Modern Look: New Boats Featuring Less Graphics, Less Colors

One trend I’ve seen lately is quite a few performance boats using much more simple and tasteful color schemes. For a long time the common look among performance boats was very loud multicolored graphics that looked inspired by the East Los Angeles lowrider scene. Although some boats can pull it off, if the colors are right and the layout works, but to me it rarely looks good. I much prefer a very simple layout with limited colors. Somewhere around the early nineties things got out of control and it probably had a lot to do with the popularity of poker runs and bigger performance boats directly coinciding with guys that were in a major midlife crisis. Maybe the performance boat scene has matured? Not fully, but it is getting better. 

Here are a few boats and builders that have been doing a great job with staying away from psychedelic graphics. I’m not against circus paint jobs if that’s what you want but in my opinion, mono color or a simple layout shows off the boat more and looks much more timeless. With custom builders it’s up to the customer so you can’t really blame the builder in most cases.

Skater has shown some boats lately that have used much more modern color layouts. This all white Skater 368 at the Miami Boat Show was a fine example. Skater is a custom builder so it is generally up to the customer but most Skaters are great looking boats, they don’t need wild graphics to look better.

The clean crisp look of all white on a beautiful boat is hard to beat. Skater 368 twin 450R.

Cigarette Racing showed off a couple new models in Miami recently and two of their big center consoles, the 41 Nighthawk and the Auroris were in a mono color scheme with the Nighthawk showing a beautiful “China” blue and the big Auroris in a dark grey. Painting a big boat in one color, especially a dark one, really is a feat. There is no hiding any imperfections with dark colors on a large surface.

Cigarette Showing off it’s paint prowess with these beautiful mono colors.

Black is hard to pull off and even harder when it is 59 feet long. But it looks stunning.

Tuff Boats in Canada have always done a great job of using really cool color combinations and a simple layout. Subtle, sharp and clean make their designs stand out and the boats really timeless. Almost all of their boats feature a signature stripe that turns up, like a hockey stick, (they are Canadian) with their logo on the side. Until recently all Tuff boats had the color in the gel, but I believe their latest 24 is custom painted. 

Clean and mean, this dark blue with black color scheme looked killer on this Tuff 28.

A black Tuff 24 with a 300R looks amazing. The sleek 24 doesn’t need much help looking good. Simple, but striking and a contrasting interior works well. (photo credit T. Weigl / Tuff Boats)

One trend that I like is an opposing color on the bottom. This is more and more popular in sport boats and fishing boats now. I used to see some tow boats with this and it can look really cool. Nitra boats in Sweden and some other European boats, like Chaudron utilize this and I really like it. Opposing colors can really pop, but overall I really like the hull bottom matching with the top color especially on a unique color. When boats are painted, often they are painted above the hull line, so the hull is white gel, which is fine, but for a really sharp look and done in the gel, all one color is very cool. 

DCB boats have always had phenomenal gelcoat work. Many California builders over the years have had renowned gel work but DCB stands out. They do it all too; clean, modern and simple, or over the top metallic and multi colored themes. Gel is amazing too for the quality and depth it offers, it just has a little more substance than paint in most cases. Because it is so much thicker, you can cut into it after years of abuse and often refresh it. Modern paint is really good though, so it’s an endless argument. DCB finish work though is second to none. 

The camera doesn’t do it justice. You have to be on acid and sit in the sun for a few hours. Looks amazing in the light. This blue M35 is just right if you’re doing multi color graphics; complimentary colors, simple layout, sharp.

With a white base and some tasteful stripes, this M33R from DCB looked really clean. My personal opinion is 3 colors or less as a palette, anymore and it starts to look like a 9 year old did it.

Another issue with multi colored graphics is not only does it look a little silly, it always makes me think they’re trying to hide something. And, because it was such a long trend, painters are always trying to outdo the next job, so more colors, more graphics and next thing you know it looks like a clown barfed on it. Mono color is actually really rare in boats and really shows off a painters skill, because it’s difficult to hide anything. The same could be said for a mono colored gelcoat finish.

Works for Ferrari why not on an MTI? All red is hard to beat on a cool boat. full mono color is striking in its own way, especially because it is a rarity in performance boats.

Allison boats are more known for just being fast but when you see a 20 year old Grand Sport, or even an older XR 2002, they still look modern. Allison never went with graphics or wild designs, just tried and true colors in the gelcoat. Some new Allisons have some very cool colors done nice and simple.

Allison Boats have always kept it simple, no fluff. Timeless. I might be bias here. Believe it or not, an all white with black stripe Grand Sport is very rare.

Outerlimits is a company that builds some of the wildest custom boats out there. They are fast and radical in every way. Some of my favorite Outerlimits recently have been ones where color was on restraint and the boat lines stood on their own. My personal favorite is the SV-29 because of its stature and proportions, it’s a really cool looking boat. A couple years ago Outerlimits had an all white one with an offset black hull and it looked perfect.

The lines of the SV-29 are amazing, This hull has great proportions and is one of the sleekest 30 footers out there. The crisp white compliments the boat and the black bottom adds a subtle touch.

There are plenty of Outerlimits with radical paint jobs and here I don’t mind this SL-44, as the paintwork from Stephen Miles Design kept the silver grey theme throughout, and added blue as a highlight. This big boat can pull it off and the colors are muted and very sharp.

Silver is nice on a boat. This SL-44 has some graphics but they blend in well and the color pallet is neutral.

Personally, I love the trend of cleaner designs and more mono color looks. You rarely see beautiful cars with multi colored graphics and designs, unless it’s Charles Manson’s van or a low rider in East LA. When it comes to boat colors and graphics simple is hard to beat, let the boat design stand on its own.