Painting Stock Outboard helmets

[sam]

That I recall, APBA never used ANSI Z standard, Snell's SA and M standards were generally the way APBA went. Many helmets were ANSI, Snell and DOT.

The change at APBA comes from liability. Requiring a standard different from other racing sports puts APBA at financial risk in court.

ANSI Z standards also relate to football helmets and equestrian helmets.

[guedo499]

Helmets

Trying out a new painter - he's the Glasurit Paint Rep in my area and is having a baby, so I figured he needed the cash...

The first helmet is an Arai and is at Security getting the head restraints put on. Although I told him "no other colors above the ear except orange", the other colors are subtle and we’ll see what the refs say.

The second helmet, a TZR, is a capsule helmet with full air and will have the Hans device – it’s not clear coated yet and when it does, the water droplets and the solar system will really shine.

These are turning out pretty darn good at about a 1/3 of the price of the previous painter I had. I said I would pass out his info – let me know if you are interested.<o></o>

[sam]

Rule book calls for florescent orange, not just orange

[T Chance]

As I read the rule book, it says: "The upper fifty percent (50%) of the helmet must be fluorescent red, yellow or orange or International Orange."

I read that as either fluorescent red, fluorescent yellow, fluorescent orange. Not as fluorescent red, any old yellow, any old orange or any combination of any shade of fluorescent red, yellow or orange. International Orange is itself fluorescent.

There is an organization called INTERNATIONAL COLOR CONSORTIUM

The purpose of the ICC is to promote the use and adoption of open, vendor-neutral, cross-platform color management systems.


International orange is, as defined by the International Color Consortium (www.color.org), fluorescent orange with a dominant wave length of 595-605 nm (a measure of light intensity), a purity of not less than 85 percent and a luminance factor of not less than 40 percent. There are many regulations concerning the shade of orange used on these items, as well as other aspects such as reflectibility (on vests and signs, retroflective tape or film is used), which shade to use if the object is going to be outside during the day, which to use at night, and so on.

International orange is usually called fluorescent or Day-glo orange.

According to this there are a lot of illegal helmets out there, including my own as mine is a bright orange it is not a "Day-Glo" or fluorescent color.

[sam]

Mr. Chance you are correct. Maybe we should have the rule clarified.

If the intention is that all 3 colors be florescent, maybe florescent should be repeated before each color as you suggest. If the intention is that red is the only color that must be florescent, perhaps the word order should be changed to: "orange, yellow, florescent red or International Orange"

Perhaps it should also be amended to state that only one solid color can be used, no patterns of some red, some yellow, some orange.

I am going to email Wart about this.

[mercguy]

Mr. Chance you are correct. Maybe we should have the rule clarified.

If the intention is that all 3 colors be florescent, maybe florescent should be repeated before each color as you suggest. If the intention is that red is the only color that must be florescent, perhaps the word order should be changed to: "orange, yellow, florescent red or International Orange"

Perhaps it should also be amended to state that only one solid color can be used, no patterns of some red, some yellow, some orange.

I am going to email Wart about this.

no need to do that Sam............it was already heavily discussed at the National Meeting by all categories and the safety committee..............Wart is already working on it.

[bill boyes]

Can anyone answer the question of why drivers spend a good amount of money on helmet paint jobs and do not read the APBA rule book before hand?
ref inboard rule 3.5.3,and 3.5.4 pg 4. ref Mod,Stock,Pro,OPC and junior Classes,Drag and SLT 3(A)(1)(2) page xxiv.

[guedo499]

Sheesh!

Can anyone answer the question of why drivers spend a good amount of money on helmet paint jobs and do not read the APBA rule book before hand?
ref inboard rule 3.5.3,and 3.5.4 pg 4. ref Mod,Stock,Pro,OPC and junior Classes,Drag and SLT 3(A)(1)(2) page xxiv.

Darn kids these days.....

[Al Peffley]

Don't invent new rules, just enforce the existing ones

The intent of the helmet approved colors rule is to provide bright colors for safety visibility, not to dictate "styles" of application. If APBA inspectors are going to nit-pick about legal color combinations on the 50&#37; area, so be it. However, do not start making up rule "interpretations" that are not directly from the APBA rule book, and setting unreasonable rules for racers to comply with.

Some of you "more experienced" racers out there have helmets that will not pass a rigid inspection check because the helmet is old, worn out, and basically unsafe. Shoei, Arai, Bell, Simpson, and other manufacturers make excellent, full-face helmets in colors that are currently legal -- buy one. I see no reason to harass a racer with a yellow card just because the upper 50% area of the helmet is a combination of the approved helmet colors in the APBA rule book.

Whatever future changes to the do***ented, "APBA-approved colors" are chosen to be, they should be established by a joint APBA safety committee that represents all outboard classes in APBA (non-capsule or otherwise) so one helmet can comply for all similar classes (because we have so many class cross-over people.) When capsule drivers are extracted by divers or swim free from their capsules, they also need bright colors to be seen by emergency personnel operating in murky water conditions -- OK, so now you capsule guys can start throwing the ripe tomatoes...

Many orange and yellow fluorescent color paints and vinyl tapes usually fade easily from direct UV exposure. As has been mentioned, avoid cheap paints that damage the hemet's structure. Many solid or pearl-metalic yellow and red colors can easily be seen. I had a professional painter use House of Kolor fluorescent orange on a helmet that faded too easily, so be careful what paint type you pick or it may cost you more in dollars and time than you want to deal with like the automotive color I selected.

There is no current APBA rule book, to my knowledge, that states that a particular color/tint of bright red or yellow is preferred, so if some of you who could afford to attend the recent national meeting are going to nit-pick shades of these colors, APBA better provide some color samples to go along with the color rule words. International orange is not a really vivid fluorescent shade of orange, but so far I have observed it does not fade easily. I have used an international orange-colored Shoei from Security Race Products for a number of years now in CSH, C-Mod, and OSY-400 classes with excellent coverage, and it has passed several unplanned, in-situ water tests with great success.

Al
R-25

[Gunjumper]

How bout these... I'm so jelous of Andy's helmet I took pics of it for my airbrush guy to get ideas. GL

[Graham 18ce]

I'mnot sure the actual reason for the colour, but i was always under the impression is wasn't for the rescue crew find me floating in the water, but to aid the guy in the boat racing deck to deck in action 2 boat length back to give him a chance to avoid me. Same reason we are wearing Orange life jackets. but why are we allowed to wear black cut suits? legs and arms are great things to float in the water...every drive past some in the water and try and see their arms and/or legs floating in black cut suits. They are a life jacket and helmet in most cases.


To me, anything solid and contrasting to the water would be my preference. I would actually like to stay away from both Yellow and Orange as they tend to be bouy colours. As a driver, i'll happily run down someones boat or bouy in order to avoid the head of someone floating.

[Al Peffley]

Andy's helmet

Sweet! I am envious also...killer paint job, and looks legal to me.

[Skoontz]

Ok. I now have to chime back in.

There once again is a gaping hole in the rule book which leaves a discretionary call on someone, who really, is making a call based off throwing dice.

The rule book says, exactly what Tim posted.

However, manufacturers paint colors call different coatings the same things as what the rule book says the helmets need to be, and those colors may not necessarily be legal colors.

The question and problem is, are those colors judged by discretionary rules, which can mean anything from A-Z along with the judges mood, or, are they judged and compared to a color spectrum or chip which can be compared to the manufacturers name on the paint?

Seems to me, that along with all the fuel testing equipment, measuring tools and scales, a simple color spectrum chip could be added to the tool kit, and if a helmet did not fit in that spectrum, there would be no question.

Further, in agreement with those who speak of wrecks, colors, and identification for the rescue teams, one and only one color range should be adopted for clarity, not only for rescue, for judges that could easily see one cloor that is legal, as not being legal, or vise versa.

[mercguy]

The intent of the helmet approved colors rule is to provide bright colors for safety visibility, not to dictate "styles" of application. If APBA inspectors are going to nit-pick about legal color combinations on the 50% area, so be it. However, do not start making up rule "interpretations" that are not directly from the APBA rule book, and setting unreasonable rules for racers to comply with.

Some of you "more experienced" racers out there have helmets that will not pass a rigid inspection check because the helmet is old, worn out, and basically unsafe. Shoei, Arai, Bell, Simpson, and other manufacturers make excellent, full-face helmets in colors that are currently legal -- buy one. I see no reason to harass a racer with a yellow card just because the upper 50% area of the helmet is a combination of the approved helmet colors in the APBA rule book.

Whatever future changes to the do***ented, "APBA-approved colors" are chosen to be, they should be established by a joint APBA safety committee that represents all outboard classes in APBA (non-capsule or otherwise) so one helmet can comply for all similar classes (because we have so many class cross-over people.) When capsule drivers are extracted by divers or swim free from their capsules, they also need bright colors to be seen by emergency personnel operating in murky water conditions -- OK, so now you capsule guys can start throwing the ripe tomatoes...

Many orange and yellow fluorescent color paints and vinyl tapes usually fade easily from direct UV exposure. As has been mentioned, avoid cheap paints that damage the hemet's structure. Many solid or pearl-metalic yellow and red colors can easily be seen. I had a professional painter use House of Kolor fluorescent orange on a helmet that faded too easily, so be careful what paint type you pick or it may cost you more in dollars and time than you want to deal with like the automotive color I selected.

There is no current APBA rule book, to my knowledge, that states that a particular color/tint of bright red or yellow is preferred, so if some of you who could afford to attend the recent national meeting are going to nit-pick shades of these colors, APBA better provide some color samples to go along with the color rule words. International orange is not a really vivid fluorescent shade of orange, but so far I have observed it does not fade easily. I have used an international orange-colored Shoei from Security Race Products for a number of years now in CSH, C-Mod, and OSY-400 classes with excellent coverage, and it has passed several unplanned, in-situ water tests with great success.

Al
R-25

Al, I do not think ANY of the members who attended the National Meeting are "nit-picking" the rules at all..................

the categories ARE trying to work together to come to a common conclusion!

PS: if your "house of color" paint job is/has faded in the limited time we use our helmets, then the application was not correct (yes, I do a LOT of painting)........

[Al Peffley]

Color Chip and/or Picture Examples

Poll senior rescue team members and referees what they think of the different color combinations or specific color applications. Make sure manufacturers of approved style helmets can supply the approved colors you pick without having to paint every new helmet. Have an annual inspection of helmets when the boats and jacket flack panels are inspected at the beginning of the season and put a sticker inside or outside the inspected helmet. This procedure used to be done in Region 10 every year. Color chips or examples of legal helmets could be available at APBA club meetings at least twice a year for viewing by all members. I see no need for inspectors to have to compare color chips at race sites (don't they have enough to do as it is already?) I have retired the Bieffe helmet with the flame job in my avatar picture.

Al