Amulet
Well-Known Member
My lifejackets have UML auto release mechanisms. I bet lots of others have them too.
There is a little green dot on the bottom of the bobbin which pings off if the auto mechanism is fired by immersion.
There is a little green clip which comes off when the lifejacket is manually inflated by pulling the cord.
This is a great concept - simply tell new crew to look for the two green bits, and, if they are absent, reject the lifejacket.
Trouble is, both of them are fragile. The one on the manual pull falls off (more often than not) after the lifejacket has been kicked around a bit, but everything is still fine.
AND - i went to replace out-of-date bobbins today and discovered that, for two perfectly serviceable bobbins in my rearming kit, the green dot had got knocked off.
This is a pain in the rear. I feel kind of irresponsible arming lifejackets with safety indicators missing. Am I just clumsy going around breaking these things? Surely it is possible to make them more robust.
There is a little green dot on the bottom of the bobbin which pings off if the auto mechanism is fired by immersion.
There is a little green clip which comes off when the lifejacket is manually inflated by pulling the cord.
This is a great concept - simply tell new crew to look for the two green bits, and, if they are absent, reject the lifejacket.
Trouble is, both of them are fragile. The one on the manual pull falls off (more often than not) after the lifejacket has been kicked around a bit, but everything is still fine.
AND - i went to replace out-of-date bobbins today and discovered that, for two perfectly serviceable bobbins in my rearming kit, the green dot had got knocked off.
This is a pain in the rear. I feel kind of irresponsible arming lifejackets with safety indicators missing. Am I just clumsy going around breaking these things? Surely it is possible to make them more robust.
