Anyone with all black boat?

[Buschy]

I have seen a few all balck boats on here and would like to get some input from people that own them. Also post up some pics, preferably pics on the water.

I know black is a pain to maintain but is it worth it.

[BLADE]

My boat is mostly black and I love it! I wipe mine down with vinegar and water 50/50 after each use and wax once a month.

[Malibudude]

Mine is mostly black, its like anything else it'll show dirt quicker than other colors and requires more attention to keep pristine, but it's worth it. Depending on the lake location will determine whether I use vinegar or not. Most lakes near me are snow melt an leave little to no waterspots and in that case I simply dry off. I use Starbrite's polish usually 2 or 3 coats and then follow it up with carnuba wax.

[wdr]

My hull base is ebony with a charcoal accent (rear) and moonbeam main which is a great combo IMO, especially with the black G3. I don't have hard water issues here in this area of TN so the black & charcoal cleans (50/50 vinegar also) w/ little effort and doesn't show any staining like my white hulls did. One word of warning on the black hull base, my boat was a demo that was powered (vice floated) onto the trailer a number of times in too shallow of water. The combination of dry trailer bunk boards and the weight of the boat melted the bunk board carpets in spots and put scuff marks on the black gel coat, which may or may not be able to be wheeled out. I guess I will see this winter, otherwise I would definately get black again. Last thought, if you beach the boat invest in a keel guard (yeh I know, sacrilege to say for some) but it almost disappears on black and lessens my OCD fears.

[WakingMeHappy]

I black (maintained) boat is no doubt beautiful. The main issue is being too hot to the touch in the summer sun.

[thtrog]

I came from a mostly all white boat and so far I'm getting along with the black just fine. I wipe it down just like always and use Hot Sauce when I want to give it a quick detail. Yes it will show dirt/spots more, but nothing like trying to keep an all black truck clean. I'll give a more experienced review at the end of the season!

[Wakesetter67]

I have seen a few all black boats on here and would like to get some input from people that own them. Also post up some pics, preferably pics on the water.

I know black is a pain to maintain but is it worth it.

love Mine, mostly all black, I use the Hot sauce product, For water spots, Does a great job, I'm very Picky and actually get great pleasure out of cleaning and maintaining it, I know not everyone is, Like this weekend, Lot's of junk in the river, I don't think i went over 10 MPH was afraid of a chunk of wood hitting and causing a mark on the Black, I know White or lighter colors hide that kind of stuff, All in All Love the Black!! One side note: My Last 04 was all black even the front, Before I Bought it the front was just Peppered with rock chips, So You have to be careful on what you tow with as to not fling rock, My new one is white and will hide most Chips if i get them... Edited June 8, 2011 by Wakesetter67

[Wakeslasher69]

I have an all black '09 247 and my truck is all black so i guess you could say I'm not worried about a little extra work! For me I like the black because our lake water here in NC can show scum lines if the boat sits for even a little while in the water. On black it doesn't show so I like it! Sure its a LITTLE more rub down work but aren't we all rubbing them down after use anyway?

[Fman]

I have seen a few all balck boats on here and would like to get some input from people that own them. Also post up some pics, preferably pics on the water.

I know black is a pain to maintain but is it worth it.

My last boat was black, for me, never again will I own a black boat. Eventually, you will get water spots and fine scratches that are difficult to remove. The worse is when you are house boating all week In 100 degree weather and the water is baking on the gelcoat. Especially lake Shasta, that lake has some hard water... I am anal about a clean boat and would have to constantly be wiping down the boat, it got to be a real hassle after a few days. After owning a white boat for only a few months i can already tell it is going to be so much easier to maintain. White is cooler and hides a lot of dust, dirt and gelcoat flaws.

Just beware if you buy black, you will be spending a lot of time detailing your boat as others have mentioned.. Black does look sweet, just have to be willing to deal with the high maintenance that comes with it.

Edited June 8, 2011 by Fman

[Bill_AirJunky]

A guy on my lake has an ALL black LSV. I mean EVERYTHING but the interior is black. Looks cool from about 100' away. But get up close & you can see every little imperfection. Doesn't matter if it's in the gelcoat, or any of the painted accessories, if it's scratched or has any dirt on it, it becomes obvious quickly.

I have like a 5" wide black stripe on my own boat. It definitely shows more of the scratches & spots than either the blue or white does.

Edited June 8, 2011 by Bill_AirJunky

[Wingnut]

Switched from white/black/blue to all black this year. Looks Bad a** when it's clean and waxed but is a major PITA to keep looking sharp. Love the look of it. No pics on the water yet.

[jcon44]

Mine is mostly Black and blue. no issues with heat as i dont sit on the hull to often:) and the top deck is white. Nothng looks better in my opinion than a black boat, but yes it does show scraches more.

One thing someone turned me on to is Pledge Multisurface, it removes waterspots without removing the wax. And it smell a hell of allot better that vinager, Just saying...

[cwkoch]

Mine is mostly black, with some red in there too.... Here's a few things about my routine to keep it looking new.

-Just be careful not to bang boards into the boat and you won't have scratches to worry about.

-I only tow the boat with a stone gaurd in front of it, so not rock chips to worry about then.

-Wax it once or twice a year with a good wax (I'm a fan of Collonite 845 Insulator wax), and spots won't stick as much.

-I wipe down after every outing with Hot Sauce, so that takes care of the spots and keeps it looking great.

-I only wipe the gelcoat with Microfiber towels. Terry cloth and cotton beach towels aren't as soft. This keeps from accumulating a lot of those micro-scratches that build over time and become noticable on the surface. When we pull out, we do a quick wipe with a Cobra Guzzler waffle towel to get some of the water off the surface. Then mist it with Hot sauce, then wipe it with Cobra Miracle Towels or Cobra Supreme Towels. http://www.autogeek.net/mfchart.html

[REW]

I came from a mostly all white boat and so far I'm getting along with the black just fine. I wipe it down just like always and use Hot Sauce when I want to give it a quick detail. Yes it will show dirt/spots more, but nothing like trying to keep an all black truck clean. I'll give a more experienced review at the end of the season!

How hot does it get in the summer sun? Beautiful boat.

[Dexter]

We put 73 hours on ours last year and 3 outings so far this season. Never had a problem with the hull or deck. Our vinyl is dark and gets hot. So do all the chrome stuff. I love the looks of the boat though. There are a couple of on-the-water pics in my boathouse.

[Buschy]

We put 73 hours on ours last year and 3 outings so far this season. Never had a problem with the hull or deck. Our vinyl is dark and gets hot. So do all the chrome stuff. I love the looks of the boat though. There are a couple of on-the-water pics in my boathouse.

your boat is sick. all that black on the interior and the whole dash looks great, but my wife would hate that. im sure yall get burnt every so often hah.

[-BS-]

Black is great, but it will definitely triple your boat care time. My boat looks great (240 hrs in 2 yrs and it's moored), but I spend an obscene amount of time caring for it when it's not in the marina. Stripping, waxing and detailing are not optional activities if you want the black to stay sharp looking. It will depend where & how often you ride as to how often you will have to do these things, but I'd say 2 waxes a summer are a minimum with good conditions & low use. That said: if you want black, get black..........just take care of it. Oh, and don't get black anywhere you want to rest your arm or sit....you'll regret it

Edited June 9, 2011 by bs001

[Chattwake]

Mine's pretty dang black...

[Chattwake]

Few more. Sure it's hard to clean the water spots, but at least it doesn't stain!

[Levi900RR]

Mine's pretty dang black...

Holla Holla!

[Buschy]

re vived!

couple people posted they had new boats that were black. how do you feel a year later?

[Malibudude]

No different still like it.

[Fman]

Went black on my first boat, probably never will go back... wwwaaayyyy to much maintenance, gets hot as heck, I am too anal about water spots and black is super hard to take care of. After a week on Shasta it was brutally hard to get them off the boat after baking in the sun every day. It also starts to show fine scratches easily, but I will say black looks great when kept up.

I have a 95% white boat now, and probably will always stay with the lighter colors....

[Night Rider]

I had my first boat for three years. 70% black metallic. No scratches no marks. Waxed twice a year. No harder than any other color to maintain.

[09vRide]

Agree with most on here. I came from a White/Red combo, and the Black is definatly more work to maintain. I love it though. I probably spend a least an hour cleaning/washing/wiping down after a day on the water. I polish and wax twice a year - keeps it looking very black and shiny. I recommend the micro-fiber towels too.

Edited May 10, 2012 by 09vRide