White bottoms....

noclutch

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Feb 1, 2013
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...hull bottoms that is, your perv you :D

This is a cross-forum post as the THT crowd is a bit fickle and pompous.... :rolleyes:

Most offshore fishing boats come with white hull bottoms even if the sides are a colored gel.

Other than convention, is there a performance or practical reason for this? (other than cost)

Are fish in relatively shallow water spooked by color above them? Just wondering.
 

smokeonthewater

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Dec 3, 2009
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Re: White bottoms....

nope

the reason the bottoms are white is because that isn't visible when the boat is in the water so it isn't worth the money or effort to color it.... only trailer boats have white bottoms tho... the rest have a nice coat of marine growth
 
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mpsyamaha

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Re: White bottoms....

All boats cast a shadow in the water, but I don't think color matters. Fish in shallow water are more concerned with noise, like hull slap from waves for instance. If there was something to your idea about colors, you would see it manifest in serious tournament fishing I would think.
 

dingbat

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Re: White bottoms....

White doesn't show dings and dents as well. Pretty common for used boat dealers to apply white bottom paint for resale
 

limitout

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Re: White bottoms....

...hull bottoms that is, your perv you :D

Are fish in relatively shallow water spooked by color above them? Just wondering.

yes fish can see and be spooked by dark hull colors in shallow water but a lot depends on the fish you target because forward or upward feeding/looking fish will often see and avoid the strange object in front of them. there are always fish that don't care or arent easily spooked but after years and years of fishing with white, blue, red, hunter green, and grey bottom hulls, I can tell you for 100% certainty that the big fish will scatter before you can get in casting distance with the highly visible red blue and green hulls but you can get very much closer to them with the white and grey hull colors.

fish are color blind and only see things in terms of different shades of white black and grey so its mainly a light or dark object they are seeing.

the side hull that is not under water doesn't matter as much because it is very low to the water so by the time the fish are able to see it he is within a couple of yards of the boat anyways but if you are going to be standing on the bow or back platform you have to think about wearing muted colors that match the skyline behind you so you don't stand out. bright flashy colors will spook fish too because they CAN see you above the water as they get closer to the boat.

by contrast it seamed barker bottom hull colors seamed to attract fish to them when fishing offshore, im sure its because its more visible and when you are offshore those fish tend to move toward things they see.

I would go with blue or red bottoms for deep water and offshore fishing and for shallow water fishing go with white or if its aluminum get it in the grey color.
 
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Frank Acampora

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Jan 19, 2007
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Re: White bottoms....

Think about it: Why do FISH have white bottoms and dark tops? Looking up, the white bottom is less visible to predators.

Don't know it this coloring of hull bottoms is done intentionally by manufacturers though.
 

crabby captain john

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Re: White bottoms....

I had a Sylvan Tinny and my uncle had a Sea Ark jon. We fished together often and for a few years rotated which boat we took. Uncle kept detailed records and one day said "we fish the same holes, same baits, etc and we catch 25% - 30% more anchored or drifting your boat". The only variable was the color of the boat~ his green, mine light grey. After that we only used my boat when we fished together. Did it really make a difference? He thought so. RIP Unc!
 

tpenfield

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Re: White bottoms....

Everybody knows that boats with white bottoms go faster . . . :D
 

smokeonthewater

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Re: White bottoms....

if fish don't like dark objects above then how come floating logs, docks, low hanging trees, and bridges hold fish?
 

JimS123

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Re: White bottoms....

It's Madison Avenue styling. Many of the early FG boats were a single color. They switched to 2-tone strictly for aethestics. Plus, as someone said, why add extra $ to the bottom that can't be seen in the water.

We troll for Muskys. We run the lures down about 18'. Grandpa always said you had to have a green bottom. When we fished with Grandpa on his wooden boat with the green bottom we always did well. After he passed I bought a fiberglass boat that was 100% medium blue - bottom and topsides. We continued to do well. When I traded up and got a 2-tone blue boat (same shade) with a white bottom our catch dropped off significantly.

Grandpa was never wrong!
 

UncleWillie

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Re: White bottoms....

As a scuba diver, I can tell you that all hulls look Black/Dark when looking up, contrasted against the sky.
Fish are more sensitive to motion/pressure waves in the water than anything else.

You can slowly approach most any fish and they will remain calm.
But just just wave a hand and they are gone!

A floating Boat/Log looks like good cover.
A passing bird or someone leaning over the side is another story.
 

Home Cookin'

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Re: White bottoms....

Fish are color blind? Then all those colorful lures are to catch fishermen, not fish. I'm not buying that.
 

dingbat

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Re: White bottoms....

Then all those colorful lures are to catch fishermen, not fish. I'm not buying that.
Then continue buying all the crazy colors that are being marketed..lol
"Insert running joke with one of the areas popular lure builders on the subject"

Keep in mind that you don't "see" colors. Your seeing light reflecting off a surface. Water absorbs light (brightness) and dramatically changes the light spectrum ("color" of reflected light) What you see isn't what you get behind the boat.
Fish see color differently and are color blind to others. Contrast is much important than color. Profile and size is even more so
 
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Scott Danforth

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Re: White bottoms....

white bottoms show up to the coast guard helicopter when the boat is floating upside down and 25 miles out from shore.

other than that, white gel is the least expensive
 

ondarvr

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Re: White bottoms....

White costing less money is one of the main factors, plus it's easier to spray and repair, and doesn't show the defects as easily, plus colors typically don't hold up well under water, they tend to cloud up. There are only a couple of colored gel coats that hold up well under water and they cost a good deal more than normal gel coat, so not many builders use them.
 
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noclutch

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Feb 1, 2013
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Re: White bottoms....

Thanks y'all. Another reason for my asking this basic question this is I'm pondering ordering a whole hull color boat, but I've yet to see this done by the brand I'm considering- Key West. My Regal lake boat looks GREAT done whole hull bright blue and with a black gel boot strip, but it is neither moored nor fished from. ( as an aside, I wish more manufactures did gel boot stripes but I understand that it is labor intensive...) One good thing about whole not-to-dark a color is that it stays cleaner looking than it is, and after a fresh water outing not needed to be washed every time. If I get a salty fishing boat with a white bottom, it might need a bath even after similar casual river days to get rid of algae/scum/tanin residue.
 

Fleetwin

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Re: White bottoms....

As a scuba diver, I can tell you that all hulls look Black/Dark when looking up, contrasted against the sky.
Fish are more sensitive to motion/pressure waves in the water than anything else.

You can slowly approach most any fish and they will remain calm.
But just just wave a hand and they are gone!

A floating Boat/Log looks like good cover.
A passing bird or someone leaning over the side is another story.

As another diver, I agree.

The best fishing boat I ever had was grey. Sides and bottom. However, I think it had more to do with the very deep sides that kept most occupant motion hidden.
 
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