Are white decks too bright in the sun?

I know that some of you have chosen white decks on your kayaks.



I also recall reading someone’s comment recently that white decks can seem too bright in the sun - more so than other color choices.



Those of you who have white kayak decks, are you pleased with that color choice?

IMHO White = no worries…
Sea and sky conditions during the day might factor in more than deck color.



I guess if you paddled straight East / West it might matter but …

Isn’t a problem
In fact, my white decked boat puts up less glare than my dark brown wooden boat once the varnish gets wet (Which is about 10 seconds after I get in it).



Even then, it’s really not a big deal.

It was for me…
I had ordered a white decked boat and in the following few days paddled a white boat. I immediately called the dealer and changed the order.

I prefer light gray
I had an Express and Chatham 18 with a light gray deck/hull, have a QCC400 with light gray deck and yellow hull. Plain white is too bright for me.

White Deck
I have a CD Gulfstream with a yellow deck. I wanted white over white but bought what my kayak shop had in stock. I paddle with a friend who has a white decked boat and it doesn’t seem to make much difference but maybe glare bothers some more than others. VF

White is too bright. In one case,
I painted the deck.

I’d rather be seen…
the brighter the better when you paddle around powerboats. I have wondered though… does my bright orange deck attract more bugs? I think it does.

painted a wood kayak
foredeck was varnished wood but the aft deck was bright yellow. Visible, but not to me.

Sun Glasses?

I was just going to suggest sunglasses.
No problem with my white decked kayak and glare from the sun. It’s also cooler in hot weather.

Glare, reflection & sunglasses
Have had problems with this for years, especially when sailing as sailboats have white decks & white sails so you get sun or reflection from just about every direction. Sunglasses do help but only go so far- glare & reflection comes in from the sides of the glasses. I’ve found that a visor curled around the glasses helps a lot as do sunglasses with shields around the outer corners (can you say Rat Patrol?). Unfortunately, high end boats have glossy decks no matter what the color. My sun headaches got worse when I moved up from rotomolded boats (which tend to have matte surfaces) but the less reflective colors aren’t quite as bad on overcast days (which we have a lot of in Michigan). On sunny days, I never leave home without the ibuprofen.

White deck
I’ve got a white deck on my QCC. Doesn’t bother me at all, and it sure is the best color for hiding scratches and dings.

glare
Same situation with me, and I used to race sailboats too. Glare gets pretty tough to deal with, and really good polarizing sunglasses do help a lot (Kaenon Kore’s currently). In fact, I almost always have a spare pair of sunglasses with me.



Light grey decks (as in Valley’s Quill Grey) do make quite a difference over white, in terms of glare.

No problem on my
white Mirage. The water is the thing doing all the reflecting IMO.



Like my white truck, it seems like it is clean even way past dirty

I paddled a white Eddyline
Merlin XT for two years… not a problem.

white is the only acceptable color
for fiberglass boats

The Sunglasses I use…
are actually ANSI approved safety glasses.



Wrap around “batwing” shape, plenty of side coverage to cut WIND and glare, lightweight (comfortable for extended wear), secure rubberized nose and ear pieces that don’t slip, impact and highly scratch resistant, blue polarized tint.



I use these glasses constantly as my work requires safety glasses and I double them up for paddle duty.



$7.00 a pair at the local hardware store and with little to no care they last 6-18 months before they get a scratch and I replace them. They are always scratched on the job (not ‘yakin’).



Best value ever!



Now if I could only find them in an amber lens for grey days, I’d be set.

Huh?
white is the only acceptable color

Posted by: bohemia on Mar-13-08 12:25 AM (EST)



for fiberglass boats



Even after Labor Day? Miss Manners would give you such a tongue lashing!

Too bright?
No.

On a side note, I think seagulls have an affinity for blue. :wink: