I just bought a used cat and was considering putting a white gelcoat on the hulls but was wondering how to get a nice black finish on the silver crossbeams, any advise helps. Thanks

Black aluminum beams are annodized or pasivated that color. This is a dipping process that protects the aluminum from becomming aluminum oxide on your hands and clothes. Natural beams are likely treated with a clear treatment. Painting is not likely to hold up well to chipping and will look bad very quickly as the silver starts to show through. You see the same problem when people make white boats black and other such major color changes. My advice, simplify your life and just clean them well.

Ryan,
If you really want a black finish you can wrap the beams in a high quality vinil, it is a relatively easy reversable process.
Ask around for vinil films, there are soft types and hard types made specifically for protecting different surfaces (like auto paint). The wet wrapping process is pretty easy for a newbie. There are even teflon coated films that are much more resistant to scratching than simple paint.

Regards,

My old Tiger had had a professional do up into the then popular black from anodised alli. They had sprayed undercoat and the black. Matt black. Worked well but it is a ball ache. I have had black beams re-anodised to silver and that was cheap and easy. Way easier and cheaper than painting. Big thing is to spend a little time preparing the beams with a good clean.

So you're saying to wrap the bars much like the graphic wraps on vehicles. Thats very interesting, it would allow for graphics on the beams. Maybe have the beams wrapped in Budweiser logos or whatever. This is a really cool idea and the material obviously holds up on cars so why not boats. Would the effects of salt water damage the vinyl? Or loosen the fit?

There are films for outdoor purpose and hold up realy well. The idea to make graphics on it is cool but that would mean multilayer, usually the top layers will start delaminating from the edges and fell off, the first layer though will hold up well.
Short term outdoor films will last for 3-4 years, longterm is about 5-7 years - manufacturer stated lasting terms for outdoor purposes - meaning vehicles application mostly.

Ryan- Leave that boat orange!!! That thing is pretty cool looking on its own. If that's the same boat, the previous owner bought it for $900 (I think), and that was last spring right before the Hobie F444 Regatta. He was there that same weekend with it.

If it were me, I'd put a better mast on it with spreaders. A spinnaker, square top main and a set of T foil rudders. That little boat would be a rocket.

When you decide to sell it let me know.

Here's the thread when I was asking about that boat earlier this year.

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/ubb...Words=stratos&Search=true#Post141856

Karl, I actually decided to keep it orange but repaint it and take off the plastic stripping on the side, i could tell the boat was originally orange and somewhere down the line someone tried sprucing it up with a new coat, which almost looks as if it is spray paint. As for the other upgrades i think im gonna get a square top sail for it hopefully by next season and then eventually replace the mast so i can run a spinnaker on it, iv heard to many stories of those masts breaking from the soft mast