Jon Bouy EVAC

[ylop]

Has anyone seen these in person? Or even better had an opportunity to play with one in a pool etc?

Jon Buoy Evac: Compact life raft for coastal areas

It’s a concept I wondered why nobody had built previously.

I’m waiting to hear from Crewsaver whether my liferaft can be services or is now end of life. There are well rehearsed arguments on these pages whether a liferaft is needed for the sort of coastal cruising we do (rarely out of sight of land, but often over an hour from from a lifeboat station, and not unusual to sail for an hour or two without seeing another boat) but LETS NOT GET INTO THAT DEBATE.

If my existing crewsaver raft is end of life it will be replaced with something because psychologically removing safety equipment from the boat is going to be too hard for my wife to consider.

But the existing raft (canister based mounted ahead of the sprayhood) is a heavy beast - I can lift it over the rails. Mrs Y would struggle, but probably manage if the boat was on fire! She’s short and when helming it obscures quite a lot of forward view.

It’s very unlikely we would be hanging around in it for more than a few hours, and have no regulatory / rules requirement for an official life raft so it seems I might be the gap in the market they are targeting.

That said it’s far from cheap - costing similar to the price of a “real” raft. So wondering if people who have seen and maybe lifted one think it’s compactness and weight justify essentially a premium for a lower spec product.

I’m a bit surprised that I haven’t found a demo video? And I haven’t managed to find the service costs - at least getting it to Ocean safety would be more convenient than dealing with Crew Saver.

 

[RunAgroundHard]

The above link has a large block hiding ilthe product. See below for link, which zi think is the same product.

Looks like a good solution for typical leisure sailing.

Metstrade | Ocean Safety Ltd. - Ocean Safety Jon Buoy Evac

 

[Lightwave395]

Would be good at half the price...

 

[ylop]

Would be good at half the price...

Yes it would be a bit of a no brainer for me at half the price. Don’t know if anyone else will try to replicate it.

 

[Lightwave395]

Before buying my new Seago 4 man liferaft I saw this but it's still more expensive than I paid for the Seago which came with 18 years warranty

Lalizas Coastal Compact Liferaft - Leisure Raft

 

[lustyd]

I don’t get it, it’s a 4-6 man liferaft at 4-6 man liferaft prices. I assume it’s lighter based on the blurb but no idea why that’s a good thing given how liferafts are usually deployed.
Can someone sum up what I missed? Initially I assumed it was like a 1 man quick deploy thing which would be cool

 

[ylop]

I don’t get it, it’s a 4-6 man liferaft at 4-6 man liferaft prices. I assume it’s lighter based on the blurb but no idea why that’s a good thing given how liferafts are usually deployed.
Can someone sum up what I missed? Initially I assumed it was like a 1 man quick deploy thing which would be cool

It’s either a 4 man or 6 man “raft” (depending on model). But it’s much lighter (11kg v 28kg for a 4 man raft in a canister). And less than 1/2 the packed volume of a valise 4 man life raft.

They seem to be being careful not to call it a liferaft as that would make it a regulated product with a standard this doesn’t meet. But that standard assumes rescue times and conditions I would be very unlikely to face. However clearly to make a smaller, lighter pack size they have had to make compromises - one of the most obvious being the the number of tubes on the raft.

As to why? It’s lighter and smaller - that’s attractive on a small boat. Storage is a premium and physically manhandling even the lightest valise based raft is something smaller or older crew members might not manage.

Ocean safety think it’s compact enough to take home with you, or even to move between multiple boats - I wouldn’t use it like that.

FWIW I agree a 2 man raft would be an interesting idea. I think there are or were some 1 man aviation rafts, and Jon about/ocean safety do make a man overboard product that is effectively a 1 man raft!

 

[lustyd]

Thanks that helps. I kind of think smaller and lighter is useless as a smaller boat would be unlikely to have as many people and a bigger boat doesn’t need smaller and lighter. As always though, more choice is better and if someone wants this then great.
Still want my one man raft, even if it’s not a sensible thing to want today on a trip in Plymouth I noticed warship grey lifeboats on a warship. I’d never thought it through but camouflage lifeboats are melting my brain!!

 

[ylop]

Thanks that helps. I kind of think smaller and lighter is useless as a smaller boat would be unlikely to have as many people and a bigger boat doesn’t need smaller and lighter.

Why is that not an argument for smaller and lighter? Surely if it’s just me I want something I can easily launch single handed? Even if it’s just me and Mrs Y it would be better if either of us could launch the raft which at least involves lifting from storage and over the rail.

As always though, more choice is better and if someone wants this then great.
Still want my one man raft, even if it’s not a sensible thing to want

Here you go: ISPLR Inflatable Single Place Liferaft - Survival Equipment Services SES

today on a trip in Plymouth I noticed warship grey lifeboats on a warship.
I’d never thought it through but camouflage lifeboats are melting my brain!!

if you paint them orange you are more likely to need them! I’ve always assumed that once deployed they had covers or flags to increase visavility when they wanted to be seen?

 

[Graham376]

Before buying my new Seago 4 man liferaft I saw this but it's still more expensive than I paid for the Seago which came with 18 years warranty

Lalizas Coastal Compact Liferaft - Leisure Raft

Seago more expensive in the long term than many life rafts as service intervals are yearly at 12 years onwards plus cost of return to UK for servicing by Seago. Lalizas and many others have world wide servicing.

 

[lustyd]

Why would you return it to the UK they have centres all over the place. Most folk replace well before 12 years.

 

[Graham376]

Why would you return it to the UK they have centres all over the place. Most folk replace well before 12 years.

Would be interested if you could provide a link to approved Seago service agents in EU or worldwide.

A friend with one in Portugal was told no approved service stations in Portugal, Spain or Gib and he would have to return it to the UK for service plus, as it was a few months over the 3 years interval, warranty was invalid.

I doubt most folk replace well before 12 years, I replaced our last raft (Plastimo Offshore) at 20 years although no faults found.

 

[lustyd]

There’s one in Lisbon.
Storefinder - Seago Leisure

Replacing before 12 years makes financial sense as well as ensuring you have a quality raft. Before that age it still has some value so can be sold or traded in.

 

[Graham376]

There’s one in Lisbon.
Storefinder - Seago Leisure

Replacing before 12 years makes financial sense as well as ensuring you have a quality raft. Before that age it still has some value so can be sold or traded in.

Good news thanks, times have changed, I see they do now have overseas agents If we didn't have the Orcas around here, could be tempted to sell our SeaSafe, we only do close to coast these days in reasonably warm waters.

 

[ylop]

Why would you return it to the UK they have centres all over the place. Most folk replace well before 12 years.

What’s the average age a leisure sailor (no coding or racing requirements to carry a raft - or to actually service it) replaces their raft at? Does it vary with brand/model?

 

[lustyd]

I think that’s a different question. I’m sure many keep them for decades unserviced and potentially useless. I think if you need a raft then it should be serviced as if you are coded, which makes what the majority do less useful.
The question i was answering was what’s the cheapest way to keep a fully serviced life raft, and that usually involves keeping it relatively new. Several old threads on the economics of it, including rental discussions.

 

[ylop]

I think that’s a different question. I’m sure many keep them for decades unserviced and potentially useless. I think if you need a raft then it should be serviced as if you are coded, which makes what the majority do less useful.

Of course what none of us really know is what % of rafts which are overdue a service are “useless” and what % of rafts are being serviced to make the raft companies richer!

The question i was answering was what’s the cheapest way to keep a fully serviced life raft, and that usually involves keeping it relatively new.

You are very confident that most people don’t do it - the best economic solution might not always be what people do (for various reasons). If almost nobody was servicing old rafts I wonder why they even market them with that sort of shelf life?

Several old threads on the economics of it, including rental discussions.

Yeah I’ve spoken to a few people about rental - but the message is clear - not cheap(er) if you want it for whole seasons. If you need if for a particular race or a particular crossing then rent - but if you need it for 6 months a year for three years you’ll have bought a raft.

 

[seeSimon]

Thanks that helps. I kind of think smaller and lighter is useless as a smaller boat would be unlikely to have as many people and a bigger boat doesn’t need smaller and lighter. As always though, more choice is better and if someone wants this then great.
Still want my one man raft, even if it’s not a sensible thing to want today on a trip in Plymouth I noticed warship grey lifeboats on a warship. I’d never thought it through but camouflage lifeboats are melting my brain!!

" Camo"...Be careful when buying your one man raft...they do those in camo and non camo versions too.
Many people using one might not want to be "rescued" by the nearest locals!
The friendlies will know where they are...hopefully.
Similar thing might apply to warship lifeboats too...and they most certainly do not want a large orange thing attached to their camo grey topsides.