check your life jackets

[JumbleDuck]

All the same, I'd hate to have to explai to the Coroner why one was out of date!

With a bit of luck you wouldn't have to ... without a working LJ the body is unlikely to be recovered.

 

[lw395]

I'd imagine far more people fall off boats in the course of boarding/berthing manoeuvres than go overboard offshore. All my lifejackets are approximately the same age and quality. However, if I had a variety, I'd use my most trusted equipment where I'm most likely to fall overboard rather than keeping it 'for best'.

If I fall off the tender I'm probably only going to be in the water a couple of minutes.
All my LJs are perfectly serviceable, but if an 8 year old one gets damaged I'll just replace it.
If an older one inflates in the tender or while racing inshore, I'll probably bin it rather than re-arm it.
I need to own about 6, but only two get heavy use.
After a couple of hard seasons they often show a bit of wear and tear.
They get a bit grubby and are often damp for long periods
I'd rather give a guest a clean new one for a channel crossing.

If I was to use the newest one every other day, I'd now have a cupboard full of manky old LJs instead of 4 almost new, one slightly used and one in its last season.

I suppose the other option would be to spread the wear around and replace all 6 together, but I just grab the same one, knowing it's adjusted for me and it makes sense to use the one that's still damp from yesterday...


BTW, if the cylinder shows any sign of coming unscrewed, a spot of threadlock cures it.

 

[Polly's Kettle]

I have a similar annual regime to most on here.

One issue I have a question on: I have two cylinders where the body is quite corroded - surface corrosion only - the bottles are quite thick, of course. However the thread and cylinder cap cover are in good condition (nice & shiny), and they weigh just fine.

Are these bottles to be considered bad? And if so .. why? The only thing I can think of is that they are now rough and might abrade the innards of the jacket?

 

[wotayottie]

My plan is to keep shiny new ones for offshore use and downgrade them to RIB/tender/local racing after a couple of years.
They still have to work of course!

I'm not on the water every day, but the wear and tear is still significant. More so since we've taken to wearing them in the tender more.

The stats show that you are far more likely to drown from the tender than the mother ship, I believe.

 

[wotayottie]

To be clear, you're saying the empty cylinder has probably been there since 2009, so in eight years you haven't done the normal annual checks even once?

Well done for admitting it, I guess, since it might nudge others into checking theirs. But I find it pretty alarming.

I think in future I'm going to avoid ever borrowing lifejackets from leisure sailors.

How many times have you or someone else worn that jacket assuming it would keep you afloat if you fell in?

Pete

Your response does have just a tinge of piety about it! but yes, I hadnt checked that lifejacket in that time period. And my reason for posting was to jog the minds of those like me who are maybe a bit complacent.

I am surprised that it came with the boat with a used cylinder, not least since the boat came with several spare unused cylinders.

In a way I am more alarmed about the failure of the one new lifejacket. Visibly perfect but just not holding air.

 

[capnsensible]

I have a similar annual regime to most on here.

One issue I have a question on: I have two cylinders where the body is quite corroded - surface corrosion only - the bottles are quite thick, of course. However the thread and cylinder cap cover are in good condition (nice & shiny), and they weigh just fine.

Are these bottles to be considered bad? And if so .. why? The only thing I can think of is that they are now rough and might abrade the innards of the jacket?

Spot on. The abrasion may cause air leakage or at worst case, a hole. Some jackets have a material cover over the bottle to prevent that.

 

[prv]

Someday soon someone is going to invent the locking nut then they won't accidentally come unscrewed all the time.

The Hammar ones come glued into their sockets to prevent this. The downside is that you need to buy Hammar's own replacements rather than generic, and the additional weight of the plastic part disrupts the weighing test.

Bayonet-lug bottles sound like a superior system - how widely available are the replacements?

Pete

 

[prv]

Crewsaver. You get at the cylinder by dismantling the hammar trigger mechanism - something I'll need to learn how to do this winter, as the mechanisms are about to go out-of-date.

The replacement Hammar sets come with a little metal key that hooks into one corner of the unit and, when twisted, turns the black locking ring by ten degrees or so. This separates the outer and inner halves of the mechanism from each other and the whole inner part together with the cylinder then comes out through the hole in the bladder. You can check the state of the cylinder (should be fine sealed inside the dry bladder, which is why they do it that way) and re-use it, but if you decide to replace then you need a specific cylinder with the inner part of the mechanism already glued onto it.

Do the inflation test after reassembling the Hammar, not before, because it can occasionally go together correctly but fail to fully seal on the bladder ring, resulting in a slow leak. Dismantling, reassembly, and re-testing should sort it.

Personally I'm content with the Hammar-operated jackets I have, but I don't think I'd choose them again. It's not clear to me that there are any benefits in exchange for the various slightly fiddly aspects of servicing, and the parts are more expensive.

Pete

 

[JumbleDuck]

The replacement Hammar sets come with a little metal key that hooks into one corner of the unit and, when twisted, turns the black locking ring by ten degrees or so. This separates the outer and inner halves of the mechanism from each other and the whole inner part together with the cylinder then comes out through the hole in the bladder. You can check the state of the cylinder (should be fine sealed inside the dry bladder, which is why they do it that way) and re-use it, but if you decide to replace then you need a specific cylinder with the inner part of the mechanism already glued onto it.

Do the inflation test after reassembling the Hammar, not before, because it can occasionally go together correctly but fail to fully seal on the bladder ring, resulting in a slow leak. Dismantling, reassembly, and re-testing should sort it.

Thanks you. Much obliged.

Personally I'm content with the Hammar-operated jackets I have, but I don't think I'd choose them again. It's not clear to me that there are any benefits in exchange for the various slightly fiddly aspects of servicing, and the parts are more expensive.

I tend to agree, although I do like the idea of the mechanism living snugly inside the bladder.

 

[capnsensible]

Thanks you. Much obliged.



I tend to agree, although I do like the idea of the mechanism living snugly inside the bladder.

Does sound like a good idea. Ours take such a hammering tho, I think easy look works better for SCV's.