Life Raft Service

[DAKA]

Does anyone bother to have their life Raft serviced and what is the cost ?

I bought a new 4 man Seago canister may 2004, it has been stored inside and when underway kept in the dry cockpit, I feel it is as new.

Technically due for a service at the start of next season

My options

Ignore it for another year or two. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Sell it now cheap and then buy a new one. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Service it myself (weigh the air bottle,put new flares in and 'check' the old ones on Guy Fawkes night) /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Or go to the hassle of finding someone who claims they service them and never know if it has been done properly or not anyway /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[mjkinch1]

I had my 8-10 man serviced last year, cost 400Euros which was a bit of a shock, but it was done through the Plastimo main dealer and all neatly packed and paperwork updated.

I think its valid for another 2 years now

Never really know how much these things are worth until you need them, but if you have one, it makes sense to keep it serviced I guess

 

[nicho]

I've got a 4 man Zodiac that is due for it's first (3 year) service - I have been quoted £250 for the job (which seems par for the course). It cost £1400 when new, quite expensive compared to some, but didn't want to scrimp on safety, so £250 is not too bad I suppose. I'll leave it until next Spring now..

 

[Talulah]

Assuming you are outside of coding requirements etc and assuming you don't have crew who may sue you if the liferaft fails I would suggest it depends upon what type of sailing you do and where your financial priorities are. i.e If I was doing the ARC I would probably want a liferaft with everything in date. However, if I only pottered around in the Solent the liferaft would be a very low priority. Even though the flares may be out of date they are still going to work for a number of years afterwards and water rations etc wouldn't be an issue.

 

[Endeavourquay]

Rough Idea from the different servicers that we have used, £250-£350, depending on which pack you have fitted, ie offshore, coastal.... And they tell me that they throw all the contents away and start from new, so the fact that its been well looked after, kept dry etc. will not decrease the price.

I believe the prices will go up after Decembers implementation of new codes, so worth finding out for sure. There are hundreds of places that do the servicing, so word of mouth is probably the best way to find one, or ask at a chandlery, they get to hear all about the different companies .

 

[mjkinch1]

Interesting debate really - If you purchased a new car and the warranty relied on a correct servicing programme, then you would get it done on time and at the main dealer just in case. Doesnt matter if you drive to the school or back or do 25,000 miles a year - you want everything covered.

Assuming the average liferaft is £££££ then if you have it, wouldnt you want the same rules to apply - ie it has a greater chance of functioning if correctly serviced and maintained.

Odds are when you need it, it is likely to be the worst possible conditions, sods law.

 

[nedmin]

There is a company, cannot remember name details on boat, just under the flyover at Grimsby, they do RNLI work,,Did my lifejackets and very good to deal with.Prob. see you at AGM and give details then.

 

[Talulah]

Not sure I agree. I have bought goods under warranty without meeting the servicing requirements. Outboard would be a case in point. Warranty was for five years but cost of five years of servicing would buy a new one anyway. Hence didn't bother with any servicing whatsoever.
In the liferaft case it's not about warranty. It's about whether or not there is anything to be gained in having it serviced. For most people I suspect there is no advantage to keeping within the service intervals and if it were only me I would probably only get the liefraft serviced every five years. However, on an opposite note the coding regs require an annual service even if the manufactures service interval is 3 years. So where is the sense in that?

I can feel a debate on flares about to start up!

 

[DAKA]

Thats a brilliant idea, I hadn't thought of taking it up north for a service that doesn't cost an arm and a leg /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Do you know the date of the agm please ?

Cheers

Pete

 

[Talulah]

Just a note about cost. I have had two liferafts serviced this year. Both by Viking in the Hanble.
The first only required new batteries and the cost was £120.
The second required a full 3 year service where flares are replaced etc and cost £250.