Deck colour

[Chrisc]

Every boat I've ever owned has had cream coloured decks, and I've never liked them very much.
My boat is out of the water just now having the big refit and I have it in mind to paint the decks a light grey. The man in the ship chandler advised against it as he said they would get too hot. Would this be true??

[robert sailor]

Light grey probably won't be a big issue in NZ but I would avoid it in the tropics. If you choose a light blue/grey it will be a bit cooler.

[SimonV]

I have light gray decks/non skid. Yes they get very hot at times but not enough to burn my feet. I have heard that if you tint with any colour other than black the heat pickup will be much less.

[Wotname]

There was a couple of threads about some years back and IIRC, gloss white was by far the coolest but impossible to live with because of the glare. Matt white was the second coolest.

Any tint however slight increased the heat gain considerably although of course, all dark tints were the worst.

It seems that the lightest shade of your favourite colour is the way to go if matt white is not an option.

[HappyMdRSailor]

My 33OI has light grey deck paint and haven't had an issue in So CA with the deck too hot...

[Coops]

I have had light grey decks a few times out here in Aus. No problems with the heat, including having them on a steel boat.

Coops.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by Coops

I have had light grey decks a few times out here in Aus. No problems with the heat, including having them on a steel boat.

Coops.

Coops... Doesn't this belong in the joke thread????

I KID!

Never really thought about it, but come to think of it... The majority of steel boat decks are probably grey!

[BriRich]

we redid out decks last year with grey Kiwigrip. This is in the Philippines and the deck gets pretty hot mid-day but not unbearable. It looks super cool/classy on a rainy day.

[mrohr]

My decks are Awlgrip Pearl Grey (blue grey) , looks great,sorry no pics.
I suppose if a rescue aircraft were searching for me, orange might be easier to spot from the air, same goes for high arctic paint jobs where the color of choice seems to be red for decks and hull.

[zeehag]

i learned many folks with wood decks who remove them replace with nonskid of similar color. that color heats worse than wood in tropical sun, and without the insulation features of wood
discomfort colors are anything more than 5 shades off arctic white.

[JPA Cate]

The original non-skid areas on our deck were a light grey. We took their temperature with an optical thermometer, and they were a few degrees F. hotter than the white surrounding them. They did get too hot for me to walk on barefoot in some tropical areas.

We repainted, with the non-skid areas a matte white (using water based acrylmeric sport kote), and the surround a very slightly grey/white. The sport kote is the most aggressive non-skid we've ever had, but it is difficult to keep clean, and sometimes stains. It has proved noticeably cooler to walk on, and somewhat below decks, as well, compared to the previous arrangement.

[Chrisc]

Thank you for the replies.
Perhaps an off white, or a really soft grey.... anytrhing but cream!

[CarlF]

There's a huge range of off-whites that will be just as cool as cream. My non-skid is Insignia White. It has some green in with the grey that to my eye looks less workboat than straight grey. There's more contrast with the white hull than it seems in this color card.

Awlgrip Color Charts

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Chrisc

Thank you for the replies.
Perhaps an off white, or a really soft grey.... anytrhing but cream!

I always thought soft grey decks were cream decks that hadn't been cleaned too often

[markpierce]

Speaking of horizontal boat surfaces, my decks are a non-skid lght gray, forward cabin top is straw-colored in hope of reducing glare, saloon roof is white to reflect heat, and pilothouse roof is bright yellow to draw other's attention.