horseshoe lifebuoys

[Orla]

I bought two Ocean Safety Horseshoe Lifebuoys (white) about three years ago and they have now fallen to bits, pretty much all the stitching has disintigrated, all the tabs that hold the floating line have parted company with the main unit. Which means any lights, strobes etc attached to the horseshoe would also part company. Not very good.

A quote from Ocean Safety Site:-
"These soft foam horseshoe lifebuoys have been designed for long term durability and high flexibility."

My sails dont fall to bits after a few years so I dont expect my MOB equipment to either.

Anybody else have expeirience of these and should they last longer than they have?
Or am I expecting too much.

 

[Searush]

I have had a yellow one for about 10 years with no problems. It is still in excellent condition. But it is normally stored inside the aft cabin unless i am aboard, so it gets little sunlight & fairly consistent temperatures.

Have yours been left on the pushpit all year round 24/7 by any chance? U/V & extreme temperatures are likely to significantly reduce the life of the pvc cover.

 

[Orla]

Aye mine are on 24/7 but we are onboard pretty much 24/7 as well.....
I was assuming that they should last more than a few years.

Its got me thinking though, I have been looking at Liferings as a possible replacement.. and wondered why you dont see many, if any on yachts and why the horseshoe type are used instead of the ring types....any ideas?

 

[Searush]

My understanding is that you can swim into a horseshoe or pull it around you easily. It will even fit comfortably below your Personal Floatation Device if you are wearing one.

A ring buoy has to be lifted over your head & you have to put your arms up in the air to do that. Try it sometime, the weight of your arms will drive your head underwater if you have no L/J or B/A. If you do have a PFD, then it won't fit over it & will sit around your neck.

 

[vyv_cox]

Many liveaboards make canvas covers to fit over their horseshoe buoys to protect them from UV, although mine have survived for almost 10 years, including six in the Med. They have become pretty disgusting now though, the PVC material has degraded to a brown, flaky mess and they went in the skip at the end of last year.

I like the look of the buoys that many Dutch and German boats carry, instead of a large horseshoe that goes around the body (sometimes) they are much smaller and designed to go around the neck like a lifejacket. They seem like a more sensible arrangement and take up far less space.

 

[SimonJ]

Canadians, interestingly, are only permitted to use rings - horseshoe types are not legal for them!

My horseshoe type (from XM, so cheap) are pretty dead after 10 years exposure in hot and cold climes. I did once see that you could buy replacement covers but have not been able to find them again now that I need them!

 

[Silent Lady]

Canister Type

You could try the canister type . You can now get them in white as well . They have a cartridge inside to inflate them .

 

[Sy-Revolution]

You could try the canister type . You can now get them in white as well . They have a cartridge inside to inflate them .

We had one of those, a seago one, never again!

We had it for two seasons, one weekend sailing the other livaboard. First season we took it out of it's canister after each sail and stored it open and therefore dry inside the boat. We left the UK in July last year en route to Portugal. Luckily on the 3 months cruising we had virtually no rain and pretty fine weather. The lifebuoy stayed in it's canister for this time.

When I removed it in October it had some small spots of mold on it and when I tested it it wouldn't hold air. Went down immediately.

Personally I think if an item cannot live in it's intended canister for a few months I don't rate it as fit for purpose. Thank God we didn't have to use it in earnest!

The list grows longer....................


C.

 

[wilkinsonsails]

Baseline marine do replacement covers.Fun to get on though like dressing a manequin.

 

[tugboat]

I have a proper lifering, cos I think those yellow things are rubbish. Being ex MN I believe in using the proper gear. Liferings are remarkably light in weight and provide serious buoyancy. They are easier to throw a decent distance to a MOB. They are also easy to get into, as you approach you just lift the nearside over your head, no need to duck under. I got the larger size, coz I'm larger sized, the downside being that it takes up a lot of sternrail space. However if ever I need it in anger, I'll know I made the right choice.

 

[PeterGibbs]

Aye mine are on 24/7 but we are onboard pretty much 24/7 as well.....
I was assuming that they should last more than a few years.

Its got me thinking though, I have been looking at Liferings as a possible replacement.. and wondered why you dont see many, if any on yachts and why the horseshoe type are used instead of the ring types....any ideas?

I went this way - liferings - a few years ago. I think they are superior in the kind of conditions you might expect a MOB. But, I have to warn you that the case supplied rotted away just as your horseshoes have, so I made a bag replacement out of blue acylic. Not rocket science on the sewing machine.

All well so far, and I can take comfort that the essential working part of the gear is safe and sound tucked up in its bag, and should not shred under the pressure of use!

PWG

 

[Orla]

Must admit i am starting to see a lot of value in fitting rings...they may not be as aesthetically pleasing as horseshoes but I'm starting to think they are more practical..

Last a very long time.

Can be thrown further and I guess more accurately due to extra weight, wind won't affect them as easily as the light weight horseshoes.

Nobody will nik them of the back of your boat.

All life boats have them.
All harbours have them.
All locks have them.
All water fronts have them.
All ferries....
the list goes on & on

In fact it only seems to be us in the leisure side of the industry that use horseshoes, still cant see the reasoning other than they look nice on the back of yachts and you can wrap them round you instead of pulling over your head...

I think two Liferings a quoit with a good length of floating line would be a better option than two horseshoes, maybe the biggest problem would be finding a suitable place on the back of our boats to fit them....

 

[PetiteFleur]

With my two new ones, I always(when I remeber) to leave them in the rear cabin when I'm not on board. So far they have lasted 5 years, hopefully they will last another 5 years.

 

[PeterGibbs]

Must admit i am starting to see a lot of value in fitting rings..

I think two Liferings a quoit with a good length of floating line would be a better option than two horseshoes, maybe the biggest problem would be finding a suitable place on the back of our boats to fit them....

The rings come with straps to lash over the pushpit rails - easy.

The heaving line is of course fully protected in the bag and flaked in ready to snake out - as nature intended! No knitting whilst the MOB inhales seawater...

Have to confess - one of the major reasons I dumped the horsehoes was that, as a larger lad, with sailing gear on I could not actually get any part of my torso into a horseshoe. Even worse if being buoyed up in an inflated lifejacket! So what use that? Rings expand of course to accommodate the MOB...

But just checked in my Reeds Almanac, safety section, and horsehoes are still in fashion...so you takes your choice..

PWG

 

[alan_d]

... why the horseshoe type are used instead of the ring types....any ideas?

Horseshoe for luck?

 

[Searush]

Horseshoe for luck?

In that case, you must hang it the other way up so the luck doesn't run out!!


Or so my old Auntie used to tell me.

 

[Orla]

In that case, you must hang it the other way up so the luck doesn't run out!!


Or so my old Auntie used to tell me.

Thats what my wife said too (its an old gypsie thing)

 

[vyv_cox]

Thats what my wife said too (its an old gypsie thing)

My wife wouldn't be happy if I called her an old gypsy

 

[Deleted member 36384]

Horse Shoe and Life Ring Comments

With regards to UV radiation and general wear and tare I have found that 5 years was pushing it on a charter fleet in Scotland. The type that we used had the moulded cover with the heat welded seams. The seams were quite hard, relative to the actual plastic. Yellow Plastimo I am sure. Eventual the cover split usually where it rubbed against the mount. The drogue normally went with UV but not the plastic cover in Scottish weather anyway.

By the way the life rings pop over your head naturally as you grab them. Your hand sinks the ring and the far side pops up and over your head. They are very easy to use. However, you have to hold on to stay in them which gets harder as you get tired with the effect that your elbows get higher as your head sinks lower and you pop out the bottom!

I am not sure but I believe the reason for the horse shoe design is that you can jam your body into it under your arms and float higher in the water compared to a lifejacket only. As another OP has stated you cant use a life ring with a life jacket, at least not easily. The obvious feature of the horse shoe being the opening that allows the lifejacket at the front. By fastening the front clips and jamming your body into the horseshoe shape, this type had a much better chance of keeping you afloat when tired compared to a ring.

If my memory is correct the above information is from the book Safety and Survival At Sea.

The RYA apparently pushed to have horseshoes accepted by Certifying Authorities for coding purposes as they were only interested in life rings initially.