Rescue me.

Sonar · 02 February 2010, 20:27

There are a number of members on the forum that are involved in rescue services.

When trying to find a rib at sea what colour would the best colour to be seen.

On a clear day choppy seas.

Orange or another colour?

willk · 02 February 2010, 20:33

You'd be surprised at how well black shows up. I'd guess that yellow isn't so easy to see.

Sonar · 02 February 2010, 20:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by willk

You'd be surprised at how well black shows up. I'd guess that yellow isn't so easy to see.

Yes that was a colour i never expected.

willk · 02 February 2010, 20:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonar

Yes that was a colour i never expected.

Yes, odd, but nonetheless favoured by pot haulers and techie divers for marker buoys. Yellow is crap, IMHO. Obviously black is useless at night/dusk. I had to do an "MOB" on a black beanie just last week - it stood out well at 100m.

chewy · 02 February 2010, 20:50

Orange is pretty good but even then some oranges can be dull.
I've painted the gearbox on my outboard dayglo orange and put relective tape on the bow in case I go upside down.
A couple of orange smokes is your best bet.

Sonar · 02 February 2010, 20:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewy

Orange is pretty good but even then some oranges can be dull.
I've painted the gearbox on my outboard dayglo orange and put relective tape on the bow in case I go upside down.
A couple of orange smokes is your best bet.

reflective tape The R.N.L.I. have reflective tape on the highest parts of the hull 3 or 4 small strips..
Is this for a safety reason if the rib was upside down ?

chewy · 02 February 2010, 21:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sonar

reflective tape The R.N.L.I. have reflective tape on the highest parts of the hull 3 or 4 small strips..
Is this for a safety reason if the rib was upside down ?

If the boat is upside down the tape makes it alot easier to see. It suprising how well the tape pics light up.

m chappelow · 03 February 2010, 13:13

there have been thoughts in the future about changing the rnli boats from orange to yellow as with certain conditions yellow is the better colour,,dont forget rnli crew suits are yellow or musto gold ,,could be why cardinal bouys are yellow too and the vast majority of gas lifejackets when they are inflated .,,,,,,yes and even the smallest rnli inflatable boats have reflective tape on the underside ,,

havener · 03 February 2010, 13:53

The best colours for seeing are contrasting - e.g. yellow and black (think of wasps). It also depends on your vantage point, and the area concerned - the north sea is pretty much grey, so orange works well especially from helicopters. There is a simple reason offshore helos have white and red banding on the underside - it's easier to spot when upside down!

Yellow on its own is pretty useless, international orange is about the best.

Poly · 03 February 2010, 14:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by havener

The best colours for seeing are contrasting - e.g. yellow and black (think of wasps). It also depends on your vantage point, and the area concerned - the north sea is pretty much grey, so orange works well especially from helicopters. There is a simple reason offshore helos have white and red banding on the underside - it's easier to spot when upside down!

Yellow on its own is pretty useless, international orange is about the best.

So why are RAF Seakings Yellow?

willk · 03 February 2010, 15:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

So why are RAF Seakings Yellow?

'Cos it's more effective at sea than Camo, silly!

chewy · 03 February 2010, 19:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

So why are RAF Seakings Yellow?

Wouldn't be able to call them Paraffin budgies if they weren't yellow.

Poly · 03 February 2010, 19:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewy

Wouldn't be able to call them Paraffin budgies if they weren't yellow.

1. I didn't know they were
2. Are budgies not greeny-blue ?

chewy · 03 February 2010, 19:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

2. Are budgies not greeny-blue ?

Not if you give them paraffin.

m chappelow · 03 February 2010, 19:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

So why are RAF Seakings Yellow?

Think a lot of the RAF air/sea rescue stuff has always been yellow or had yellow on it boats and aircraft ,even before ww2 me old man said that the old walrus sea planes were yellow and so were the permanantly anchored up rescue rafts/refuges that were moored up in the channel so downed pilots could reach them ,,they even had the ready meal hot cans aboard them , think he said they may have been painted yellow with black stripes on them .,,rafts and not the hot cans lol

Poly · 03 February 2010, 20:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by m chappelow

Think a lot of the RAF air/sea rescue stuff has always been yellow or had yellow on it boats and aircraft ,even before ww2 me old man said that the old walrus sea planes were yellow and ]so were the permanantly anchored up rescue rafts/refuges that were moored up in the channel so downed pilots could reach them ,,they even had the ready meal hot cans aboard them , think he said they may have been painted yellow with black stripes on them .,,rafts and not the hot cans lol

Indeed - there is one at the Maratime museum at Irvine (although last time I saw it it was more 'ferrous oxide' than 'yellow') - which they seem to have painted yellow presumably like the original?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottis...um/4271630770/

[EDIT - or should it be yellow and red? http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/reco...000-529-916-C]

But I can fully imagine that there was a 'research project' (well thats what we would call it these days) to decide what color to paint them; and even then if there was a percieved wisdom that they would be better in a different colour I would have thought there would have been a more recent project to pick the ideal colours/patterns etc... ...but then the RN SAR choppers are red and grey!

Presumably the RNLI made a decision that orange was best for a reason also (rather than one man's gut feel) - when the boats changed from blue and white?

m chappelow · 03 February 2010, 21:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

Indeed - there is one at the Maratime museum at Irvine (although last time I saw it it was more 'ferrous oxide' than 'yellow') - which they seem to have painted yellow presumably like the original?
http://www.flickr.com/photos/scottis...um/4271630770/

[EDIT - or should it be yellow and red? http://www.scran.ac.uk/database/reco...000-529-916-C]

But I can fully imagine that there was a 'research project' (well thats what we would call it these days) to decide what color to paint them; and even then if there was a percieved wisdom that they would be better in a different colour I would have thought there would have been a more recent project to pick the ideal colours/patterns etc... ...but then the RN SAR choppers are red and grey!

Presumably the RNLI made a decision that orange was best for a reason also (rather than one man's gut feel) - when the boats changed from blue and white?

There was a time when some Rnli lifeboats cabins/casings were grey in the 1970s ,the rnli may still go to yellow in the future as most things are under constant review from time to time , i did hear that they may even go white with red stripes like the u.s.c.g and other countries and have a world standard,,,,perhaps it may come when HM coast guard disolves into one large euro coast guard ,,,i know the fleurecent traffic /saturn green crew kit that they used in the 80s was changed after only a few years as it faded too fast with u/v light and musto stopped making them that colour ,

Poly · 09 February 2010, 19:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by m chappelow

There was a time when some Rnli lifeboats cabins/casings were grey in the 1970s ,the rnli may still go to yellow in the future as most things are under constant review from time to time , i did hear that they may even go white with red stripes like the u.s.c.g and other countries and have a world standard,,,,perhaps it may come when HM coast guard disolves into one large euro coast guard ,,,i know the fleurecent traffic /saturn green crew kit that they used in the 80s was changed after only a few years as it faded too fast with u/v light and musto stopped making them that colour ,

looks like new UK SAR helos (replacing MoD seakings) will be yellow & black http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8506806.stm

chewy · 09 February 2010, 20:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polwart

looks like new UK SAR helos (replacing MoD seakings) will be yellow & black http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8506806.stm

"The new helicopters will be black and orange and they'll probably be a bit noisier than what you are used to - they are faster, they are more powerful, there will be changes in operating proceedings."

Poly · 09 February 2010, 21:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by chewy

"The new helicopters will be black and orange and they'll probably be a bit noisier than what you are used to - they are faster, they are more powerful, there will be changes in operating proceedings."

That's weird how the brain plays tricks on you - I could have sworn that said yellow! Must have been the picture that threw me off? Either that or I need to top up my alcohol stream.