Gary Fox
N/A
I agree it's pricey. But, 'a recipe for disaster'..removing a cap? Really?
Life raft advice
- Thread starter masterofnone
- Start date
pvb
Well-Known Member
Yes, I believe it is. If you fell in the water and a crew member hurled the raft after you in a panic, forgetting to remove the cap first, what would be the outcome?
Gary Fox
N/A
There are plenty of things to remember in emergency situations, eg what about tying on the liferaft painter?
Flares have caps, people don't find it a problem.
Your imaginary scenario isn't caused by the cap needing removal, it is caused by hurling things about in a panic.
Risk of panic is another, very interesting, issue entirely.
I don't think the cap is a problem, and I am thinking of my yacht and likely crew, not every potential customer.
If the 2-man raft is about half the size of a 4-man, then it would be the difference, on my yacht, between:
1) carrying no liferaft, or
2) carrying a liferaft, which had a cap which needed removing before inflation.
pvb
Well-Known Member
Painters are generally permanently attached.
Gary Fox
N/A
I thought lots of people kept liferafts below or in lockers?
pvb
Well-Known Member
Yes, mine's in a cockpit locker, with the painter already tied to an eyebolt inside the locker.
If you want a very small, very light liferaft, look at the Aero Compact model. It's 14" x 9" x 5" and weighs only 6kg. And it has a painter! The raft is described as a 4-man, but it's really quite small.
AERO COMPACT 4 MAN LIFERAFT | liferaft | aviation liferaft
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
Look at the service interval to add to the cost if one wishes to maintain the limited warranty.
Extremely expensive for a unit with a single tube & not SOLAS rated, nor with insulated floor
Not the sort of thing one would want to be in for long.
That being said I was told that the average time for someone in the north sea & channel would be about 45 mins.
I am not sure if that is survival time or typical rescue time. Perhaps someone who has done the sea survival course could comment
I do not think size is an issue as stability is important. However, the floor needs to be strong enough to withstand 4 pairs of feet pressing on a single point.
Gary Fox
N/A
Sounds interesting, I will have a look.
pvb
Well-Known Member
There's not a lot of choice in ultra-small, ultra-light liferafts.
Kelpie
Well-Known Member
Any average survival time need to be surrounded by caveats. There are three distinct ways you might die, each at a different time:
- the gasp reflex upon hitting the water. Swallow a good lungful and you'll be gone in under a minute.
- cold water shock. If you have a heart condition, you might not get through the stage of hyperventilating and massively elevated heart rate. This might occur after one or two minutes.
- hypothermia. Depends on the size and body type of the victim, and what they are wearing. This may be where the 45 minutes comes from, but people can last a fair bit longer, it's a gradual process.
Further complicating the above is the risk of actually drowning through inability to swim. If you have no life jacket or other buoyancy available, this will happen much faster, especially as hypothermia sets in and you lose the ability to use your body effectively.
Cheery stuff, innit.
Ningaloo
Well-Known Member
I concur with everything Kelpie says. None of us want to put this to the test. However 45 minutes would surely refer to survival times rather than rescue times?
The two lasting memories I have from the sea survival course were:
1) The rapid loss of mobility encountered by ex-Olympic swimmers (Duncan Goodhew and Sharon Davies from memory) in cold water. After 10 minutes they could not keep afloat unaided.
2) The difficulty that my fellow club members had in getting into the liferaft from the water. Think of generally unfit 60+ age group. Definitely NOT women and children first. You want the strongest, fittest person in the raft first as they will need to assist the less capable.
In Australia you need to take the sea survival every 5 years in order to participate in offshore events (races/rallies). Give that it may be 20 years since I did it, is a refresher due?
I am commissioning a new 14m boat, so I believe that a liferaft is mandatory (and I would have one even if not). Plan to cruise from UK to Med, but possibly further (Caribbean?). Trying to decide between 4 or 6 man valise (I have never sailed offshore with more than 4) and also should I go for ISO 9650-1 (Seago SeaMaster) or ISO 9650-2 (Seago Sea Cruiser). I can see very little difference in the specification of these two rafts other than the SeaMaster has a lower temperature (-15C vs 0C) for guaranteed firing, and has a boarding "platform" in addition to a ladder. World Cruising Club do not accept ISO 9650-2 for the ARC and other rallies. Given my earlier comments and that I have reached the 60+ age group myself, perhaps the SeaMaster makes sense, but it is 30% more money. Any thoughts?
The two lasting memories I have from the sea survival course were:
1) The rapid loss of mobility encountered by ex-Olympic swimmers (Duncan Goodhew and Sharon Davies from memory) in cold water. After 10 minutes they could not keep afloat unaided.
2) The difficulty that my fellow club members had in getting into the liferaft from the water. Think of generally unfit 60+ age group. Definitely NOT women and children first. You want the strongest, fittest person in the raft first as they will need to assist the less capable.
In Australia you need to take the sea survival every 5 years in order to participate in offshore events (races/rallies). Give that it may be 20 years since I did it, is a refresher due?
I am commissioning a new 14m boat, so I believe that a liferaft is mandatory (and I would have one even if not). Plan to cruise from UK to Med, but possibly further (Caribbean?). Trying to decide between 4 or 6 man valise (I have never sailed offshore with more than 4) and also should I go for ISO 9650-1 (Seago SeaMaster) or ISO 9650-2 (Seago Sea Cruiser). I can see very little difference in the specification of these two rafts other than the SeaMaster has a lower temperature (-15C vs 0C) for guaranteed firing, and has a boarding "platform" in addition to a ladder. World Cruising Club do not accept ISO 9650-2 for the ARC and other rallies. Given my earlier comments and that I have reached the 60+ age group myself, perhaps the SeaMaster makes sense, but it is 30% more money. Any thoughts?
alex23299
Member
Question: I have a Seago 6-man valise and it's due now for its third 3-year service (which will cost minimum £330, if they find nothing wrong). Plus shipping. I should get a new one, right?
alex23299
Member
And which would you buy, for offshore?
Ningaloo
Well-Known Member
Similar to my question in #31.
But if it is only due for the 3rd service, you should get another 3 years and still be within the 12 year warranty period.
masterofnone
Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the replies. I'll have a look at the rental situation.
Daydream believer
Well-Known Member
for the first 15 years it should be 3 year intervals( unless charter) & is therefore, economical to service. After that they are 1 year & not really economical. My last liferaftwas 15 years old but had a certificate for the air bottle which had another 4 years. Ocean stated 1 year intervals for the service. I sold the LR on ebay for £120-00. Presumably with 4 years on the bottle the buyer was happy to service himself, which seems reasonable