The Impact of Color on Boat Performance.
By JP Eatock, Coach 5
Vernon Doucette, Canadian and Outward Bound Guide
Dennis Mechem, Expeditioner and Guide Extraordinaire
Tom Bergh, Coach 4, owner MIKCO
New information - Did you know how much of an impact boat color can make on boat speed, performance and stability?
The color of the boat has, in the past, been a personal choice, and largely an aesthetic decision to most boat buyers. Your boat color makes you happy looking at your craft whilst it cruises through the water, and maybe makes you more noticeable, helping to decrease the risk of getting ran over by larger water users, or to speed up the chances of rescue attention.
There is now evidence that there is more to kayak color than meets the eye. Boat color could effect our stroke work; making it increasingly difficult to get that perfect roll, or making it tippier than it needs to be. Also, it can make you a slower or faster craft through the water.
Research has been put towards checking out the facts that different colors weigh different amounts and also can speed up or slow down the water molecules passing over the vessel.
Taking the rainbow color spectrum, it has been found that, with 2 exceptions, boats become heavier and heavier as they go from: Clear, Red, Orange, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Black.
The two exceptions being Yellow, which is the heaviest color of the Spectrum, and British Racing Green, which, after clear is the lightest color - making the Kayak Color Spectrum ranging from light to heavy boats: Clear, British Racing Green, Red, Orange, Blue, Indigo, Violet, Black, Yellow.
How does this knowledge effect our paddling?
Here's some boat configurations and their effect on the paddler
Totally White:
This boat sits high on the water, and will fly through it. The paddler will feel that the boat skims along easily underneath him, and will find it easier to lift on and off the roof rack. However, you need to have a good seat in your boat, as, because you are higher in the water, you will find that this craft is tippier. Watch out for that increased weather cocking as well, as there is more kayak above the water line.
Black hull, white deck:
This boat is what is called “well balanced”. In the trade it is known, after its founder as the Meecham combination. It’s black hull gives it a stable and solid keel, and so is allot harder to capsize than other kayaks. The white deck makes it light on top, further increasing stability, but not adding too much weight to the over all kayak. The other advantage is that it tends to roll easier as the weight change from capsize to upright is such that the boat itself will swing over and want to sit in its stable, upright position naturally.
Yellow Kayak:
Nigel Dennis has told us that “Yellow is the heaviest color that our boats are made of”-or whatever
This kayak is about the heaviest and sluggish of all of the boats on the market. It is the hardest to lift on and off roof bars; it takes extra strength to get up to speed, and tends to sink itself through waves. This boat has been the one attributed to the most amount of paddling related hernia injuries. Athletes use it when training for races to increase their strength and endurance.
Racing Green:
Nearly the fastest, lightest boat on the market. This is the reasoning behind many of the British racing Green cars in the 60’s, 70’s and early 80’s. This was a period when engines were not that powerful and every ounce mattered, so it was the natural color to choose for racing and performance cars. It is more tippy than the white boat, and has much the same properties but to a greater extent. This is a boat color that is recommended for advanced and well balanced kayakers only.
Black Glitter:
The saving grace of black, heavy boats are that you can get glitter put into the paint. This acts as a conductor and reflector to heat up the air in the hatches and make the boat lighter. These boats are great to use in the daytime, and are known in the trade as “solar friendly”. They lighten the kayak, and on a sunny day can bring them up the color scale to white performance characteristics. Not recommended for use at night though as their characteristics change to heavy black when the sun goes down.
The Newest Research:
Steve Maynard, BCU Coach 5 while training for rodeo and slalom discovered that certain whitewater/rodeo boats also varied size by color. His experience was that the black rodeo boats were approximately 10% SMALLER than exact same boat in yellow. The performance enhancement from this simple color choice are obvious.
So What? It is advisable to - Ensure that you try before you buy.
That’s all for today.