Liferaft servicing

[nicho]

We have a Zodiac RORC 4 man liferaft in a valise, and it's in need of a 3 year service. The local chandlery has quoted £300, which sounds a bit OTT to me (?)
Does anyone know if a reputable liferaft service company in the Southampton/Portsmouth area that we can deal with on a direct basis?

Help would, as always, be appreciated,

Thanks all.

 

[Skysail]

Hi Mike,

£300 is similar to what we paid for a 3 year service at Viking, Hamble, but I attended the 'opening' and was impressed with the process. There was a recent thread on the MOA forum about a 'cheap' sevice agent (no longer trading) where virtually nothing had been replaced

QUOTE:

"I've just had my Zodiac liferaft serviced by Nationwide Marine Hire in Warrington and it came back with a few comments:
The outer packing tape was the incorrect type - it was ordinary packing tape that stretches too much before breaking making the liferaft expand like a sausage - not at all like Zodiac intended.

The DOT battery wasn't connected to the light.

The seasickness pills were missing despite being on the documentation and invoice.

The gas cylinder had never been removed despite the previous service agent putting down a measured weight on the documentation (coincidentally the same as it was when new).

During the service the floor had been inflated and when deflated something was just pushed into the diaphragm valve to release the air. The problem with that is that they left the internal seal trapped in both valves so it would never have held any air.

The torch batteries were the original (2002) despite new ones being listed on the documentation and the invoice.

There were issues with the firing mechanism caused by a lack of proper servicing.

The opinion was that it would have inflated - not because it had been serviced but because it was still just OK after 6 years from new."
END QUOTE

Nationwide may be worth a call.

 

[benjenbav]

Ron Hale Marine in Portsmouth (Southsea) did mine earlier in the year based on a reccomendation from this parish - I think it ended up as £220 for a four person canister. The service was approx £100 and the rest was replenishment of the victuals, VAT and so on.

Who knows whether they did a good job? - I hope I never find out.

 

[neale]

We have a Zodiac RORC 4 man liferaft in a valise, and it's in need of a 3 year service. The local chandlery has quoted £300, which sounds a bit OTT to me (?)
Does anyone know if a reputable liferaft service company in the Southampton/Portsmouth area that we can deal with on a direct basis?

Help would, as always, be appreciated,

Thanks all.

Try Adec Marine. They quote £120 inc VAT for the survey plus any extras that need replacing. www.adecmarine.co.uk

 

[nicho]

Thanks all. I think the Ron Hale route is the way to go.

 

[Tidnock]

We have a Zodiac RORC 4 man liferaft in a valise, and it's in need of a 3 year service. The local chandlery has quoted £300, which sounds a bit OTT to me (?)
Does anyone know if a reputable liferaft service company in the Southampton/Portsmouth area that we can deal with on a direct basis?

Help would, as always, be appreciated,

Thanks all.

Blimey that sounds expensive compared to a complete new raft, they can fetch 2 or 3 hundred pounds second hand and out of date, sell it and buy a new one , you can get a new for a touch over £500, you will have a new raft for about the cost of the service

 

[nicho]

Blimey that sounds expensive compared to a complete new raft, they can fetch 2 or 3 hundred pounds second hand and out of date, sell it and buy a new one , you can get a new for a touch over £500, you will have a new raft for about the cost of the service

The Zodiac was quite expensive when I bought it 5 years ago - a shade under £1000. There were (and still are) others at around half that price, but the Zodiac range are (supposed to be) better than most. No doubt that comment will bring scores of replies telling me what **** liferafts Zodiac are!!

 

[Hurricane]

We have a Zodiac liferaft that we bought (second hand) for the old boat and when we took delovery of the new Princess, I didnt see any point in buying a new one when the old was in perfect condition. The top quality Zodiac liferafts are significantly better built than the cheap throwaway ones that you can buy for a few hundred quid.

Anyway, it was due for a service so we too it to Ocean Safety on one of their open days. The great thing with their open days is that they open it and inflate it for you and you can then climb into/all over it. Certainly gives you the confidence that you actually DO have a liferaft inside the case and not just a couple of "blow up dolls"!!!

You might like to check with them to see if they are doing any open days this year - this was last year's press release.
http://www.yachtingmonthly.com/auto/newsdesk/20080031132029ymnews.html


Mike

 

[nicho]

Thanks Mike, I'll give them a call.