How often do you change your liferaft ?

[Rigger]

My Seago 6 man life raft is 10 yrs old and now apparently needs annual servicing. It has never been used!! It sits in a locker in its valise,and looks as good as new. However the cost of servicing is roughly half that of a new life raft so if I bought a new one (3 year service interval) it would pay for itself in 3 years. What do you do with a perfectly good raft which is past its sell by date??

 

[prv]

My Seago 6 man life raft is 10 yrs old and now apparently needs annual servicing. It has never been used!! It sits in a locker in its valise,and looks as good as new. However the cost of servicing is roughly half that of a new life raft so if I bought a new one (3 year service interval) it would pay for itself in 3 years. What do you do with a perfectly good raft which is past its sell by date??

Lots of people put them on eBay, presumably to be bought by someone who otherwise wouldn't carry one at all.

When we bought Ariam she came with an out-of-date 6-person raft when we rarely sail with more than three on board. That ended up being donated to GAFIRS (one of our local independent lifeboats) to use for training.

Pete

 

[johnalison]

Going by previous form, an old liferaft would sit in my garage, in case it was needed some time.

My XM 4man was bought in 2001, partly because the first service was at 5 yrs. It is currently still on 3yrs, so I'm hoping it survives.

 

[Elemental]

My Seago 6 man life raft is 10 yrs old and now apparently needs annual servicing. It has never been used!! It sits in a locker in its valise,and looks as good as new. However the cost of servicing is roughly half that of a new life raft so if I bought a new one (3 year service interval) it would pay for itself in 3 years. What do you do with a perfectly good raft which is past its sell by date??

Are you sure that the service interval is only annual? According to the Seago website, the 6 person Offshore has a service interval of three years ( http://www.seagoyachting.co.uk/offshore-raft-p-9.html )

 

[prv]

Are you sure that the service interval is only annual? According to the Seago website, the 6 person Offshore has a service interval of three years ( http://www.seagoyachting.co.uk/offshore-raft-p-9.html )

...for the first ten.

Pete

 

[Kwik Decision]

I understood that Seago rafts were on 3 yr servicing until they were 12 yrs old, and then went to annual. On this basis ours will be going on e-bay when it is 12.

 

[robmcg]

My Seago 6 man life raft is 10 yrs old and now apparently needs annual servicing. It has never been used!! It sits in a locker in its valise,and looks as good as new. However the cost of servicing is roughly half that of a new life raft so if I bought a new one (3 year service interval) it would pay for itself in 3 years. What do you do with a perfectly good raft which is past its sell by date??

Who says it has to be serviced every year? We have a liferaft that is over 10 years old and it's serviced every 3 years as per the norm.

 

[Rigger]

The last certificate I got States "this inflatable life raft is 10 years old and requires servicing 12 months from the latest inspection date in accordance with the SOLAS regulation". Whether or not this is a full service (changing flares,knife etc) or just a cheaper check over isn't clear.

 

[prv]

Who says it has to be serviced every year? We have a liferaft that is over 10 years old and it's serviced every 3 years as per the norm.

At the end of the day, assuming it's not a coded boat, it doesn't have to be serviced at all. Or even be on board. It's your decision, based on your perception of risk. But the reduced service interval is the manufacturer's recommendation, presumably due to ageing materials.

Pete

 

[Rigger]

Does it not become an issue if you go abroad and can be fined for having out of date safety equipment?

 

[prv]

Does it not become an issue if you go abroad and can be fined for having out of date safety equipment?

I've heard that, rightly or wrongly, the Portuguese can make an issue of it. But they're a long way from North Wales

Pete

 

[ctva]

Unless coded, there is no legal requirement to carry a liferaft, AFIK, in the UK.

 

[Seajet]

Lots of people put them on eBay, presumably to be bought by someone who otherwise wouldn't carry one at all.

When we bought Ariam she came with an out-of-date 6-person raft when we rarely sail with more than three on board. That ended up being donated to GAFIRS (one of our local independent lifeboats) to use for training.

Pete

One of the lessons from the Fastnet Disaster was that a big, lightly loaded liferaft flips like an untethered bouncy castle, so a crowded bunch of survivors is better than 2-3 people in a 4 let alone 6 man raft - helps with body warmth too...

 

[awol]

One of the lessons from the Fastnet Disaster was that a big, lightly loaded liferaft flips like an untethered bouncy castle, so a crowded bunch of survivors is better than 2-3 people in a 4 let alone 6 man raft - helps with body warmth too...

And from those lessons and the Sydney/Hobart ISO9650 was born dealing with water pocket size, entry from water, materials and a stack more. Life rafts have changed a bit in the last 35 years but the advice to stay with the yacht as long as possible hasn't.

Mind you, more people in a life raft improves the chances for long term survival for the biggest and strongest

 

[Seajet]

The only liferaft Silent Running has is a one-man job from an Ejection Seat I was given; the polite version is ' at least it's something to hang on to ' but my secret plan has always been " We'll arm wrestle for it "

 

[30boat]

I need a new one because my 6 man Lifeguard dates from 93.I'll get a 4 man now because I never carry enough people onboard to fill a 6 man raft.I just don't know which make and model to go for.It makes no sense to save on such a thing.

 

[Tranona]

Does it not become an issue if you go abroad and can be fined for having out of date safety equipment?

There is no compulsion for a private British registered boat to carry a liferaft, and if it does for it to be serviced according manufacturer's recommendations. Other countries generally respect our "rules", although as Pete suggests the Portuguese do say that foreign registered boats that are based in Portugal for over 6 months should comply with their regulations that do require an in date raft. Other European countries do not impose the same conditions.

So, the annual servicing is only a recommendation, not a statutory requirement unless you are racing and the organising body requires it.

 

[prv]

So, the annual servicing is only a recommendation, not a statutory requirement unless you are racing and the organising body requires it.

Or you let the boat out on charter.

Pete

 

[awol]

Or your wife thinks you need one.

 

[johnalison]

Mind you, more people in a life raft improves the chances for long term survival for the biggest and strongest

I wonder what human flesh tastes like?