Check your PFD!

[zulloboy]

My PFD is one of the high-end ones that has had favourable reviews in magazines. I won't name and shame here because I am currently discussing this with the local consumer protection agency.

The zippered pocket on the front which I use to contain my PLB (as per the user manual) had an alloy slider. Last time I checked the PFD, this slider was corroded to the point that I could not open the zipper, even tugging very hard with pliers. The only way to open the zipper was to spread (and hence destroy) the slider jaws with a screwdriver. This happened over just a few months (since I last worked the zipper), during which time I used it for 4 or 5 day-sails. No need to describe the implications had I gone overboard with it like that.

So please check if your PFD has an alloy zipper and if so, assume worst case and don't use the pocket for any safety-related items. My PFD (which is out of warranty) was recently superseded by a new model which has - guess what! - a plastic (ie non-corroding) slider.

Cheers, Graeme

 

[PilotWolf]

I hate to say it but this sounds more like a lack of maintenance and checking operational items than a problem with the actual PFD.

PW

 

[zulloboy]

I hate to say it but this sounds more like a lack of maintenance and checking operational items than a problem with the actual PFD.

PW

OK PilotWolf, are you saying that if a safety-critical item fails (as in rendering my PLB inaccessible) after a few dry daysails, it's my fault?

Do you check your through hulls on a similar schedule? Ditto your EPIRB, PLB's, jack-stays, tethers, PFD auto-inflation cartridges, PFD bladder, liferaft, rigging etc etc? Of course you don't, because you have faith that such things are suitably designed and manufactured. As I have the right to expect when I buy a high-end PFD, which by the way I inspect and test on a regular basis as per the user manual.

 

[PilotWolf]

OK PilotWolf, are you saying that if a safety-critical item fails (as in rendering my PLB inaccessible) after a few dry daysails, it's my fault?

Do you check your through hulls on a similar schedule? Ditto your EPIRB, PLB's, jack-stays, tethers, PFD auto-inflation cartridges, PFD bladder, liferaft, rigging etc etc? Of course you don't, because you have faith that such things are suitably designed and manufactured. As I have the right to expect when I buy a high-end PFD, which by the way I inspect and test on a regular basis as per the user manual.

I am doubtful that a few 'dry' sails would have caused this problem unless moisture was really high. And yes you are responsible for your safety and the equipment that you have - who else do you think should being the leisure world?

Yes on the boat I ran in the UK every life jacket, PFD, EPIRB, fire hose, extinguisher, torch, etc. lwas checked weekly, other items as required by coding, all signed off and kept in a log for MCA inspections, through hulls and valves checked daily.

Again I'm sorry to harp on about it but this is the difference between commercial operations that are accountable and the leisure boaters.

PW

 

[zulloboy]

You may be "doubtful" that a few dry sails caused the problem, but that's in fact the case, and the PFD was stored hanging in a dry ventilated cabin. Sorry old bean, but my lived experience pre-empts your assumptions.

Metallic corrosion-prone zips are inherently unsuited to use in a marine environment, especially for safety related applications.

Enough of this, the point of my post is to alert other users to this vulnerability, so please allow the discussion to follow that line.

 

[Venus1]

Thanks for the warning - well received.

 

[Irish Rover]

I hate to say it but this sounds more like a lack of maintenance and checking operational items than a problem with the actual PFD.
PW

Absolute bollox. Clearly the zip on the PFD was not fit for purpose. Thanks to the OP for the heads up.

 

[Ningaloo]

I think that there is middle ground here. If the PFD is an older model it is possible that the design did not anticipate that the zipped pocket might be used for such a critical function.

I'm sorry but I agree that this is something that I consider the owners responsibility and easy to have avoided by treating the zip with vaseline or similar. However I do understand how easy this might be overlooked.

I have recently experienced similar corrosion on the metal tongue and zipper on an otherwise heavy duty plastic zip on my sprayhood. In this case the zip was hidden within a velcro pocket and it's easy to see how this would get and remain damp, causing corrosion.

I found that it was possible to undo my zip with hot water and white vinegar, bit I doubt this would work on a completely metal zip.

 

[zulloboy]

I think that there is middle ground here. If the PFD is an older model it is possible that the design did not anticipate that the zipped pocket might be used for such a critical function.
QUOTE]
Sorry mate, refer to my post where I said: "The zippered pocket on the front which I use to contain my PLB (as per the user manual)"

And your spray hood cannot be compared to a safety-critical device, but you do thereby lend support to my point that metal zips are not suitable for marine use, and definitely not for safety-related devices.

 

[pcatterall]

Absolute bollox. Clearly the zip on the PFD was not fit for purpose. Thanks to the OP for the heads up.

+1

 

[CAPTAIN FANTASTIC]

It's a design fault. The zip should have been designed to function.

 

[macd]

It's a design fault. The zip should have been designed to function.

+1, to this and others like it. Aluminium sliders (or worse still, monkey metal), are a pain on any gear kept on a boat.

Pilotwolf is correct that such equipment should routinely be checked, except that the first check would be at the point of sale. It's not that hard to distinguish metal from plastic. (Granted this is not always easy with on-line purchases.)

 

[boomerangben]

Is a zip really the best means of retaining a piece of potentially life saving gear when hands are cold and dexterity comprised? I would have thought a popper or Velcro closure would be better

 

[Ohlin Karcher]

I have a zip on the Spinlock belt pouch which holds my PLB.
The zip obviously and predictably gets salty and jams, so I regularly wash it in warm water then grease it with lanolin.
I know a velco flap would not need this, but velcro isn't a positive enough closure. A big rubber button in an old fashioned buttonhole would do the job perfectly.. but that would be much too sensible for the gadget manufacturers to contemplate..

 

[Irish Rover]

The Irish Coast Guard have obviously been heeding the advice to check their PFD's
https://www.rte.ie/news/2019/1115/1091176-coast-guard-boats-withdrawn/

 

[[70521]]

I'd be interested to hear the make of the personal flotation device. Rather odd that a manufacturer of such a device should select a metal zip for that function knowing the environment that it is going to be used in, but good to hear they updated their design.

Personally, I'd be removing the PLB at the end of each trip and making sure it was dried, and that the PFD was rinsed in fresh water and properly dried.

I'm with PilotWolf on this. By the way all my thru hulls are checked at the start and end of each voyage and if on a multiday one at least daily. All lifejackets and tethers are cross checked by other crew members when coming on watch or start of the day if we are spending the night in port.

There is a huge amount of personal responsibility that we all need to take and by assuming that a bit of kit will just function according to the manufactureres instructions rarely stands up in court.

I best add my day job is safety engineering where we look to stop safety critical stuff from killing you: airplanes falling out of the sky; nuclear powerstations from imploding; trains from not stopping at a signal or cars falling apart as you drive down the road. The simple things in life, so I might be a little more careful in how I look at safety on my vessel.

 

[ctva]

I must say that I’m with Pilotwolf and Sandy in that critical safety gear in any zipped enclosure is a potential problem, even plastic gets clogged with salt and grit. Add cold hands and the contents are as much use as a chocolate tea pot.

Now it depends if your PFD is a buoyancy aid or a life jacket.

BA’s all have zip pockets for stuff but when I use one then the knife is in a sheath and Velcro pocket or on a lanyard attached at some point. One has to question if you feel the need for a PLB is a BA the right choice?

If it is a LJ, then I’d be interested to know the make as current best practice is to not have pockets etc on the LJ as it’s a life jacket and not a cargo carrier. PLBs, radio, tools etc are carried on the belt which is accessible even when inflated.

 

[PilotWolf]

Metallic corrosion-prone zips are inherently unsuited to use in a marine environment, especially for safety related applications

Whilst I agree for the most part can I ask why you brought it and then used it to secure a safety device then?

PW

 

[LadyInBed]

I wouldn't leave the PLB in the LJ pocket between outings.
Zips don't suddenly corrode, so I can't help but think that their is a (lack of) maintenance issue here, also it makes me wonder what state the CO2 cylinder and firing mechanism is in.

 

[Venus1]

If it is a LJ, then I’d be interested to know the make as current best practice is to not have pockets etc on the LJ as it’s a life jacket and not a cargo carrier. PLBs, radio, tools etc are carried on the belt which is accessible even when inflated.

I would be interested to see the arrangement of carrying those essentials on the belt. I would like to do that, but it seems to me that when the L J inflates, it makes the belt things inaccessible. I have not tried this in the water, but have seen people with inflated jackets and they could not see their belts, making deployment difficult. (I have the spinlock belt pouch which may be slightly better, but restrictive on deck..)