Liferaft service cost?

[oldmanofthehills]

The Turkish earthquake disaster shows that people can survive a long time in the cold with no hydration.

The Fastnet disaster shows a grimmer picture. Mostly those that abandoned their boats, died. The poor Turks did not have to contend with seasickness to dehydrate them and were dry. Heat loss thus hypothermia is much much greater when wet. Death likely within an hour if immersed in British coastal waters in most seasons, and a half filled liferaft not much better. Obviously if one can get in immersion suit its all much better, but realistically if one has time for that then the leak is such that maybe one can actually do something to prevent liferaft being needed or at least be better equiped with for long term survival.

 

[coopec]

I seem to recall that the average time for victims in a LR in UK waters prior to rescue is 45 minutes. Personally I would be so sea sick by then, I would have probably drowned myself on purpose

Yes I wondered about hypothermia. In the UK (Europe?) it is law to have a LR if your yacht is over 13.7m(?) but in Australia it is not a requirement. (I've got one because I don't like the thought of being in the water and seeing a dorsal fin heading straight for me)

Two matters that no one seems to have raised:

• Rental/Leasing of LR. I suppose if you were going on a 3 month cruise to the tropical Solomon Island then to hire a LR for the duration of the cruise makes sense. But in the UK you wold need a LR at all time because of the risk of hypothermia. Life Raft Rental Weekly
• Servicing requirements for tropical climates.

Can a Plastimo liferaft accept a 3-year servicing interval?
Yes, our liferaft structure is designed to accept a 3-year servicing interval. However, this is subject to national regulations that may exist. In addition, we recommend a yearly servicing if your liferaft is used on a professional vessel or stored/used in tropical climate areas (South America, Central America, West Indies, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, California, South Africa, Seychelles Islands, Reunion Island, Australia, New Zealand, South-Eastern Asia).

In the absence of a national regulation on the frequency of servicing, your Plastimo liferaft must be serviced at 3-year intervals (for boats cruising in Europe)

 

[Refueler]

My year st Plymouth Merchant Navy College was one of the last to actually do full LR survival drill at sea .... it was end of winter with spring round the corner ...
College staff on Tectona had towed the ex Ships LR out past Plymouth breakwater ... and then called us up on deck. We had been told to only wear #8 working gear ... basically blue denim style top and trousers ...
We donned the BoT lifejackets and then we had to jump overboard and then board the LR.

It seemed like an eternity in it ... in fact 1 hour. But staff had made a serious error - forgotten to give us the pump to inflate the floor. Floor was all 'floppy' and so cold as it didn't insulate. We all huddled in there shouting at the staff who were circling on Tectona - the college yacht.
The staff afterwards said they just thought we were shouting abuse as others did ... not realising we had no pump.

Myself and a couple of others were suffering hypothermia by time they hauled us on board .....

I will never forget the ordeal and I vowed that if I ever was on a ship and had to abandon - I would make sure I was in a proper lifeboat ..... The motion of a LR is totally sickening ....

Some years later when MN required us to have Survival Training Certificates - I filed application stating that I had completed Plymouth Course .... but it was rejected as College had not stated individual names of who attended. They only listed as per Class.

I can say without reservation - the swimming pool course bears absolutely zero relation to being out there at sea ...

 

[westernman]

Yes I wondered about hypothermia. In the UK (Europe?) it is law to have a LR if your yacht is over 13.7m(?) but in Australia it is not a requirement. (I've got one because I don't like the thought of being in the water and seeing a dorsal fin heading straight for me)

Two matters that no one seems to have raised:

• Rental/Leasing of LR. I suppose if you were going on a 3 month cruise to the tropical Solomon Island then to hire a LR for the duration of the cruise makes sense. But in the UK you wold need a LR at all time because of the risk of hypothermia. Life Raft Rental Weekly
• Servicing requirements for tropical climates.

Can a Plastimo liferaft accept a 3-year servicing interval?
Yes, our liferaft structure is designed to accept a 3-year servicing interval. However, this is subject to national regulations that may exist. In addition, we recommend a yearly servicing if your liferaft is used on a professional vessel or stored/used in tropical climate areas (South America, Central America, West Indies, Florida, Texas, Louisiana, California, South Africa, Seychelles Islands, Reunion Island, Australia, New Zealand, South-Eastern Asia).

In the absence of a national regulation on the frequency of servicing, your Plastimo liferaft must be serviced at 3-year intervals (for boats cruising in Europe)

You need to service the liferaft every year for a coded vessel.