Liferaft servicing- I can't belieeeve it!

Tormod said:
Just asked for a quotation from my nearest Service station to do the first 3 yearly service on my £750 6-man cannister liferaft. Cost for service will be approx £350-£400 + vat (3 year dating) dependant on the expiry date of the light / battery inside. That makes it nearly £500 ????? Am I missing something or is this the normal price I should expect. Seems overly expensive! Would appreciate your thoughts before I commit. Tks Tormod
Click to expand...

OR sell it? They fetch a fair bit on ebay.

Buy a new one for £949 (assuming like -for-like)
http://www.gaelforcemarine.co.uk/45...nHxDRJbhm6_pV86nTigiabtrfeOClGLbogaAnYA8P8HAQ

and save your £480 ?
Crazy prices.
 
JumbleDuck said:
That's precisely why I decided to sell the liferaft that came with my boat (valise, so impractical anyway) and do without. If I ever do a longer passage - I'm hoping to do Scotland to Norway some time - I'll reconsider, but for my sort of UK coastal sailing I just don't see much point.
Click to expand...

Did you find the size of the yacht meant the valise was impractical? I mention this as the 2 boats I regularly sail have good cockpit lockers meaning the LR can be deployed easily. I can imagine that's not always the case so a canister liferaft may be better.

The liferaft argument comes up on here quite often, I always have one!

Don't reckon an inflatable dinghy is a solution.... been in two that have flipped in a seaway. Un nice. The drouges deployed from a LR will go a long way to countering that.
 
capnsensible said:
Did you find the size of the yacht meant the valise was impractical? I mention this as the 2 boats I regularly sail have good cockpit lockers meaning the LR can be deployed easily. I can imagine that's not always the case so a canister liferaft may be better.
Click to expand...

26 footer, pointy at both ends. The liferaft would have completely filled the single cockpit locker and I see no point in keeping it below decks as the only two reasonably realistic use scenarios - gas fire and collision - would both preclude going to get it. If and when I do get a new one it will be a canister mounted on the foredeck, which is where other owner generally seem to keep them.

May I take this opportunity to say that having a liferaft mounted over one side at the back, projecting way beyond the hull, is a rubbish idea for anyone thinking of going through a canal?
 
KAM said:
I do my own. Well worth inflating it to see what it looks like and whats in it and get familiar with the equipment and layout. Compared with a lot of projects discussed here servicing a life raft is pretty straightforward.
Click to expand...
Is repacking it, so that it will inflate safely, straightforward?
 
My last service (Bfa - non Solas) was €80 for inspection and repacking - the renewal of the out-of-date drugs, dressings, water and flares cost another €247.
The unit is now set up for another 2 year period.
For the 4-man canister raft (now 24 years old) It has never cost more than the equivalent of £250, in UK, France, Portugal, Italy and Greece.
It's my opinion that there are a few suppliers making monkeys of the Great British Boating Public.
PS Solas specification costs another €140.
 
Consumables aside ... Mine spends 49 weeks a year in the spare bedroom and 3 weeks a year on the boat under the chart table. Is it more or less likely to work having been life tested by someone I dont know every three years? It would be an easy decision if we didn't visit France once a year!
 
Why not hire?

fastjedi said:
Consumables aside ... Mine spends 49 weeks a year in the spare bedroom and 3 weeks a year on the boat under the chart table. Is it more or less likely to work having been life tested by someone I dont know every three years? It would be an easy decision if we didn't visit France once a year!
Click to expand...

For having life raft available for a few weeks each year is hiring more cost effective?

.
 
If the boat isn't coded or raced, there are no regulations about what should be packed inside a raft for leisure use. No reason why flares, torch, water, etc. shouldn't be kept in the grab bag and replaced by the user - no doubt less costly.

N.B. I was referring to rafts used in UK waters, other EC states do stipulate contents.
 
Last edited:
My approach is to simply extend the service periods a bit. I very much doubt that there is any material risk in extending a 3 year service interval to 5 years, particularly for a raft kept in a dry locker.
And if there is a fire or similar, I would much rather have a slightly past date liferaft available than not have one at all.

If doing deep water (ARC or even northern North Sea) I would probably be more picky on the service date.

As ever, France seems to be a problem area - pragmatism doesn't seem to be permitted there

PS Also tend to keep the last batch of past date flares - one set in date, one set recently out of date. Again in the unlikely event that need to use, AND run out of the new ones, would rather risk an old flare than have no options left. (But before using any flares would have already used VHF, mobile phone and EPIRB in that order)
 
Last edited:
Is repacking it, so that it will inflate safely, straightforward?

Yes, but getting it packed tight enough to fit back in the valise/bag can be a pain. The two most important tools for the job are a big & clean tarpaulin to put on the ground under you the liferaft whilst doing the job and a digital camera - take at least one picture as you make each unfold and record exactly where each safety item is stowed within the package - to go back down to size, you'll need to get it all back in the right order/position.
 
also, if you have no legal obligations, bear in mind that if talking large numbers the failure rate of say a 4-year liferaft just after its 3rd year service is *higher* than the failure rate of a 4-year liferaft not serviced.
Which may be interpreted: either you know and pay a good servicing station, if in doubt about their quality it's probably better to leave the raft alone (and of course supplement perishables in the grab bag)
 
dunedin said:
PS Also tend to keep the last batch of past date flares - one set in date, one set recently out of date.
Click to expand...

Same here. I have just realised that, as I recently renewed Part 1, the flares I bought are now five years old. So I'll relegate them to second string, buy some new ones and fire off the ten year old ones for the hell of it.
 
I took my raft in for a service last spring and they lost it. I still haven't had it back.

It was 18 years old and I've still got their relatively new rental raft so I figure I've saved about £300 servicing and I've got a new raft for free.
 
Interesting thread, and one near to my own position, because:-
My valise had its three-year service last year, but now needs one every year.

So what is different from the initial 3 or 5 year pack and what "goes off" in subsequent one-year periods?

And assuming I can get at it, I have a well provisioned grab-bag with new/up-to-date flares. So do I need a "serviced-every-year" life-raft?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top