Re: [Paddlewise] Boat visibility

Please excuse the tardy response (Josh), but hopefully this will be worth
something to the new boat buyers out there who do not feel like painting
International Rescue Orange over a brand spankin' new boat.

A friend of mine who owns a Mariner Express in the "Marlin" bluish - green Matt
describes below was paddling Tropical Storm Dennis on the Chesapeake Bay with
some friends and I.  The boats included:
    M's Marlin Blue Mariner Express
    J's Yellow Mariner Express
    G's Std. Red VCP Nordcapp
    my Green / Blk F-craft Khatsalano
The visibility due to torrential downpours at one point dropped to about 1 1/2 ~
2 boat lengths (that with clear wrap-around shades I use for storm paddling).
After the paddle, we compared notes on our boats' visibilities, and if you
reverse the above list you'll have the order in which they "disappeared"
(distance wise) into the whiteout conditions.

>From other experiences, I've found VCP's Golden Yellow to be almost as visible
as the Marlin Blue under all the conditions I've been in here in the Mid
Atlantic.  Next would probably be VCP's Red (if not faded), but as said already,
tends to get lost in lower light situations.  I was surprised how dark a
friend's new Red deck & hull Romany appeared during a BCU class held in (low
light daytime) storm conditions.  The instructor's all Red Anas was even tougher
to make out due to fading / "drabbing" of his deck / hull.  I admit I'm kind of
splitting hairs here in that the light conditions were not "bad", just low
enough to easily see the differences between various colors in storm seas and
surf.

Getting back to Mariner's Marlin Blue, it seems as good as any standard deck
color available for all paddling except clear turquoise waters.  If only Matt
would push equally visible hull colors so his boats could be easier spotted at a
glance when rolling around upturned and unmanned in surf...

Matt Broze wrote:

> Joshua Teitelbaum <teitelba_at_post.tau.ac.il> wrote:
>
> >>>>>>Which boat colors are the most visible, night and day?
>
> Has the US Coast Guard or someone else done tests?
>
> Matt, when I was in your store you pointed at a blue boat, saying that it
> had been determined that that type of blue was the most visible.  What
> type of blue was it?<<<<<<<
>
> Yes, the Coast Guard has done tests. They say (and I said then) that yellow
> is the most visible over the widest range of conditions. What was surprising
> in these tests was that a light blue was the next most visible color to
> yellow. Where most oranges and reds look very dark in dim light or at night
> light blue seems to almost glow (however nothing compares to reflective tape
> here). Also a light "Marlin" blue (sort of a bluer dyed turquoise like
> color) is not the color of anything else in nature so it stands out because
> it is unnatural. (Except for the bill of a Ruddy duck--first time I ever saw
> this duck, near the U of WA campus, I thought it must be someone's research
> experiment because the duck's bill color was so different that it looked to
> me like it must have been painted on).
> "If you want to be seen you need to make yourself bigger, brighter or
> different", is how the Coast Guard Captain put it to me years ago in a
> boating safety class.
>
> >>>>Does a white hull make a kayak less or more visible?<<<<<
>
> Depends on what's around it. It's bright, but if viewed from the air amongst
> a lot of whitecaps it is not different. I think it is a good choice for a
> hull color because it will be very visible at night (from the side as seen
> by an approaching vessel) when the deck color you don't mind looking at all
> day might not be very visible at all. Your PFD and hat probably have the
> potential to be more visible than the low kayak. What has the best chance of
> being seen is your paddle blades. They are constantly waving around making
> yourself bigger and different so the best thing you can do if you want to be
> seen by others is to also make them bright.

regular no affiliation with Mariner or any other kayak manufacturer clause

Vince
Orange deck, Golden Yellow hull Anas Acuta
Blk diagonal striped between gunwales & chines to tell bow from stern at a
glance if hull is upturned (for rescue purposes)
Yellow bladed paddle
Yellow PFD / Or.&Ylw PFD, both with SOLAS reflective tape and patches


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