Painting for ships boats

[Bossman]

I need some education. The specific model is the USS Confederacy, 1778. Were ship boats of this period painted or left natural. 
Thanks in advance,

mark

[Bob Cleek]

Generally painted white, I believe. White paint was the second cheapest paint, after "barn red" red lead oxide paint. It reflected the heat of the sun and weathered better than any other coating of the time. A white bottom was less prone to drying out and opening up and so required towing to keep it swelled tight less often when the boats were carried aboard on long voyages. It was also the most visible color available at the time, a particular advantage with dories, whaleboats, and ship's boats that came to be used used as lifeboats.

Edited February 20, 2021 by Bob Cleek

[Bossman]

Thank you very much Bob. That was my thought. I have a book on ships boats around here somewhere but it has so far eluded me. 

[el cid]

To tag onto the thread, any thoughts on whether or not a boat interior would also be painted? I suspect not the floor boards, but what about the ribs and interior of the hull planking?

 

Thanks ahead,

 

Keith

 

 

[Roger Pellett]

From the “Nelson Period”On Boats were often trimmed with a distinctive color as a way to recognize them at a distance.  They might be mentioned in logs as the red cutter or the green launch, etc.  This does not mean that the entire boat was painted this color, just an identifying strake.  As Bob says, the rest of the boat would have been painted white.

 

The instde of the boat was often painted “drab,” a mixture of burnt umber and white, or “lead” grey.  “straw” color was permitted for the interior of US Navy Boats in the mid 1800’s.

 

Thwarts and floor boards were left unpainted.

 

Paintings of US Navy Boats in the 1850’s show exteriors painted black.

 

Roger