Here's Powerboat Reports’ paint-braceleted û13' Boston Whaler at work in the fall of 2002, ûduring a test of throwable PFDs.

To commence its first-ever test of high-gloss topsides paint, Powerboat Reports about a year ago applied a colorful "bracelet" on one of our work boats—a 13' Boston Whaler that had seen 35 years of heavy duty. The skiff's topsides were chalked, faded, gouged and scratched. It was long accustomed to random acts of unkindness; it begged only for a new paint job.

It got the paint job—plus "The Bracelet," a 3"-stripe broken into 39 segments of mostly red, white and blue paint from 10 manufacturers. To even out exposure, the 39 segments were repeated, port and starboard. One set ran from bow to stern, the other from stern to bow. …