Liferaft buy or hire

[AndCur]

Folks

I have been thinking about getting a raft. I seen EV 4 man liferafts for £519 which is cheap. But should i rent instead? My sailing area is Irish sea,Clyde and Isle of man waters the longest we ever do in one go is about 50miles or 10hrs and this is from N Ireland to the Clyde and the boat is afloat from April to Sept each year. Storage could also be a problem as there is not alot of spare space onboard. Another thought was just get an EPIRB instead. What are your thoughs and suggestions.

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[Robin]

Rented or bought you will still have to find space to stow it. Feel the weight, then if like me you think your weakest crew couldn't lift it up from below and launch it over the guardrails find somewhere to stow it on deck. We have ours in a S/S cradle on the pushpit but we have a biggish boat, that might not be so easy on a smaller one.

Renting is pricey. 6 months is almost the same as 12 months, so then you look at renting for your main cruise only, but allow for delivery/return time as well. But what happens if you have a problem on a regular weekend, a fire on board say?

We bought ours, got together with a clubmate and did a deal with our local chandler on a Plastimo raft, one which our local service guy can handle.

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[Nich39Nige]

Andy,

I have been renting a liferaft for the past two years but bought one at the LIBS last Sunday (some good deals there at the moment). The cost of hiring for one year was approximately 1/3 of the cost of buying my own. The service for my new raft is about 150 quid every three years so for me buying was the only cost effective option. I tend to sail for about nine months of the year.
Save your pennies and buy one. Hopefully it will be a complete waste of money because if I'm using it I've lost my boat!

Nigel

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[andyorr]

I'm in the same position. I'll be doing a lot more next season including our first channel crossing. My wife says she wont go unless we have a liferaft. My question is: Is it OK to buy cheap (EV etc) or would second hand (serviced obviously) be better? My wife reckons for such a (possibly) essential piece of kit we should buy new and mid priced e.g. Plastimo or XM for around £900. How can you work out what to pay for something you hope you never use? I suppose its a question of how safety conscious you are.

However, in answer to 1st question - a light valise raft hung on the pushpit on each outing would do.

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[Talon]

Another cost to consider if you own one is I think they have to be serviced once per year, not sure how much that is.

Personally I do not have one as most of my boating is around the Solent, however if I was going to go on a long trip I would hire one.

<hr width=100% size=1>Alex

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mad-als.com>http://www.mad-als.com</A>

 

[Rich_F]

We're going through a similar process at the moment. My first thought is that I'd rather have a GPS EPIRB than a liferaft, especially when most of our sailing is within range of a rescue helicopter. However, deciding whether to have a liferaft once you have the EPIRB is more tricky, because you can start making the assumption that, thanks to the EPIRB, you won't have to wait too long for rescue.

This means that you can consider alternatives to the liferaft, such as keeping a partially inflated dinghy, or installing flotation bags to stop the yacht from sinking if the hull is breached.

Also, I suspect that the most likely reason to abandon ship is engine fire. So double check all your wiring (and ensure that it is fused right back to the battery), and fit an automatic fire extinguisher in the engine compartment.

Having said all this, we'll probably end up buying a liferaft, for peace of mind!

Rich

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[discovery2]

One advantage of buying is that you always have the liferaft on board and it is always ready if needed. Even in Summer, the weather and sea can be very cold and the more protection that can be afforded the better. Unless there are always other vessels close by that could offer assistance, helicopters and lifeboats don't arrive instantly! The knowledge that a liferaft is always available is a great comfort!

An inflatable dinghy is a possible substitute, but is it always readily available, and fully inflated? A half inflated dinghy has only half the buoyancy and (presumably) half the capacity! What about protection from the elements? Can it accommodate the number of people on board? Can everyone be accommodated sitting IN the dinghy, as opposed to sitting on the tubes?

Hiring for extended cruising or holidays is a possible, but is there any evidence to suggest that a boat is more vunerable on these passages, or a passage more 'hazardous', than a short hop around the coast? (It is akin to comparing the validity of seat belts for long motorway driving (touring) compared with journeys close to home)!

Servicing on many rafts is now at three year intervals, and although not cheap, the peace of mind is very comforting when making passage on your own and something serious happens. Holing through striking a submerged object, a collision, or fire in the galley, could all require rapid evacuation!

For me, the reassurance of having a life raft on board is very comforting - even though it is an expensive item that I hope I will never have to use!

David

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[Rich_F]

David,

All very true. You mentioned a couple of times the word "comforting", and I think that that is an important point. Sailing is inherently risky (though not very), and the best way to avoid death at sea is to stay at home. Given that you do take to the water, the important thing is to actively consider safety, and ensure that you and your crew are comfortable with whatever approach you decide to take.

Rich

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[Talbot]

For my £900 I have a secondhand top spec avon freshly serviced 8 man in a canister with full ocean extra pack and a double floor and with at least another 10-15 years of life. It is still within the avon guarantee period. Have a really good look at the difference in quality as you move up the cost. I would not consider even getting into one of the cheapies that are for sale, I reckon my zodiac would be safer! IMHO buying a liferaft without a double floor is nothing short of stupid even for a cross chanel hop. If sh*t happens , you are certain to be wet before you get into the liferaft, and without a double floor, hypothermia will set in very quickly.

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[Miker]

Your sailing area is the same as mine except that I am out of Fleetwood. I bought a liferaft for peace of mind and to convince my crew and wife, who still has not forgiven me for buying the boat, that I would be as safe as possible. Last year just off Barrow I spied a large floating object which I might have hit had it been dark. Like a good boy scout, it's best to be prepared.

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[mldpt]

I use my boat comercially so have to have a six man raft, and it has to be serviced each year. As I had a lot of expence getting my boat ready for the MCA coding I decided to rent and for me this seems to be the best way. for £400 I get a top of the range life raft for 12 months its serviced each winter which would cost £150 if I owned it so I think that £250 well worth it and if it ever needs replacing then thats the hire company problem, Mine is in a canister and attached to the deck.
Mike

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[StephenW]

"Another thought was just get an EPIRB instead. What are your thoughs and suggestions. "

A couple of years ago I had the same questions in equipping a boat. Really depends on your mindset...have no safety equipment and expect "being careful" to keep you out of trouble or invest in equipment as insurance for peace of mind and potential protection.

Do you like to have the right tools for a job? This is a personal view, but (notwithstanding cost) to consider a liferaft or EPIRB is a bit like deciding on whether to have brakes or seatbelts on a car.

We bought an EV and having asked around about the brand, strengths/shortcomings etc decided it was a good investment for relatively small outlay. Can also be repaired at sea without complication (unlike the Plastimo - double skin - how do you repair the airtight inner chamber at sea?).This smaller outlay enabled the purchase of an EPIRB as well. You can get a good EPIRB from Sartech and would get Both would cost maybe £900 or less.

Seems to me the sort of sailing you are doing in company you could potentially be pretty well offshore and out of VHF range, therefore to have a means of (a)alerting coastguard to an onboard emergency (EPIRB) and (b) safely abandoning ship (liferaft) seem comforting to say the least.



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[Robin]

Ours needs servicing every 3 years only so averages at £50pa on an initial cost of £750, so say a total of £1200 over 10 years = £120pa. No wonder they like renting them out! I think though if you are coded you may have to have an annual service for some reason.

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[JaeJ]

I do tend to think that in the grand scheme of things folks are willing to spend thousands on their boats buying and maintaining them, but compromise when it comes to safety.
Obviously more expensive rafts are going to be using better quality materials, but all new rafts must comply with safety legislation.
I would not buy second hand rafts as you cannot be sure of their history.
Hired rafts are the responsibility of the hire company, so must be top notch as the potential for litigation would be enormous.

To buy or hire ........ does rather depend upon finances, but if you can afford it, buy the best quality you can, but don't necessarily think that you are going to get the best deal from the large chandlers.

<hr width=100% size=1>Don't compromise.... do it safely
www.j-marine.co.uk

 

[charles_reed]

Defintely

Get the EPIRB. Average USCG rescue times have come down from just over 8 days pre-Epirb to just over 8 hours post Epirb.

Cheap inshore lifereafts aren't worth the space thay occupy and a good offshore one with double floor will cost you about twice the price you quote.

As you're sailing pretty well-covered (from SAR point-of-view) waters I'd suggest hiring for the holiday period and not bothering the rest of the time.

The rub is not in purchasing the raft - after the 3rd year you have to get it checked and certificated, which will cost you about the purchase price of the raft after the 1st 3 inspections.
In France, with a French-registered Cat 1 & 2 boats, you have to carry a raft and this has to have an annually certificated inspection. This is where the supply of cheap and cheerful liferafts is coming from.

Personally, having once had to use a liferaft in anger, I am resolved to never again get into one - death is infinitely preferable by drowning than by seasickness.

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[BrendanS]

Re: Defintely

Charles,

>>Personally, having once had to use a liferaft in anger, I am resolved to never again get into one - death is infinitely preferable by drowning than by seasickness.<<

a story worth telling if you haven't told it before?

<hr width=100% size=1>There is no such thing as "fun for the whole family."