Lifejackets - manual or auto

[richardaust]

What to sailors usually go for? What would be best for offshore e.g Biscay etc? On-line stores seem to promote auto but most charter boats seem to have manual.
If I want to buy new I'd be interested in your views.

 

[RestlessL]

Mine are auto - but I do keep one manual one on board in case I, or a crew member, needs to enter the water for any reason (e.g. to assist an unconcious MOB). The manual one is red, all the others are blue.

 

[TigaWave]

Charter boats have manual as they are cheaper, and they don't have the problems of re arming the occasional accidental inflation.

I have heard that the tablet type autos are more reliable at going off than the hammer action which I bought, they are easier to re arm.

On my recent research the aladins cave own make auto were by far the best with integral harness and leg straps as well as hood, the protective cover is zipped and they come in a sturdy re usable bag. The velcro closed ones that I have (crewsaver auto hammer) after a couple of seasons keep opening up and risk getting the inflatable bit damaged.

Auto essential you may be semi conscious.
Hood essential in rough weather they allow you to breath easily (apparently)
Leg loops and harness desirable.

 

[flaming]

[ QUOTE ]
On-line stores seem to promote auto but most charter boats seem to have manual.


[/ QUOTE ]

Because they are all that is required by the MCA, are cheaper and less likely to be fired by accident. And when fired are cheaper to rearm.

When I sail charter boats as a skipper I bring my own fully auto jacket, as if I go over the side it's even more serious than one of the guests going over and probably more likely to be the result of a head injury than anything else.

 

[richardaust]

My slight concern with the normal UML tablet type is that they might go off accidentally - e.g. big wave crashing from astern. Would Hammar be better in these cases?

 

[Malcb]

My own is a Hammar, but on a RIB safety boat I wear a bouyancy aid, as I've seen Hammar ones go off when the wearer didn't want them to, like when entering the water to recover a RIB to the trailer. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

The other lifejackets on board my boat are all are manual.

I work on the assumption that if I go over, especially as I sail mostly single handed, I may be incapable of operating one, so I want a fully automatic

 

[MarkGrubb]

As Tigawave points out, leg loops or thigh/crotch straps are desirable. It's not essential to buy a lifejacket with them fitted, but if they aren't there it is essential to fit some I use a sail tie lashed to the front, then between my legs and tied at the back.

Lifejackets are designed to keep your nose and mouth a minimum distance above the water. Without a thigh strap they tend to rise up around the ears (or you slip down through the harness, depending which way you want to look at it), which brings your nose and mouth closer to the water. This has been commented on in MCA safety reports. It also makes it very difficult to turn your head.

I found all this out on the sea survival course, when I jumped in the swimming pool without using a crotch strap. Very educational.

They may also help when you are lifted out of the water, but that's not the main reason for having a crotch strap. Its there to keep the jacket down and hence your head high up out of the water.

 

[narooma]

A couple of reasons for auto..
The boom knocks you unconsious before you fall overboard.

You fall overboard and have difficulty finding the pull cord, and due to the sea state and your bulky clothing you keep going under.

And one not to buy.. if you put it down and it is wet it could inflate all on its own ( been there ..done that)

 

[Norman_E]

Slightly off topic but a friend recently modified my harness which I use when I go up the mast by fitting it with two crotch straps. Much more comfortable than one. It has got me thinking that double crotch straps on the lifejackets might also be an advantage in comfort terms.

 

[richardaust]

Thanks for your help. Looks like auto for sure. Would rather not go off accidentally so maybe Hammar or Halkey-Roberts

 

[Topcat47]

Ever seen a dinghy full of bown up lifejackets? I did in Yarmouth last year.....You should have seen the faces of the crew when they returned to find them tetering on the edge of the pontoon.

 

[Amulet]

If you are liable to be trapped under a boat (cat or RIB say) then manual, otherwise auto. It's damned expensive to rearm Hammar by comparison with, say, UML: for doubtful advantage. Remember you have to rearm them every few years even if you never fire them.

 

[mcframe]

[ QUOTE ]
Mine are auto - but I do keep one manual one on board in case I, or a crew member, needs to enter the water for any reason (e.g. to assist an unconcious MOB). The manual one is red, all the others are blue.

[/ QUOTE ]

Spot on - I wear a red manual one for rowing the kids in the tender, sailing round Chi etc, but a blue auto (light, hood) when further afield or racing on other people's boats.

After a JOG night crossing as bowman, I keep a day/night flare in a belt pocket of the auto one...