Life jackets

[FrancisRutter]

Have just been checking mylife jackets as the good book [good mag?] said. Four were fine, but on the fifth the oral inflation tube had come away from the material where it was presumably originally glued on. The effect of this was that any air in the jacket immediately came out again. Thank goodness I had checked and not found out in extremis.

 

[christopherc]

How old are they?? I'm heading down to the boat tomorrow and this check was on the list.

 

[blackbeard]

I'll add my voice to the good book / good mag etc:
Last year I checked my 5 lifejackets and found one expensive one had chafed through the outer cover and inner bladder, through normal wear over 3 fairly active years; the area concerned was small and easily overlooked. Hence slow leak. Now firmly "retired." Another was showing signs of wear but less seriously, and still held air (in fact it's been inflated for the last fortnight!); the area of chafe has been spinnaker-taped to prevent further wear. (I would not attempt to repair a leak.)
Not very impressed by this design feature which I suspect is not peculiar to any one make.
On the other hand I have a well-used lifejacket now well over 10 years old which regularly passes this test and appears perfectly OK in all respects.
Moral: check regularly.

 

[FrancisRutter]

I think that this partiular life jacket was about 8 years old. I have a note that I checked it in 2000 and again in 2003.