Do I need a liferaft?

[gjgm]

A liferaft it is then!!!

(perhaps the question wasn't that daft after all!!)

Aha.. I would have thought, a liferaft it isnt , then !
Actually, anything that makes you enjoy your boating is a good idea, and if having a liferaft makes you feel more secure and relaxed, then I guess its a good idea.
The fact you are almost certain never ever to use it is perhaps by the by

 

[Morpheous]

The question is definitely not daft though if you get 5 pages of replies

 

[Tranona]

The question is definitely not daft though if you get 5 pages of replies

Definitely not a daft question - however, one that does not have a clear answer. On the usage evidence, for most people the answer is No, but evidence (if considered at all) is often ignored and imagination takes over. The cost of responding to imagination is now very small - in real terms liferafts are 25% of the cost of 30 years ago so a purchase becomes almost automatic - if largely irrational!

 

[jimmy_the_builder]

You buy a liferaft for the feeling it gives you. And a bloody good feeling it is too.

Muddy Paws got this right way back in the thread. I bought a liferaft because it made swmbo feel better. And it worked. End of.

Cheers
Jimmy

 

[Watson47]

Sunday, 31 October 2010 20:35 Lifeboat Rescues Two Fishermen After Ten Hours Stranded in Liferaft Featured
Two young fishermen are recovering today (Sunday 31 October 2010) after being rescued by lifeboat crew from Ballyglass RNLI. The two men were found in a liferaft 13 miles north of Belderrig in County Mayo after a lifeboat crewmember raised the alarm when they had not returned after to shore last night. Their fishing vessel had capsized and unable to raise the alarm the two men spent ten hours at sea in a liferaft waiting for help.

Ballyglass RNLI volunteer crewmember John Walsh contacted the Ballyglass Lifeboat Operations Manager when a fishing vessel had not returned to Porturlin when expected. Lifeboat Operations Manager Harry McCallum got in touch with Malin Head Coast Guard and the Ballyglass RNLI all weather lifeboat was launched at 11.49pm along with the Sligo based Coast Guard helicopter.

The rescue crews headed to the area where the fishermen were understood to be recovering pots from the water. The helicopter crew spotted the liferaft with the two men onboard and communicated the position to the lifeboat, which was nearby. The men had managed to remove their wet clothes and had put on plastic sacks to keep warm. They were recovered onto the lifeboat and taken to Ballyglass to recover.

Commenting on the callout Ballyglass RNLI Coxswain JT Gaughran said, " These two young men were extremely lucky. There had been nobody out searching for them until our crewmember John Walsh, who is an experienced fisherman, raised the alarm. Things can go wrong very quickly out at sea and every second counts. Thankfully conditions were moderate and once the search was underway they were spotted quickly."

The lifeboat pictured below returned to Ballyglass at 3am this morning with the two men onboard.

Regretably another incident off the Donegal coast this morning, though sadly on this occasion the outcome was not good.


http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/1101/glengad.html

 

[oceanfroggie]

At first site the title of this thread might seem like a silly question but I'll ask it anyway!
(I say its a silly qustion but I think I know the answer even before I ask it!)

I don't currently have a life raft on board my new (to Me) Sealine F33 and and whilst most of our trips are costal, we do intend to make several trips to the channel islands and France in 2011.
The question is should I have a liferaft aboard?

You need something that floats so either a tender (already inflated) or a life raft will do. PFD only good for 15-45 mins depending on time of year (ie exposure due immersion in cold water).

A Yachtmaster examiner once explained to me that statistically PFDs are devices for keeping dead bodies afloat!!!

 

[Thepipdoc]

At first site the title of this thread might seem like a silly question but I'll ask it anyway!
(I say its a silly qustion but I think I know the answer even before I ask it!)

I don't currently have a life raft on board my new (to Me) Sealine F33 and and whilst most of our trips are costal, we do intend to make several trips to the channel islands and France in 2011.
The question is should I have a liferaft aboard?

I bought a liferaft!!

 

[kid's inheritance]

I bought a liferaft!!

I was chatting about safety kit to a pilot friend recently.He had 2 comments.He was told during his PPL test that the sea and the air are dangerous , the difference is you can't stop or (easily) get out of a plane if you are in trouble.The second was , if you think that safety is dear , try having an accident
Regards
Rob

 

[Searush]

I bought a liferaft!!

Don't forget to tell when you use it . . .

 

[Ripster]

I bought a liferaft!!

Well done... good feeling isn't it.

 

[Thepipdoc]

I bought a liferaft.

Well done... good feeling isn't it.

To be perfectly honest I'm not sure!! I guess it's bound to instill a feel good quality when aboard. I just hpe I never have to use it!
I pick up the liferaft on Saturday and intend to fit it "somewhere!", not at all sure where yet.

The boat I have is a Sealine F33 and behind the flybridge helm seat there is a label, presumably fitted by Sealine when it was first manufactured, that states "LIFERAFT". I could fit it there but I'm not sure that fitting 45kg of weight permanently there is ideal.
Alternatively I could fit it on the transom in a proper cradle but I'm concerned that it might get nicked.
Wherever it's fitted the main criteria must surely be it has to be easily accessible and I fear that if I need to deploy it (god forbid), having it on the flybridge is not the wisest place to fit it.
Any thoughts on this?

 

[Ripster]

C'mon... you know it'll give you peace of mind if nothing else! But.. you raise a good point on the correct place to keep it. Ours is comming up for its service and I was considering having it re-packed in a hard case this time, rather than in its valise. At the moment, its storred in the Laz when we are moored so its out of sight. Then when we set off it sits in the cockpit ready to deploy. I have been considering permanently mounting it somewhere on deck, but can't decide where - aft on the transom or maybe on the bows?

 

[Watson47]

Thepipdoc ... Old Irish proverb ... "May you never need to use your Liferaft ... " ..... purely a suggestion, but in addition to installing the liferaft, do also consider a 'Sea Survival Course'. RYA training centres run them and in addition to general sea survival techniques, a good course will cover the use of liferafts, including 'wet' sessions where you are actually in the water (probably a swimming pool). They are not that easy to get into from the water .. ! .. but learning the techniques and actually doing it are invaluable tools in understanding the use of a liferaft.

 

[PaulGooch]

Ours is in a hard case, on the roof. Out of the way and the last bit to sink should be the roof

 

[alant]

At first site the title of this thread might seem like a silly question but I'll ask it anyway!
(I say its a silly qustion but I think I know the answer even before I ask it!)

I don't currently have a life raft on board my new (to Me) Sealine F33 and and whilst most of our trips are costal, we do intend to make several trips to the channel islands and France in 2011.
The question is should I have a liferaft aboard?

If you have to ask the question, then yes!

If you don't want to buy, then hire.

PS
Ask yourself why, the fact that you are going over to France & C.I., you think the need for one increases? Each side of the Channel, its still coastal, which you otherwise seem comfortable with. Just a 70 mile trip.
Apart from the shipping lanes in the Channel, the water will still be similarly cold, the risk of fire the same & you have admitted not being able to swim very far, so not much differencel.
Your choice.

 

[neale]

Ours is in a hard case, on the roof. Out of the way and the last bit to sink should be the roof

Pedantic mode on - The last bit of a Mobo to sink is usually the bow, as the engines seems to always drag them down stern first - pedantic mode off.

 

[PaulGooch]

Pedantic mode on - The last bit of a Mobo to sink is usually the bow, as the engines seems to always drag them down stern first - pedantic mode off.

lol Well, it is on the front of the roof

 

[Searush]

A liferaft it is then!!!

(perhaps the question wasn't that daft after all!!)

For all those reassured by the presence of a liferaft ;

Read this

Plus comments of those involved

But as I said on Buttlescutt, the illusion of security is just as comforting as the reality - until you need to call on the item in question.

 

[Thepipdoc]

For all those reassured by the presence of a liferaft ;

Read this

Plus comments of those involved

But as I said on Buttlescutt, the illusion of security is just as comforting as the reality - until you need to call on the item in question.

I may have missed something in the thread above but I can’t see why the bottom fell out of their liferaft. If it’s because it’s old and never been serviced then it would be an “illusion” and there’s surely no security in that.
I’m not sure if you’re using this as a reason NOT to have a liferaft aboard or whether you’re saying even if we do have one, there’s a chance it won’t help when it comes to jumping ship?

 

[Tranona]

I may have missed something in the thread above but I can’t see why the bottom fell out of their liferaft. If it’s because it’s old and never been serviced then it would be an “illusion” and there’s surely no security in that.
I’m not sure if you’re using this as a reason NOT to have a liferaft aboard or whether you’re saying even if we do have one, there’s a chance it won’t help when it comes to jumping ship?

It was reported to be a new liferaft.

In general rafts have a poor history of reliability. Defects are often the result of poor servicing rather than manufacturing defects, but the reality is that they are fragile devices as a consequence of trying to achieve a demanding role and still be light enough and compact enough to use on board.

Read the reports of the relatively few occasions they have been used in anger and you will find just as many failures as successes. This is because when they are used in extreme conditions their shortcomings show up very quickly. Difficulty in launching because of size and weight, failure to inflate, inflating upside down, difficulty in boarding, loss of equipment, loss of buoyancy, structural failures. Many of these shortcomings are obvious just practising in a pool - and deployment is usually in survival conditions. The image of stepping off your sinking boat with your children and into the safety of a liferaft is just that. An image, not the reality.

So, enjoy the illusory comfort you get from owning a liferaft - and just make sure you never have to use it!