Composite Sea Kayak Color Choices

Good to know yellow is a standout,

– Last Updated: Dec-15-15 11:47 AM EST –

since that's the color of my deck. While our water up here is very clean, gunk still happens. This past summer saw major honeydew secretions which in turn created sooty mold on everything from decks to siding to outdoor furniture.

Dish soap, warm water, and a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser easily cleaned up my Carbonlite 2000 boats. The RM boat took a bit more elbow grease plus an application of 303 to make it look presentable.

The eraser also cleans up the white hull, so the scratches are barely noticeable.

Would a brightly colored keel strip make a white hull more easily spotted from the air?

Wind?
White will effectively disappear on a windy day with whitecaps.

yes
Some composite sea kayaks have a colored hull mid section to make a flipped boat in waves show up better from the air.

Reflective tape strips on the bottom
would probably be a good idea too if you are paddling big water where u might get in trouble and need to get rescued.



I remember one night years ago when two fishermen went missing on the lower Chesapeake bay in a wicked Nor’Easter, the Coasties were flying back and fourth in their Jayhawks shining spotlights on the water all night long looking for those guys. If you are clinging to your overturned white composite kayak and it has reflective tape on it they are more likely spot you in the whitecaps.



Sadly the fishermen didn’t make it. I found the body of one of them washed up on the beach just down from my house the next morning…he wasn’t wearing a life vest.

I’ve thought of reflective on the hull
But I’m afraid it might attract some type of megafauna.

I wouldn’t worry…
The natural prey of “megafauna” doesn’t have reflective stripes!