liferaft servicing

wotayottie

wotayottie

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just about to get mine done again, on the off chance we make it to france this coming season. last time I didnt think out beforehand what to ask the servicing place to put in the canister. so, what do you have inside your life raft?

its a 4 man offshore raft and I'm highly unlikely to do anything more adventurous than France or paddyland or maybe spain in the boat. so no need for desalination kits and sat phones. but what else?
 
But seriously! Torch? VHF radio? gps? epirb? sea sick pills?

there must be someone on her who has thought this issue through
 
You should have a list of what is in your raft as standard. The things you have mentioned would not normally be in a raft but would be in your grab bag (which I assume you have as well).
 
Depends how much space is available, I guess. I'd hope it's minimal, otherwise they're making the cannisters too big, and needlessly hard to stow.

Personally I work on the principle that the raft provides the vessel, and gear intimately associated with it like sea anchors etc, and it's the job of the grab bag to carry everything else you need. Easier to maintain and update, too.

Anyway, in no particular order, some thoughts for raft or (mostly) bag:

  • Spare glasses, if you wear them
  • PLB
  • Multi-tool (leatherman / gerber / etc)
  • GPS (you can get a keyfob-sized one for £12 from eBay. But knowing where you are is not much use unless you also have a VHF to tell someone else)
  • LED torch(s)
  • Spare batteries. Ideally torches, GPS and VHF should all use AAs. Get the ones with the longest use-by dates you can find (eBay sellers usually publish it in their listings)
  • Small piece of white plastic board. You can write on it with a chinagraph pencil, or use it as a cutting board with the multi-tool.
  • Some form of warm kit - imagine someone off watch in their bunk just managed to get into the raft in what they were wearing. A space blanket, a plastic suit ("TPA") and a woolly hat may be all there's room for though.
  • String, tape, etc for repair or improvisation
  • Glow sticks to illuminate the inside of the raft (though I think most have a light?)
  • Plastic tub / pot for bailing (definitely one for the bag rather than the cannister). Rafts often list "bailer" in the contents but the ones I've seen are just floppy fabric bags.
  • A bit of food, but more for comfort than necessity. Hopefully in the Channel with PLB and VHF you won't be there too long. Perhaps chewing gum or mints would be a good idea to take away the taste of seasickness?
  • Water in 500ml bottles. I'd put one per person in the bag, then put as many more as would fit alongside it in the locker, taped together into a solid block with its own lanyard to hopefully be brought along too. But being at sea without water is a particular fear of mine :)
  • Perhaps in the same locker an empty drysack, to be filled, if there's time, with whatever else (mostly warm clothing) is handy.
  • For use *after* rescue, a laminated photocopy of your passport and the front and back of a credit card. Some people put their passport itself into the bag when they set out on passage.
  • Plastic bags. Generally useful, take up next to no space.
  • Flares. I plan to store all of boat.next's flares in the grab bag. If they're needed on board it's easy enough to take them out, if we did end up in the raft we'd have more than most.
Pete
 
wotayottie said:
But seriously! Torch? VHF radio? gps? epirb? sea sick pills?

there must be someone on her who has thought this issue through
Click to expand...

As you are an RYA instructor, why dont you simply look in RGN1 guidance for training centres, specifically Appendix 6 liferafts. Page 30.

You can do it online. :rolleyes:
 
prv said:
[*]Spare batteries. Ideally torches, GPS and VHF should all use AAs. Get the ones with the longest use-by dates you can find (eBay sellers usually publish it in their listings)
Click to expand...
Don't even think about getting batteries for emergency use on eBay. The best ones to get are Lithium AA Cells as they have more power, and longer shelf life.
 
prv said:
Personally I work on the principle that the raft provides the vessel, and gear intimately associated with it like sea anchors etc, and it's the job of the grab bag to carry everything else you need. Easier to maintain and update, too.

Anyway, in no particular order, some thoughts for raft or (mostly) bag:

[*]For use *after* rescue, a laminated photocopy of your passport and the front and back of a credit card. Some people put their passport itself into the bag when they set out on passage.[/B[*]Flares. I plan to store all of boat.next's flares in the grab bag. If they're needed on board it's easy enough to take them out, if we did end up in the raft we'd have more than most.
[/LIST]
Pete
Click to expand...


Well done, Pete. Best idea, and very useful list.
 
wotayottie said:
no need for desalination kits and sat phones. but what else?
Click to expand...

As a 'single hander' I nearly forgot the most important things:
Vaseline and blow up rubber doll

25uh4j9.jpg
 
Talk to the service company first about the space available. You will probably find that you can add somewhere between nothing and very little.
I have discussed it with the company servicing mine
 
nigelmercier said:
Don't even think about getting batteries for emergency use on eBay.
Click to expand...

:confused:

They're made by Duracell. What does it matter which commerce portal was used to conduct the sale? Unless you're suggesting everything on eBay, even from a UK supplier, is likely to be counterfeit? If so, they and their packaging are damn good fakes.

nigelmercier said:
The best ones to get are Lithium AA Cells as they have more power, and longer shelf life.
Click to expand...

Shrug. VHF and GPS take four each (and GPS needn't be on all the time anyway). I have a sealed pack of 24 batteries. I don't intend to still be floating around after that's used up.

The printed expiry date on the batteries is March 2019. I think I can probably afford a new pack by then.

Pete
 
Sugary Drink

Apparently a sugary drink is one of the most important things. I have read that it helps not only to rehydrate but also to boost depleted blood sugar following the stress and adrenaline rush of abandoning ship. It should be consumed very shortly after entering the Raft so that one does not 'drift off' to eternal sleep after the relief of escaping a sinking ship.
 
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