Liferaft Requirements for 55 ft Motorboat

[admillington]

Just had the annual liferaft service again at just short of £400 inc VAT. Have I got the wrong liferaft for the boat that it needs such an expensive service annually. It is an ISAF 4 man valise.

No Trans-Altantic crossings planned - maybe Dartmouth this year!

Thanks in advance.

Andrew

 

[Elessar]

Just had the annual liferaft service again at just short of £400 inc VAT. Have I got the wrong liferaft for the boat that it needs such an expensive service annually. It is an ISAF 4 man valise.

No Trans-Altantic crossings planned - maybe Dartmouth this year!

Thanks in advance.

Andrew

I think the cannister ones are 3 year intervals

 

[Nick_H]

Just had the annual liferaft service again at just short of £400 inc VAT. Have I got the wrong liferaft for the boat that it needs such an expensive service annually. It is an ISAF 4 man valise.

No Trans-Altantic crossings planned - maybe Dartmouth this year!

Thanks in advance.

Andrew

I assume you don't charter the boat, as a 4 man wouldn't be anywhere near enough capacity for a 55 foot charter boat. Therefore, of course, its up to you how often you service the raft, and if a cannister raft stored externally only needs servicing avery 3 years, can you think of any good reason why a valise raft kept in a dry cabin would need doing every year? I can't.

 

[ukmctc]

Just had the annual liferaft service again at just short of £400 inc VAT. Have I got the wrong liferaft for the boat that it needs such an expensive service annually. It is an ISAF 4 man valise.

No Trans-Altantic crossings planned - maybe Dartmouth this year!

Thanks in advance.

Andrew

£400! every year! no thats not right, every 3-4 years only. The contents flares, water, food etc last 3 years minimum, it should cost you £150 with nothing being added every 3 years, no idea why yours is so dear.
Mine is a six man canister RORC, 4 years service with all contents replaced £250 max.

 

[admillington]

It was 3 years when I purchased it in 2005 but now every year. I purchased this raft on the recommendation of Peters PLC as I had purchased a 50ft boat and it was the regulations. The boat is not chartered.

 

[sailorman]

It was 3 years when I purchased it in 2005 but now every year. I purchased this raft on the recommendation of Peters PLC as I had purchased a 50ft boat and it was the regulations. The boat is not chartered.

Does that have a "Rip-off" cord

 

[admillington]

Yes. Feeling a bit foolish.

 

[Bandit]

A four man raft seems a little small for a 55 footer, perhaps you only go boating with three other people.

If not I would not like to be the one who says , you get in , you get in, You get in , I get in but you two swim for it.

I have a Plastimo 12 man on a 48 footer although I rarely have more than 8 on board.

Plastimo are 3 year servicing and I think for a Canister they are first service at 5 years but I cant find that on the Plastimo website.

I have seen them inflated and I was impressed with the construction, they are also vacuum packed and sealed in a plastic bag.

They also have 12 year warranty and i believe if your boat sinks and you use it they give you a new one.

 

[jfm]

Some canister jobs are 1st service at 3 years then every year, but several new ones are "hermetically sealed" and are serviced every three years. That's if you follow the book or are coded; if private you can do what you want

Valise rafts have to be serviced annually if coded, otherwise do as you want and I would only do every 3 years on a private boat

I dont know of any laws or regulations other than coding rules, so I don't know what Peters were on about. It wouldn't surprise me at all for Peters to get something wrong (one of my boats came from them; never again, even before they started losing your money)

4 person sounds very small to me on a Sq55. I'd want 2x4 or 1x8 or maybe 6+4.Choice might be based on ease of storage; I thought the upper helm seat box would take an Ocean Safety 8 man canister job though?

 

[admillington]

Thanks everyone. I will go and buy a new life raft now as I take the point that sometimes there is more than just the wife and kids on board.

 

[Momac]

Does the folllowing refer to the ''regulations'' ?
http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectio...and Safety/13.7m regs Class XII Exemption.pdf

Could have no liferaft at all if not travelling far from shore.
But more than 3 miles from coast the life raft capacity should be sufficient for the number of persons aboard (which is not necessarily the same as the number of people the boat can carry). The capacity of a dinghy counts as liferaft capacity.

Is that correct?

 

[grumpy_o_g]

Beware of over-sizing too. The RNLI assured me that too big a life-raft could cause problems with stability and, if it's cold (i.e. anywhere in UK waters), then snuggling up together will help you keep warm. I've been told (not by the RNLI this time) that you can usually get at least one extra into a life-raft if you absolutely have to. I have no idea if that's true though.

 

[Hurricane]

I think it was wiggo who recently pointed out that when they pack liferafts, they often use consumables with a shelf life of 5 years. Which means that you have to change them every time because the consumables would be out of date during the next three years.

Just an observation.

 

[Shorn100]

Class XII vessel

The owner is correct. Since his vessel is over 13.7m in length it is a requirement under the Merchant Shipping regulations for it to carry and regularly service certain lifesaving equipment and fire fighting equipment. The BMF and RYA agreed exceptions to the regulations for pleasure craft back in the mid Naughties, which are referred to as Class XII.

See here http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectio...and Safety/13.7m regs Class XII Exemption.pdf

£400 does seem a bit steep for an annual service. However, it depends on what had to be replaced - as we know flares, for example, are not cheap. Commercial flares have a life of three years, leisure flares are usually allowed 4 years. But remember that's from the date of manufacture not the date they were packed in to the liferaft.

Most modern rafts can be serviced at three yearly intervals so long as they are vacuum-bagged after each service. Well-treated rafts should have a life of about 12 years.

Shorn

 

[boatmike]

Thanks everyone. I will go and buy a new life raft now as I take the point that sometimes there is more than just the wife and kids on board.

Yes but don't miss that an under occupied large raft is not as stable as one with the specified number of people in. The people act as ballast to keep the raft up the right way. Also a 4 man is for 4 large adults. all depends on the size of your "kids"

 

[Nick_H]

The owner is correct. Since his vessel is over 13.7m in length it is a requirement under the Merchant Shipping regulations for it to carry and regularly service certain lifesaving equipment and fire fighting equipment. The BMF and RYA agreed exceptions to the regulations for pleasure craft back in the mid Naughties, which are referred to as Class XII.

See here http://www.rya.org.uk/SiteCollectio...and Safety/13.7m regs Class XII Exemption.pdf

£400 does seem a bit steep for an annual service. However, it depends on what had to be replaced - as we know flares, for example, are not cheap. Commercial flares have a life of three years, leisure flares are usually allowed 4 years. But remember that's from the date of manufacture not the date they were packed in to the liferaft.

Most modern rafts can be serviced at three yearly intervals so long as they are vacuum-bagged after each service. Well-treated rafts should have a life of about 12 years.

Shorn

For part 1 vessels, the 13.7m is loadline length, and I guess the Squaddie is borderline on this, although I think the hull continues under the swim platform, so could well be over.

 

[Locki]

Which one did you get for the SQ55 in the end? My SQ55 is at Essex Marina right now for its first service (Tinkerbell), and I'm then moving it down to Swanwick for next year... I thought I'd get a hermetically sealed canister on a hydrostatic release on the bathing platform, but I have no idea which manufacturer or model is best!

I need to call Nick Barke ASAP as it'll be ready on the 23rd... Thanks!

 

[admillington]

Which one did you get for the SQ55 in the end? My SQ55 is at Essex Marina right now for its first service (Tinkerbell), and I'm then moving it down to Swanwick for next year... I thought I'd get a hermetically sealed canister on a hydrostatic release on the bathing platform, but I have no idea which manufacturer or model is best!

I need to call Nick Barke ASAP as it'll be ready on the 23rd... Thanks!

I didn't as I have changed the SQ55 to a SQ58 - I need to sort out a new liferaft when I can see where is can fit. I saw your SQ55 when I was at Essex a couple of weeks ago.

Are you going to have a tender on the bathing platform as a tender and the liftraft will be a bit tight. The Seago seems to get a good write up.

-Andrew

 

[penfold]

Beware of over-sizing too. The RNLI assured me that too big a life-raft could cause problems with stability and, if it's cold (i.e. anywhere in UK waters), then snuggling up together will help you keep warm. I've been told (not by the RNLI this time) that you can usually get at least one extra into a life-raft if you absolutely have to. I have no idea if that's true though.

It is true; from experience it's easier righting a small upturned raft than a large one, so a pair of 6 man rafts might be a better bet than one 12 man raft.

 

[PilotWolf]

You might find in the long run that renting one is cheaper.

Try Survitec (used to be Cosalt) or ADEC for example.

W.