# Bootstripe - is it necessary?



## Finallybuyingaboat (Aug 28, 2007)

I am painting the hullofmy boat white and do not want a different colour bootstripe between the hull and the anti fouling paint. DO I have to use bootstripe paint in white or can I just use the same paint I am using for the hull? Is there a reason for using the cheap bootstripe paint like a barrier between the topside paint and the anti fouling?


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## Faster (Sep 13, 2005)

Finallybuyingaboat said:


> ..... DO I have to use bootstripe paint in white or can I just use the same paint I am using for the hull? Is there a reason for using the cheap bootstripe paint like a barrier between the topside paint and the anti fouling?


No.. it's mostly an aesthetic thing, but most boats look better with the waterline definition provided by a boot stripe. I suppose that the boot stripe will absorb some of the beating the boat takes at the waterline from floating debris, but ideally you've got antifouling a couple of inches above the normal waterline to avoid slime etc from growing on the topsides/boot from wave action or a slightly listing or out of trim condition.

A nice crisp boot stripe of contrasting colour really does set things off nicely and it makes it easier to observe the boat's trim.


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## johnshasteen (Aug 9, 2002)

Most sailors like the look, I do, but the most useful purpose is when you walk up to your boat at the dock or view her at anchor, you can tell how she's riding on her lines.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Use vinyl striping...


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## AllThumbs (Jul 12, 2008)

here is my boat with and without a bootstripe:


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## johnshasteen (Aug 9, 2002)

AllThumbs said:


> here is my boat with and without a bootstripe:


Without it, it looks like a toy boat. With it, she looks like the sailing vessel she is.


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## jarcher (Jul 29, 2008)

Boot stripes are fast. Some colors are faster than others. My boot stripe is orange, and it came with the boast that way. I am sure there is a faster color, but I have not decided what it is yet. When I do, I'll repaint it.


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## sailingfool (Apr 17, 2000)

jarcher said:


> Boot stripes are fast. Some colors are faster than others. My boot stripe is orange, and it came with the boast that way. I am sure there is a faster color, but I have not decided what it is yet. When I do, I'll repaint it.


You might try a new color every year, construct a new polar diagram annually, and after ten years or so, you can just pick the color with the best polars. Keep us all posted on your progress...be sure to remove the old boottop paint before applying the new color so you don't get a build-up...that would be slow!


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## jarcher (Jul 29, 2008)

sailingfool said:


> You might try a new color every year, construct a new polar diagram annually, and after ten years or so, you can just pick the color with the best polars.


Ya know thats a fine idea! Perhaps we could all do it, and build a database of which colors are fastest for which boats. What color is your boot stripe?

But we might be able to make some predictions. For example, if the sun is in front of you, a darker color might be better, because photons bouncing off the boot stripe will imped forward progress. Conversely, a bright color when the sun is behind you will contribute to forward momentum.



> be sure to remove the old boottop paint before applying the new color so you don't get a build-up...that would be slow!


Oh God yes, terribly slow!


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## zeehag (Nov 16, 2008)

jarcher said:


> Ya know thats a fine idea! Perhaps we could all do it, and build a database of which colors are fastest for which boats. What color is your boot stripe?
> 
> But we might be able to make some predictions. For example, if the sun is in front of you, a darker color might be better, because photons bouncing off the boot stripe will imped forward progress. Conversely, a bright color when the sun is behind you will contribute to forward momentum.
> 
> Oh God yes, terribly slow!


sounds like the stickers on a riced out japanese sports car--lol---makes no difference---if ya gets 5 mph more outtta a stickjer, is just alll in yer mind...boot stripes are a matter of personal preference....have fun and enjoy your boat....


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## jnj (Sep 22, 2002)

How about some insight to applying vinyl striping? I can't put on masking tape without it looking like the Appalachian Highway. Is it technique or do you need an artist's eye?


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