ABOUT HULLSCAPES
What is a HullScape?
HullScapes are close-up photos of boat hull stains that appear rich in color and imagery. They are created by the complex interplay of nature and man.
Many hull images transform over a summer season to look like paintings, resembling seascapes or landscapes. Some look exactly like the physical location where the boat was moored. All photos in this series were taken on Cape Cod.
What Causes boat hulls to look like paintings?
As boats remain tied to docks or moorings the interaction of; sun, water, ocean chemistry, currents, tides, reflecting light, algae, pH, boat paint and other elements combine with other natural and man-made additives to form a horizontal stain across the boat’s hull at the water-line. This stain develops as the season progresses and results in the formation of complex imagery and colors. (Some boaters refer to this as a scum-line.) I prefer to call them HullScapes!
My First HullScape
My first experience with boat hull photography occurred unexpectedly as I walked past the boat in this photo. From a distance I thought an artist painted a beach scene on the side of this skiff. It looked exactly like the tidal marsh along our river.
As I got closer, I realized his boat had not been painted, I was observing, for the first time, a collaboration between nature and ocean chemistry.
HullScapes(TM) introduce you to the unseen world of boat hull art. After looking at these photos, you may never look the same way at a dirty boat hull.
Here is an example of Boat Hull to HullScape:
