colors for a raft

[Dan Boone]

OK, so I've got one of those cheapish little rafts that you buy at Big 5 or some other place, din't really think I needed a more expensive, higher quality one. Trouble is, the the thing's bright yellow and orange. I think it would be pretty embarasing going out in something that color, besides not being very stealthy. I'm thinking of spray-painting over it, but I'm not sure what color would be best. Thanks for any advice.

[Amx]

Yellow is great. That way you can find yourself when you get lost in the dark.

[The Quadfather]

Here is another piece of advice..your raft is inflated with air... you paint it....the air level changes, think about your paint. It has now cracked and fallen off in the lake.

[natetreat]

Yellow is fine. Nothing to be ashamed of when you're saving money.

[pizzaman]

being really visible is not a bad thing

[Marc Martyn]

Think about a boat coming down the lake at 40 mph and not seeing you til the last second. It happened to me while I was in a tan colored float tube. He finally spotted me when I began to wave my arms and fly rod. Scared the hell out of me. Since then I think about visibility. While in my pontoon boat, I also always carry a small intense flashlight (Mag Light) so at dusk I can shine it at an oncoming boat. As they pass, they always give me a friendly wave, as to thank me for letting them know I was there.

[hewesfisher]

Think about a boat coming down the lake at 40 mph and not seeing you til the last second. It happened to me while I was in a tan colored float tube. He finally spotted me when I began to wave my arms and fly rod. Scared the hell out of me. Since then I think about visibility. While in my pontoon boat, I also always carry a small intense flashlight (Mag Light) so at dusk I can shine it at an oncoming boat. As they pass, they always give me a friendly wave, as to thank me for letting them know I was there.

Marc makes a good point here, I've run into the same issue in our boat with swimmers. When you're low on the water, and don't have any bright color or flags or lights, you are all but invisible to oncoming boaters.

I ran into this, almost literally, with 3 teenage girls who decided to swim across Silver Lake to the church camp. Sure glad I was being aware of my surroundings and spotted them, but it still scared me to death. How the water skiers and jet skis missed those kids, if they even saw them, is nothing short of a miracle. There are no brakes on a boat and anyone traveling at speed has little time to react in an unanticipated potential impact. The more you can do to be visible, the better.

Bright yellow and orange float tube is a good color IMO.

[Amx]

Also white boats like a Livingston can blend in with whatever is on the shoreline, like a house, boat tied to a dock, been there, had that happen.

[SoDakboy]

I have a green zodiac, it sits up a little higher in the water than just a raft (and I set up a lawn chair when I'm anchored) but sometimes I worry that I'm gonna get ran over when anchored out somewhere. I usually wear a hunter orange hat just to help out.