How old is your lifejacket?

How old is your lifejacket?

  • Less than five years old

    Votes: 41 32.5%

  • Between five and ten years old

    Votes: 38 30.2%

  • Between ten and fifteen years old

    Votes: 34 27.0%

  • Between fifteen and twenty years old

    Votes: 8 6.3%

  • More than 20 years old

    Votes: 5 4.0%
  • Total voters
    126
bitbaltic

bitbaltic

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21 Nov 2011
Messages
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Location
Boat in Milford Haven
sailingkarisma.wordpress.com
Following on from the Lifejacket re-arming thread, where there are different opinions on keeping LJs past the (usual) ten year recommended lifespan, depending on condition at that age.

Give a guesstimate for the oldest lifejacket that is in regular use or considered to be 'in service' on board (i.e. if you have a couple of brand new spinlocks for yourself but happen to have a 1994 Seago untouched for the last 15 years in a locker for 'guests', it's the Spinlocks I'm interested in; if you serviced the Seago two years ago and/or your brother in law wore it on a spring day sail, it's the Seago I'm interested in). It would also be an idea to say when it was last serviced, to get an idea of how long we are extending the lives of our LJs beyond the recommended lifespan- if at all.
 
Couple of Ocean Safety jackets were binned last month after I found the cylinders rusty and all a bit of a mess. They were purchased in 2003.

What really annoyed me was folk advertising new life jackets on e bay which were marketed by Sowester, they went under about 1998. Others advertising second hand jackets without the cylinders for more than a new jacket will cost. I will wait for any sales in the autumn before deciding on a new pair. In the meantime the spare Seago's have been pressed into action.

Pete
 
None of my lifejackets are more than ten years old, and I service them myself every year, replaced two lights this year and will have to replace four more lights next year.
Incidently, the two lights I fitted this year were quite bulky, think they were ACR, and it made getting the cover zipped up quite difficult.
I've also fitted the Lumon lights from Spinlock on every jacket, but they don't seem to have an expiry date on them, I need to contact Spinlock and ask why.
 
Main boat jackets are Crewsavers bought for our first season in Kindred Spirit in 2009. When we got Ariam in 2012 and needed a couple more jackets, I bought myself a Kru Sport Pro and also put on board an old XM manual that I suppose dates from 2007 or so. I don't think anyone's actually worn that.

I service all the jackets each winter, replacing the inflators and lights according to their dates. I haven't yet needed to replace a cylinder either for weight or corrosion. I've kept a couple of the old inflators for the MOB testing day I keep failing to get around to - I'm sure they'll work fine and it''ll be cheaper to replace just the cylinder.

Pete
 
We have a couple of Krusport Pro we bought 2 years ago, and some older Crewsavers we keep for guests, all checked regularly by Suffolk safety.
 
I've always serviced all lifejackets annually.

After changing the boat i currently only have two onboard. I have a Secumar Survival CS which is about 8 years old and a brand new Kru Pro. Both have built in harnesses, crotch straps and spray hoods.

I won't wear a high spec jacket myself and give my guests a 15 year old jacket with no crotch strap or spray hood.
 
PaulRainbow said:
I won't wear a high spec jacket myself and give my guests a 15 year old jacket with no crotch strap or spray hood.
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+1 all our lifejackets are Secumar AX with crotch strap, spray hood, light and (on all five of them) a PLB. We never wear specific jackets, just whichever come out of the bag first. They are numbered so on a longer sail everyone can remember which one is 'theirs' ie is adjusted to fit. From day one I didn't want to invite guests on board and look like I was offering them a lower level of safety than I reserved for myself. Surprising how often it does seem to happen though.
 
The life jacket I use while sailing (and I don't use it often because as a singlehander I am always tied to my boat with a harness and teather) is the same life jacket that I used while whitewater kayaking 20 years ago. A couple of weeks ago, when I was working as race committee, I put it on for the first time in 5 years and I didn't give the slightest thought to whether it will keep me alive if I fall off the boat. It has gotten me through many hundreds of kayak rolls in white water and has taken me safely through many floats through foaming rapids. It doesn't have any cylinders that need servicing. It just works, today as well as it did the day it was new. It cost 1/5th the amount of an inflatable lifejacket and it is half the weight. I really really can't see the appeal of an inflatable PFD.
 
I have 2 Parmaris ones bought in 2000, last tested 3 months ago, fine.
Against that I had a Seago that failed at 4 years, but it was their known bad batch.
 
davidpbo said:
Seems as though my original thread started some debate :encouragement:
Click to expand...

Yep seemed like an interesting point where we've not tested Forum opinion much/lately. I don't have a terribly strong view, I see the point of those who replace at service life end as well as the argument for well serviced equipment lasting beyond the manufacturer's recommended service lifetime.
 
The oldest of mine are 6 years old, newest is 3 months. I check them twice a year and last spring found a small hole in one that caused it to go down overnight. I chopped it up and replaced it.
 
Oldest LJ on board is from the 70's and is Avon. Normally inflate all LJ's once a year and the old ones hold pressure the best over 24 hours plus.
Newest is Crewsaver and 2 years old; a nice bit of kit and comfortable to wear.
 
Foolish Muse said:
The life jacket I use. . . . is the same life jacket that I used while whitewater kayaking 20 years ago.. . . . It doesn't have any cylinders that need servicing. It just works, today as well as it did the day it was new. It cost 1/5th the amount of an inflatable lifejacket and it is half the weight. I really really can't see the appeal of an inflatable PFD.
Click to expand...

I suspect that is not a lifejacket, but a buoyancy aid, and hence not designed to keep an unconscious/incapable body afloat with head above water. Presumably it also doesn't have and can't be fitted with the somtimes optional but highly recommended crutch straps, light and hood. It may not require servicing, but it doesn't mean the stitching and fabric doesn't rot.

If you're satisfied by it, that's up to you, but what you have cannot (as far as I can undertand it) legally be sold (in UK) as a lifejacket, and is not what most people on here are discussing. (Personally, I prefer a buoyancy aid when in the dinghy, and it might also be better in some near shore single-handed yacht situations where an ability to swim (not really feasible in a lifejacket) is more important than being kept properly afloat.)

Now to confession time: I can't actually remember how old my lifejacket is.:eek: (Probably at least 10, yeears quite possibly substantially more.) I may have to write nicely to Santa later this year!
 
I have just been doing a check on our club's lifejackets. All very basic. I think probably 5 years old or so. No problems with inflating them and their holding pressure over night. Some corrosion on the cylinders was the only problem. I cleaned them up and applied some vaseline hopefully to minimise corrosion. 12 were Axis Offshore. Might be an Oz brand as i have not seen the brand mentioned on this forum.
One problem I had was with a single "Crewsaver" The folding of the bladder was a bit convoluted. (this is a bit more compact than the axis) As I got near inflated using compressed air on the oral inflation tube something caught on the activation cord and it let off the cylinder which made the bladder pretty hard. Released some pressure immediately no problems. A bit of a surprise. Anyway 12 squid for a new cylinder and all is OK It seems to me that LJs should be OK for many years provided they are inflated annually and checked.
Yes I personally prefer foam type buoyancy vests as being foolproof and always giving buoyancy even though they are not a LJ.
We had one guy recently fell of the bow of a racer and banged his head (not too badly) He was fished out of the water and was still wearing his non activated LJ. I didn't think of activating it he said. yes a case for auto activation.
One safety measure we have introduced to our 6 rescue boats is the provision of a buoyancy vest for one crew on each boat. This to be used if a crew needs to get into the water to help a (dinghy)(kid) sailor in trouble
 
For what its worth, my personal and very comfortable Crewsaver is about 10 years old, but failed to hold its pressure for more than a few minutes when I decided to replace the whole Hanmer auto inflate a month ago!

So I binned it and bought a new Seago to replace it, but wear the other,five year old Seago myself when I have crew. (All LJs have crotch-straps and hoods, and crew always get the newest.)

BUT I do find the new design LJs more uncomfortable. They sit too high, like a neck-warmer (I have a long back), and their silly zip mechanisms are much more of a pain to open to inspect and then re-seal. Also the velcro tabs at the bottom keep unsticking and the bobble pops out ready to snag and inflate when you don't want it to!
 
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