This Is Why Ships Are Often Painted Red on the Bottom
Unless you know a lot about boats or you have an observant eye, it might have escaped you that a lot of ships are painted red on the bottom.
And there’s a very specific reason for that…
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
Early sailing ships often covered their hulls in copper or copper oxide paint to protect against barnacles and worms that eat wood and this gave the hulls a red tint. It’s best to keep those things off the ship so it doesn’t get weighed down.
Biocides can be mixed with any color of paint these days but a lot of people still paint hulls red because they like to maintain the tradition.
The red paint also helps people determine the load of the cargo on ships because the ship will be lower in the water and the hull will be more submerged in the water.
Watch the video below to get all the info!
