Is anyone wearing helmets when boating.
 

How many are wearing helmets during PR's, FR's, shootouts ect.? I've been thinking about it, after a friend of mine, got a skull fracture a couple of weeks ago, when he's boat stuffed, and he hit the windshield frame on he's Formula 292 with he's forehead. Luckily no one else was seriously hurt.

We did at the fall poker run because of rain, we were the only boat that had them.My wife and I did last year on a poker run but a some people thought we were nuts saying it is not a race. If I you running 90 MPH in the ruff I think it should be mandatory.

If not actually racing or running insanely fast people will find it odd and laugh at you. Head injury's don't seem to be very common so we just wear vests.

I would agree. I don't see any reason to wear a helmet on a fun day on the water, cruising around at 45-50 mph. But when your doing a poker run or anything else where your going 90+ for long periods, I do agree with Brian41, that helmets would be a good thing. With the standard being 100+ mph these days, the water is pretty hard if you hit it, not to mention if you crash with another boat. I think it's a bit like bicycle helmets, people have to get used to see others wear them.

I always wear a vest and if I am going to be running hard in the ocean I will put a helmet on.Yes people will find it odd and laugh but I really don't care most of the members here on this board that have been killed would have been saved had they been wearing a PFD.

About 15 years ago I was running my Jet-Ski late Oct early Nov.I always loved that time as there was no one else out there and I had a full wet suit.One night got home early from work took the ski out running WOT hit a wave wrong got thrown off.I hit my ankle on the way off very hard and at the time thought it was broke.The ski was 100 ft away but stopped as I had my kill switch on.(great invention) So I am in the water with what I thought was broken ankle no one is around so I swim back to the ski using only my arms drag myself up onto it.I could not bent my ankle but kinda figued out at this point is was just a bad sprain and not broken
But had I not had a vest on or been wearing my kill switch might have turned out different.Oh and its the same scenario for a boat only you will be hurt worse.

No one will laugh at you for wearing a PFD IMO. The Coasties like to see it and there is no shame in wearing one. I insist that everyone wear one on my boat if we are running fast or if the water is rough. No helmets though.

They must be laughing at me for another reason then.:evilb:

Maybe because you wiped out big time and sent the PWC flying 100':lolhit:

I've carried a helmet for years......and have only used it in the rain. If you want to wear it, more power to you. I'm not going to judge you, and don't judge me.

Well, if the asian carp ever gets into lake michigan like they say they WILL and they almost are here... you can bet your A$$ I will be wearing a lid...

and a video for your viewing pleasure for those who aren't up to speed on the big bastards and the damage they do...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLFe8xfgx24

:eek:

Was the driver in someones boat for a PR in the rain and the helmet was absolutly amazing, couldn't hear much but make the ride bearable. Without it, it probably wouldn't have left the dock.

WTF!!! Imagine one of those coming at ya @ 90 mph!!!:poopoo: You'd need a canopy, not a helmet.

I've had some close encounters with gulls. Killed one and had to duck for a few. I don't figure a gull in the face @ 70-80 mph would feel very good.

No helmet, but do bust out the ski goggles with stocking cap when it is cold, rainy, etc. I've run through torrential rains in the the googles and they work great.

You can its for sale.

I think helmets are a grand idea, I even where them in the cabin on certain occasions.

We can wear helmets as well protects from rain and other sudden incidents. and I think its cool..

I don't think they were talking about when u are at ur table playing with crayons.....lol

I have worn one when running hard in the ocean,but Sunday running in the Hudson both my son and I wore them.
I new there was going to be a lot of debris with the rain we had.Plus my boat doesn't deflect wind as well as others.
It was windy both ways but more so coming back and I was able to see so much more clearly with out the wind slamming into my goggles.It is something I will probably do more often especially on long runs,things happen and every piece of safety equipment you have on increases your chance of survival.

That was classic when that second one hit the reporter

Couple months back I was tearing a$$ back to the dock and encountered a low flying crane, that things wingspan was at least 4 ft and it had to weight 20 lbs or so, I centered that thing so perfectly it could have never been repeated again. There was beak and guts all over the front of my scarab, I watched it the whole way thinking that there is no way we will hit that damn thing, we sure enough did and if you have never heard a crane "scream" its a terrifying sound.....Needless to say if I hadn't ducked as quickly as I did I am confident my neck would have been broken, scared the hell outta me and my girlfriend.....needless to say that crane will never make the mistake of flying that low again.....I learned to never play chicken with waterfoul as well.

When the water is really rough I have worn mine. and when it starts to get cold I wear one I tend to drag my boat out in the winter sometimes and go for a cruise and the helment helps with not getting so cold.

James

I wore a full face helmet 2 years ago in the fall running the local river, it was fairly rough out, cold and I was pushing the envelope around 100 mph. It gives you a completely different perception, in my case there was no deafening roar from the wind buffeting my ears and the scream of the engine wasn't as bad, it was like there was real clarity. I was cruising at 80-85 and it seemed ALOT slower than it normally would and 95 seemed like 70or 80, I took them with me a few times since but have yet to wear them again, Smitty

Seems a contradiction,
On one hand its "just a poker run, not a race, just for fun"
on the other hand its " helmets,lifelines,intercoms and running 90mph,100mph and beyond"
on publicly accesed/open waterways..

Sounds like racing to me, but what the heck do i know?

Enjoy while you can, at the rate the speeds/hp are increasing on these "runs"
it isnt long before big brother steps in and shuts us all down..

I love speed but personally I think that kind of continous speed/hp/hardware should be left for the open ocean.. But Again what do I know..
:)

(dont mind my late night babble, been drinkin.. lol )

While I will agree with some of what you posted in the event of any incident during a poker run it will not even make the news if no one gets killed.Every piece of saftety equipment you use increases your chance of survival.You will also be suprised on how much better you can see with a full face helmet on especially going into the wind.

great when you get caught in rain

I have seen you on the river with the helmets on before (at least your boat). You freaking blew past me and my friend racing down the Livingston in our 21' Scarabs (one red/black and the other white). We were heading north and you were heading south. You then turned around and came up in between us then circled us again. All while we were running flat out! Back then I thought 60+mph was pretty fast until that day..... After that we tucked our tails between our legs and headed back to the docks. :( . This was quite a few years ago............

I have had the boat 14 seasons and named it "Let It Ride". It has been an 80+ boat since 2000. Knocked on 90's door this year and low 90's this coming season. The OE should cruise nicely at 90.

Yeah it isn't often you see a Baja of that size running that fast with 3 guys wearing black helmets. That is why I remember it so vividly. I am guessing when you blew past us it was at least 9 years ago.

Back in the early '80's I read that running 90 MPH vs. 80 MPH was 4 times more dangerous... according to the APBA. "HIGH LIFE"

As far as shootouts, I don't know of any where a helmet is optional. Every one that I've heard of, its required equipment.

I keep 2 helmets on the boat at all times just in case of rain but sometimes I wear mine if we running to the Ohio islands just so when we get there I don't feel wind burn or face goo. I don't have to worry about helmet hair..... I get more challenged every year.

I'm with you there, but it easier when you get out of the water after a swim:lolhit:

I had a pigeon hit me one time in my Schiada going around 100. Right in the shoulder. It hurt like hell for a couple days and I was wearing a Lifeline and a helmet. I thought it had broken my shoulder but it was just badly bruised. So was the pigeon. At least the parts that could be located.

Had it hit me in the face without a helmet I doubt I'd be here typing this. And a pigeon isn't that large compared to most sea birds.

That's a good point Rex. Flying debris can be dangerous, and even something as small as rain can hurt like hell. Additionally, I can't stand what my hair feels like after running 70mph for a while let alone 90-100+mph.

That said, IMO safety equip isn't all that its cracked up to be. Don't get me wrong, I think it is a good thing, but I think it definitely provides a false sense of security. I had a MI highway patrol officer tell me that the most disgusting thing that he's ever seen was a 120mph motor cycle wreck where a guy was wearing race leathers with inserts in them. He said that the dood flew off of the bike, landed, and slid on the ground for about 100yards. The underside of the suit got so hot that it melted to his skin. The guy literally baked himself and melted himself to death and he died of burns, not impact. Sounded gross to me.

That same cop also told me that in his opinion helmets cause nearly as many problems as they help. He thinks there's some worth to a helmet up to about 65-70mph, after that you're dead anyhow, and even at slower speeds the helmet can be a problem. He's seen instances where the friction between the road and the helmet caused a broken neck where the head trauma otherwise wouldn't have seemingly been that great had a helmet not been worn.

I do believe there are good and bad points to helmets. The bad, in boating anyway, are weight and bucketing possibilities. Many racers are now starting to use helmet restraints. Given a choice I will choose a helmet only based on things I've seen happen in racing. Many of these things can easily happen at poker run speed as well.

Earlier in this thread, is was mentioned that, most injuries in boats are not head relatede. In the accident with Steven Posner, head injury was listed as the cause of death I recall. Just a thought.

If it's cold out, rainy or sometimes just because, but only in my little boat. Helmet or not, I always wear the lifeline.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot..._5566231_n.jpg

No offense to you, but I think that cop is full of crap. No way someone is injured more by wearing a helmet sliding along the asphalt vs a bare head. Roads are like cheese graters on human flesh. I also don't believe his "died of burns" theory. The MotoGP guys wreck all the time and slide huge distances and many times get right up on their feet. No way in Hell they'd do that if they didn't have a helmet and full leathers.

With that said, a helmet and leathers won't help you if you hit something (like a guard railing or telephone pole) at speed. But, there is no doubt wearing full gear on your bike will reduce your risk and magnitude of injury.

I can't believe a Hi-Po was so stupid to say something like that.