, 8:40 AM Reply   
Black on my boat is terrible to keep clean.... but my next boat will be all black..
Old     (tyler97217)      Join Date: Aug 2004       07-11-2012, 8:46 AM Reply   
I only buy black boats, but I am meticulous..... You said in your own post that you don't like your black car, so you probably are not really meticulous...... You don't sound like a black boat owner....
It really is not hard to keep clean. I pull my boat out every night and give it a 15 minute spray and wipe down. Wax it once or twice a year and it is looks like new. Nothing looks better than black if you take care of your stuff.
Old     (lifetimewarranty)      Join Date: Oct 2008       07-11-2012, 9:08 AM Reply   
It has a lot to do with where you ride. My lake is Lake Tahoe run-off so it is extremely clean water.

My old boat was black and the quick towel down after each run was more than enough to keep it looking perfect. My (then) 6 and 8 year old daughters would simply towel her off and done.

It was the only Black hull Sanger DLX I have ever seen and it was one of the cleanest when I sold it.
Old     (wakebrdjay)      Join Date: Apr 2008       07-11-2012, 9:14 AM Reply   
I ride on Lake Erie,dirty hard water,spots like crazy,but if you keep a good protective finish on it and wipe it down after you use it,it's not that hard to keep nice.
Old     (bzubke1)      Join Date: Feb 2010       07-11-2012, 9:15 AM Reply   
My boat is about 2/3 black, 1/3 royal blue. The blue is a bit easier to wipe water spots off of even though it is on the deck. I think if you're the kinda guy who wipes the boat down ever time out or every other time it won't be too much trouble. Another pic to convince you to go black.

Old     (you_da_man)      Join Date: Sep 2009       07-11-2012, 10:17 AM Reply   
No matter what color you choose it will be equally dirty white or black. Dark colors show how lazy you are or how meticulous you are. White will mask all the waterspots you were to lazy to get too. Eventually, white can lose it's shine due layers of water-spots or mineral build up

Last edited by you_da_man; 07-11-2012 at 10:20 AM.
Old    TN22            07-11-2012, 10:28 AM Reply   
If you don't mind working a little to keep it clean then black is the way to go. Can't beat a black boat's looks on the water.
Old     (you_da_man)      Join Date: Sep 2009       07-11-2012, 10:35 AM Reply   
I'll help try to convince you too lol
Old     (travisz)      Join Date: Jun 2008       07-11-2012, 10:40 AM Reply   
Go to performanceboatcandy.com buy the speed gloss. that will take all water spots off in one spray... best stuff I have ever used
Old     (murphy_smith)      Join Date: Dec 2005       07-11-2012, 10:46 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by TN22 View Post
If you don't mind working a little to keep it clean then black is the way to go. Can't beat a black boat's looks on the water.
Wrong!!!! you can't beat a black boat with a pretty girl or girls laying on the back of it on the water

Old     (ixfe)      Join Date: Aug 2008       07-11-2012, 11:00 AM Reply   
Learn from my recenty history:

* My first boat was 100% white

* My second boat was mostly white with a black rear end (25% of total boat)

* My third (current) boat is about more like 60% black

See a pattern??? White boats are boring, imho. Black looks great and gives the boat a "richer" feal. That's why I've slowly been gravitating to more black. Soon I'll be like Diggs... 100% black.
Old     (gnarslayer)      Join Date: Sep 2008       07-11-2012, 11:06 AM Reply   
if your lake has alot of calcium, black wouldnt be the best idea... out here on lake austin and lake travis its pretty tough to keep black boat looking nice
Old     (Houstonshark)      Join Date: Jan 2011       07-11-2012, 11:18 AM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by you_da_man View Post
No matter what color you choose it will be equally dirty white or black. Dark colors show how lazy you are or how meticulous you are. White will mask all the waterspots you were to lazy to get too. Eventually, white can lose it's shine due layers of water-spots or mineral build up
I totally agree! I'm pretty anal and even though I bought an all white boat, I clean it pretty much the same as I would a black boat though I would be more careful about spotting in the sunlight if it were black while cleaning it.

Here's what we do after each use. It's overkill and depending on how tired I am (or how many beverages I've consumed) it can take as long as 2hrs start to finish. Our river is brackish though so I try and do all that I can to make sure the boat stays looking new.

-Pull all the gear and any ropes, mooring lines, bumpers that have gotten wet. My wife also starts cleaning out the boat and the built in coolers. She details the inside of the boat while I do the outside (and gets mad at me when I spray her or an area that she has already finished!).

-Load up the foam gun (http://www.autogeek.net/foam-gun.html) with foaming soap, Meguires marine wash and wax and usually a little bit of Salt Away and spray all the gear and the boat, especially the hull and areas where I don't normally reach under to completely wipe down.

-Once everything is foamed up I connect the hose and Salt Away container to the motor and flush the engine for 10-15min. This gives me enough time to run through and quickly wash down the boat with a microfiber cloth.

-Once the flush is done I then rinse off the equipment and the boat with fresh water.

-Typically I start hanging up ropes and boards to dry. I will usually spray a little bit of Hot Sauce on the boards and dry them before putting them on the racks.

-I then either dry the boat off quickly with a big microfiber towel just trying to get the majority of the water off and then run over the whole boat with Hot Sauce or usually I will just spray the Hot Sauce on it while it is still wet and dry it in one step and I'm done.


We don't have a lift yet so if we stay overnight, the boat stays in the water on mooring rods off of the pier. We have just over 80 hours on it already and I was starting to notice some yellowing on the hull. While cleaning the boat this last time after the boat being in the water from the 4th to the 7th, I used a spray bottle with Bass Pro Shops Heavy Duty Hull Cleaner diluted 50/50 with water and a soft brush with handle to clean everything below the rub rail. It worked perfectly and the boat was noticeably brighter and whiter than before.

I think I have waxed the boat 3 times since we got it in the middle of March; twice with the BB Quickie Sauce and more recently after cleaning it with the hull cleaner I used the Hula Boat Care Big Kahuna Polymer Sealant which I really liked.

I initially wanted an all black boat but I'm glad I went all white. Again, I think I could basically do the same process on the black boat as I do now and it would look just as good.

I would think a lot of how difficult the upkeep is on your boat, no matter the color has to do with the water you ride in, where it is kept both on the water and when not in use, how far you tow it, how often you use it and how well the people in the boat with you take care of it and help you with clean up (this may actually be the most important!).

Sorry for the novel, I'm at a client's home waiting on tech support to call me back...
Old     (Reez)      Join Date: Mar 2010       07-11-2012, 11:33 AM Reply   
My buddies black axis looks sick but were always wiping it down
Old     (bzubke1)      Join Date: Feb 2010       07-11-2012, 11:41 AM Reply   
I gotta say the water you boat in does make a huge difference. I took my boat off the dirty brazos one weekend to broken bow lake in oklahoma, the clear clean water there left my boat with almost no water spots after not wiping down all weekend.
Old     (murphy_smith)      Join Date: Dec 2005       07-11-2012, 12:38 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by bzubke1 View Post
I gotta say the water you boat in does make a huge difference. I took my boat off the dirty brazos one weekend to broken bow lake in oklahoma, the clear clean water there left my boat with almost no water spots after not wiping down all weekend.
Brandon - not sure what you use to wipe your boat down, but I found a dealer in out North Texas Area that sells Boat Bling Products for pretty good prices.

I am going to try it out this weekend....I'm normally a babes kind of guy....no pun intended!
Old     (bzubke1)      Join Date: Feb 2010       07-11-2012, 12:54 PM Reply   
Fun and sun in granbury about 2 miles from my house sells both babes and boat bling. Boat bling works great for wipedowns but $20 a bottle is hard to justify when vinegar is so cheap and works so well.
Old     (FunkyBunch)      Join Date: Jun 2011       07-11-2012, 1:07 PM Reply   
I use the Boat Bling and it works great. Still have to work a little harder on the water spots after being on Texoma all day. The interior cleaner is worth its weight in gold for getting the red and pink stains from Texoma's red clay.
Old     (smiller)      Join Date: Oct 2010       07-11-2012, 4:38 PM Reply   
We use griots garage, speed shine.. buy it by the gallon!!
Old     (cougarfan83)      Join Date: Sep 2011       07-11-2012, 11:06 PM Reply   
Quote:
Originally Posted by tyler97217 View Post
I only buy black boats, but I am meticulous..... You said in your own post that you don't like your black car, so you probably are not really meticulous...... You don't sound like a black boat owner....
It really is not hard to keep clean. I pull my boat out every night and give it a 15 minute spray and wipe down. Wax it once or twice a year and it is looks like new. Nothing looks better than black if you take care of your stuff.
I said I don't like my black car because of how hard it is to maintain...doensn't mean I am not meticulous. I hate mowing my lawn, but I do it because I love the look. I am quite meticulous and regardless of the boat color I end up with, I will be extremely anal about it. Hard to pay 90k for something and not want to baby it. I agree though, nothing beats the look of black!
Old     (matt_beck)      Join Date: Apr 2009       07-12-2012, 6:22 AM Reply   
My next boat will be white with black accents.
Old     (kko13)      Join Date: Jul 2006       07-12-2012, 6:37 AM Reply   
I understand what your saying about the black car. I have had one and will never own another one. That being said a black boat is just as much a pain to keep clean. But there is just something about a black boat!! Mine is half black and was in very ruff shape when I got it. It took a ton of work to get it back to where it should have been. So all this being said I would never own another black car but I also would never own aboat thats not atleast half black! So yes your going to have to work hard to keep your black boat looking right but it is sooo worth it!!!
Old     (murphy_smith)      Join Date: Dec 2005       07-12-2012, 6:37 AM Reply   
Owning and maintaining a black boat is like dateing a girl way out of your league....it's more work to keep her but it sure is worth when she looks like a flat out ten in front of all you buddies and esp. in front of your ex girlfriend!!!
Old     (tyler97217)      Join Date: Aug 2004       07-12-2012, 6:51 AM Reply   
murphy_smith -
Ha ha......
Old     (dukeno1)      Join Date: May 2006       07-12-2012, 7:29 AM Reply   
My boat is mostly black and after 6 years still looks new and I always get nice boat comments when I am out. All I do is wipe it down with 50/50 water vinegar mix each time I pull it out of the water and I have never had any water spots to deal with. I wax it once at the start of the season and once at the end and that's pretty much it. I would do exactly the same amount of work no matter what color boat I had. So, if you are willing to do at least that, you should be fine. One thing I will say is the lakes here in NC are pretty clean so maybe that plays a role as well. I have never had to deal with lakes with high mineral content like others here have mentioned.
Old     (cougarfan83)      Join Date: Sep 2011       07-14-2012, 10:58 PM Reply   
How about the heat on the black boats? Do they get too hot out in the sun?
Old     (Raf1985)      Join Date: Mar 2012       07-14-2012, 11:31 PM Reply   
Not sure about gel-coat, but its proven that red cars are hotter than black ones (in AZ sun). Any color attracts more heat than white though. The grey stripes on my interior are much hotter to the touch than the rest of the seats. I'm pretty sure all black will be pretty hot.

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