Video: Why Cruise Ships And Yachts Are Mostly Painted White

Video: Why Cruise Ships And Yachts Are Mostly Painted White

why cruise ships are white

Last updated on May 31st, 2021 at 08:24 am

So when we say the word cruise ships or luxury yachts, what color will it be in your imagination? Probably white, right? It is so because we’re used to seeing big white cruise ships. Now the question is whether white color is necessary, fancy or just a tradition? Different people comes out with different reasons, but are all of them true? Let’s have a look at it.

Actually, colorful cruise ships and yachts actually do exist. Historically, the great ocean liners had dark hulls. One of the reason for this was the fact that they burned coal for their fuel and the combination of loading coal onto the ships, and the exhaust was dirty, and the dark hulls helped hide that dirty look.



First, let’s understand why most cruise ships today are white? Well, one of the most prominent reason is ‘temperature’. As we know the color ‘white’ is the best reflector among all colors.

White cruise ships became popular because designers thought it would keep the ship cooler in warmer climates as cruise ships and yachts typically sail in tropical, warm climate places. The white color also allows air conditioning systems to work less, thus saving energy.

Mostly the passengers onboard a cruise ships are elderly people, who are just seeking peace and comfort. For this reason, the air condition system has to be working full power most of the time and white paint at least allows the cruise ships to maintain the required temperature.

However, the ‘temperature’ is not the only reason to paint most of the cruise ships white. There are other ‘psychological’ reasons too. The color ‘white’ is often linked with luxury and status. On the other hand, white paint-job looks clean and shiny, it stands out from the background of the sea and sky. It invokes the best holiday spirit. It gives the passengers a sense of occasion.



White paint is typically more expensive and it is harder to maintain such ship clean, but passengers love it and that’s what the primary concern is, happiness of the passengers.

Now, let’s talk about the luxury yachts, they have other reasons to be white as well. Most luxury yachts are made from glass fibre. The manufacturing process is complicated, but the basic principle is that there is a form, into which epoxy is poured and layers of glass fibre are fitted. That initial layer of epoxy becomes the exterior surface of the boat. Pigmentation, typically white, is usually mixed in with epoxy, which allows skipping painting altogether.

Obviously, it is possible to put other pigments as well, but that would make the manufacturing process more complex.



Here is a detailed video on this interesting subject:

 

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