Painting Stock Outboard helmets

[Hydroglobe17J]

My Bro Cap is Extra Large!

I know George Stillwill always has a couple with him.......if one falls off or gets a hole in it!

[mercguy]

Good stuff here.

The most imnportant thing to think about is this excerpt:

"DOT certification is done on the honor system. The helmet's manufacturer determines whether his helmets satisfy DOT and then claims the qualification for himself. There is not even a reporting requirement. The government does contract for some spot check testing at commercial and private labs but not very much. In recent years much of their effort has been spent against so-called beanie helmets that are obviously substandard and are worn only by helmet law protesters. "

Personally, I wouldn't race in a DOT-only approved helmet, but that's just me. Snell's testing is the best stuff out there for assuring you are getting a high-quality helmet.

R-19

I found this to be good reading:

The Snell Memorial Foundation (SMF) was formed in 1957 after William "Pete" Snell, a race car driver, died from massive head trauma. he sustained in a racing accident. The non-profit organization focuses on learning more about the components of head injuries, and how to prevent them by using helmets. Through their research the foundation has developed a standard for approving helmets that is continually tested and updated every five years.

There are two key differences between a DOT- and Snell-approved helmet. First, is the testing standards the helmets go through, and second, is the verification of the results.

Although their testing process is very similar, SMF requires their certified helmets to withstand a greater impact and absorb more force than the DOT standards.

Both standards drop the head forms on flat and hemispherically shaped anvils in order to simulate different types of impacts. However, Snell also uses an edged anvil that specifically tests the integrity of the helmet's shell.

DOT and Snell test each helmet two times at four different impact zones. DOT drops their helmets from a 6-foot height on the flat anvil and from a 4.5-foot height on the hemispherical anvil. Snell on the other hand, drops the helmets from a 10-foot and 7.5-foot height on both anvils, which simulates a more severe impact.

While there's no guarantee a DOT-approved helmet has actually been tested, the purchase of a Snell-approved lid ensures that the product has been evaluated under scrutiny. A Snell-certified helmet also meets and exceeds the DOT standards.

[sponsonhead]

Add To That

Don't forget Daren, that even though the DOT and Snell tests are somewhat similar, the key point is that DOT does not test the helmets as Snell does. DOT tells the manufacturer HOW to test the helmet, and it's up to the manufacturer to do the test itself.

Running the Snell tests costs the manufacturer money. Do you want to wear a helmet where the manufacturer has elected NOT to send the helmet to Snell for testing? There are only two reasons I can think of that a Mfgr would not send a helmet to Snell for testing: 1) The Manufacturer knows that the helmet may not pass; or 2) The Manufacturer is saving costs. And if the latter is the case, you've gotta shudder wondering where else they are saving costs...


R-19

[leehall91]

Will my new helmet pass inspection?
http://webpages.charter.net/leo.hallenbeck/DSCF1917.JPG

[Jack Stotts]

No, it is not legal.

[sam]

2 colors, not solid ... not legal

[sponsonhead]

As they say on the McLaughlin Report....

Will my new helmet pass inspection?
http://webpages.charter.net/leo.hallenbeck/DSCF1917.JPG

WRONG! Next Issue!

R-19

[leehall91]

Ok thanks I just baught it guess i made a mistake

[Al Peffley]

Other Test Sources

Some of you who have read Motor Cyclist magazine over the last two years may have noticed that they started testing full face helmets with MSF oversight and found that some of the more expensive well-known brands did not do as well in the more stringent, real world side and oblique impact testing than some of the lesser expensive brands. Your head's well-being is worth the time and money to find the best lid that really protects you in a boat racing environment. I use a Shoei that I bought at SRP (just had safety rings installed on it), but a lot of the bigger motorcycle dealers and internet sales companies like Cycle Gear sell the same approved products in the correct rule book colors.

I thought the guy's helmet with the black patterns on it was vivid enough and the correct flourescent color of orange. It looked like at least 50% of the helmet area was the correct color (I know, the top 50% was not solid, but it looks to me from the website picture like it will show up better than 50% of the helmets I saw used in the APBA Stock Nats heats at Moses Lake, WA, and I might add used by a lot of well-known and experienced APBA racers.) As someone else has mentioned, totally solid bright orange or yellow colors on a helmet top look like a turn or outside marker buoy in many cases...

Al

[Jeff Akers]

Just to further what Al said about the testing and construction of helmets.

I have posted this article here before. Yes, it's very long , but very informative....
http://www.motorcyclistonline.com/ge...iew/index.html

[Jeff Akers]

Interesting article......

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/au...ewanted=1&_r=1

[blueskyracer]

Interesting article......

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/27/au...ewanted=1&_r=1

Very interesting. That kind of blows all of the theorys to bits. I know AOF just changed there rule that now requires Snell 2005 I believe. Maybe not such a good move but then props are different than asphalt

[Al Peffley]

Neck Protection is also Critical in Boat Racing

Having owned and ridden sportbike-style motorcycles for many years, the features of a helmet that I look for when I buy a helmet are different for a street crash than a blow over and ejection at over 60 mph on the water. Yes, I have been down twice on motorcycles -- once at slow speed in black ice and once at high speed on a parkway in Texas. Both times during the motorcycle crashes my head hit the street several times without any ability of me to control the head/street impacts on my part. The two motorcycle helmets did their job, and neither were Snell-certified (but good quality, full-face helmets - one was a Simpson.)

A boat racing helmet is different in my selection process -- it should not only be snugger than my motorcycle helmet (I wear it shorter periods of time in humid conditions), but it also must work with SRP helmet restraint straps and a neck brace for higher speed crash protection in a laydown PRO boat. The current visor attachments on most full face helmets (Snell certified for street crashes) are currently too weak to keep them attached in a high speed water crash environment. We are such a low-volume market to design for that our requirements are not considered by most helmet manufacturers.

I bought a new motorcycle neck brace this spring that gives me more head movement, is specially contoured, and is a little softer (Wart says that some doctors in Europe now think a little softer brace is better.) My new life jacket collar is contoured by SRP to accommodate the neck brace and still keep my head above water if I am unconscious.

You are also right in saying, Mike, that we must have better ballistic strike protection than street riders. Motorcycles normally don't come apart as frequently or have the powerhead hit their drivers in the head during a crash like race boats. There are no sharp, moving stainless steel props to consider in the motorcycle helmet design features.

I observed this weekend at the Kilos on Devils Lake that some of the more experienced outboard drivers were wearing worn out and out-dated helmets while trying to break high speed records...not good. Most of the younger drivers had newer helmets in better condition with better safety features. Having also been ejected from several racing boats, color is not as important as newer-technology safety and fit/visibility features to me. Thanks, Jeff for the NYT article link -- as a consumer, I agree with the comments and design/testing critiques in the article.

Al

[forshey99]

I fall for this every year

Every year, I let myself get wrapped up in the helmet discussion on HR. Every year I find myself spiking to record high blood pressure levels in doing so. I do so not because I've got free time, but because helmets are something I take very seriously. Unlike many of our racing kin, I would pass on buying a new prop in favor of a replacing a worn helmet. So here goes, I'll throw out some food for thought in 2009 regarding helmet color and certification. I'll only make one post and it will be long. Read it if you are interested, if not....skip to the next 2 line post.

Certification. Certification is a good thing(Snell, DOT, SHARP, ECE, etc.), but it is NOT A GUARANTEE. It is not feasible or even imaginative that any of the conducting foundations or commissions could conduct testing for every given scenario and the associated variables to which a helmet may be exposed. That said, buyers/users should take the time to inform themselves of the different certifications, standards, and testing procedures utilized and make an educated decision as to which offers them the most piece of mind for themselves or their children.

Color. For several reasons, this is the topic that actually peaks my interest the most. It would appear that boat racing has placed orange, and subsequently yellow, on a pedestal as the most "visible" colors. As such, our rule limits participant helmet color to International Orange, Fluorescent Orange, Yellow, or Red. The rule implies, but does not state, that the specified colors should be pure, without patterns or combinations.

I do not purport to know what, if any, research was conducted regarding helmet color as it relates to visibility and identification for the outboard racing environment. I also understand the often used argument that this is "common sense" and that APBA, AOF, etc lack the finances to conduct such testing. To those points I would reply that numerous color conspicuity and contrast sensitivity research experiments have been conducted by a plethora of organizations within the last 20 years and the information is readily available to those who seek it. It is not necessary to reinvent the wheel in this case, but rather to validate or invalidate our "common sense" approach, and consider revising our position regarding helmet color. Common sense approaches are often devoid of actual science.

WHY? So why do I care about helmet color? Most guys would love to think that its because I like flashy paint jobs and stickers. Other guys would say that I my favorit color is yellow and I'm afraid I'll have to wear an orange helmet. Both would be wrong.

The answer is that i dont care about helmet color. I care about helmet quality and fit, nothing else.

However, the current APBA rule is very limiting regarding color, it places participants in a situation of either limiting selection to a manufacturer who offers a color compliant design, regardless of quality, OR having to disassemble an non compliant helmet in order to have it repainted, which poses a number of issues regarding helmet integrity and warranty.
Now before every one whose ever wielded a spray can jumps in to answer, let me qualify by saying I have professional experience in custom paint and YES there are inherent risks associated with repainting helmets, beginning with potential damage to the EPS liner(which is not removable and the single most important element in protecting your head) from uncontrolled fumes during the paint process. Additionally, the simple act of disassembling the helmet and its parts can open the door to reducing helmet effectiveness.
The other option, which is to simply buy a helmet that is already color compliant is possibly even more dangerous as the manufacturer selection will be extremely limited. This limits helmet selection in regards to fitment, certifications, and structural safety features all in the name of color.

As our current rule reads, a $40 WalMart helmet is sufficient....so long as it is the right color. On the other hand, the best helmets money can buy, widely accepted as the upper echelon of safety in motorsports such as Formula 1, MotoGP, World Rally, etc. are not sufficient simply because they are the not orange, yellow, or red? Something needs to change and it's not simply the addition of words "single" and "solid" to the current rule.

Nate

[Al Peffley]

Thank You Nate

Well said, Nate. I listen to what the professional EMT rescue team leaders tell me at boat races. They are usually more concerned about proper helmet restraint straps, fitment, and neck braces than helmet colors. I wear mostly SRP gear. I talk to Scott at SRP and Bob Wartinger all of the time about safety features on every piece of personal safety gear I wear (and also boat side reinforcement and boat controls equipment placement.) My work background at Boeing included some in-depth experience in Human Systems Integration for warfighter survivability and I have also consulted with Nate Brown on boat construction/driver safety features. I have never had a complaint from the EMT's about any color of helmet that I have worn boat racing, only from officials at a boat race about some color fading of florescent-colored orange flames on a Biaffe helmet (I had it re-painted.)

I have always been able to see most racers in the water after a crash from the pits (unless they are obscured from sight by the crash debris), so I think the most challenging rescue operations situation might be if the first responder team has to dive to rescue to a driver submerged in murky and muddy bottom water conditions. Ironically, drivers most often likely to be submerged in low visibility water situations during rescue (capsule boat drivers) have the least color restrictions imposed on them in APBA racing. This helmet and suit colors waiver I consider to be a double standard and not common-sense safety rules enforcement. That said, in a submerged driver rescue case I guess the racing suit/vest colors would be more important than helmet color (you would need to get a diver's opinion and document "best practices" of what's important in low visibility rescue situations).

If the driver's suit and vest combo do not float the body above neck height in the water and only the helmet is visible, then the suit must be defective (damaged on impact) and/or in need of replacement. The race officials should stop the race if they can't see the driver in the water (I think they usually make the right decision to stop the race in my region and at the PRO Nats I have attended).

What's more important, the drivers' overall safety or the race schedule? If the helmet color rule is driven even partially by the consideration to continue a heat with a driver ejected into the water, then I believe the color rule encourages: (1) unsafe racing conditions, (2) does not allow for unobserved driver injuries, and (3) increases safety risks for all drivers in the boat race.

My last post here -- I fully understand the blood pressure comment...

Al