liferaft shot

[djs]

the liferaft we inherited with our boat (our first) was dispatched to ocean safety for a check and service before heading to the west country for our summer trip. its history was pretty vague and its last service was prob circa 2000. no surprise in hindsight then that we are informed it is shot. not even usable as a paddling pool.

questions facing us now are:
do we replace or go without? plan is to head west from the solent, mainly day coastal hopping, but i'm open to heading to the CIs and possibly France.
should we hire or buy? its going to cost ~£180 for 4 weeks hire. annual is in the region of £450. don't have a heap of time before leaving - mid Aug - to shop around but longer term intentions is to do plenty of cross channel trips over the next year so i'll be faced with the same question again if i hire for the summer cruise.
if we buy, what to go for?
i havn't done an in-depth search of the fora as i find the search function on here pretty difficult to trawl through. i'd appreciate your thoughts, recommendations and if there is good advice out on the forum already some hints on better searching techniques i'd maybe be able to bother you a bit less.
thanks in advance and happy sailing
dave

 

[MarkJohnson12345]

You have to consider the likely hood of sinking when afloat.

You also have to consider the lives of those who sail with you.

Personally, I reckon the risk of sinking are very small.

If I was sticking to Coastal sailing, I would not bother with a life raft.

Going across the channel is another matter. We sail from Land's End to Cameret, so at some stage are 50miles off shore. Help may not be in VHF reception area. Flares are used when you can see some potential help around.

If you have a problem, you live or die by your decision on purchasing or hiring a life raft.

My decision was to buy a life raft, (Ebay for £250) and about £300+ for servicing.

A new one cost about £500, only a small proportion of what your boat cost,..

Anyway Sod's law says if you buy one you will never have to use it. And if you don't..........

Over to you.

 

[colvic987]

If you are going to buy one, check that it is a pukka-gen liferaft, and not one incapable of job, just cause its cheap.

See sailing today, letter of the month (elite liferaft/arimar neptune)

good for kids paddling pool with canopy, but not much else.

Too late when deployed in the channel or atlantic....

maybe a call to ocean safety, and ask for a list of decent liferafts...

 

[webcraft]

Buy a Seago - pretty high spec, just cheap because it's not ISAF certified. They definitely work - SEE HERE

Good reviews in comparitive tests as well.

Prices from £499 for a 4-man valise.

- Nick

 

[Talbot]

How big a liferaft are you looking for?

 

[boatmike]

Probably a bit smaller than 9 metres OAL I would think /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Talbot]

I have an 8 man Avon Ocean sitting in the garage. Its too heavy for my little boat!

 

[Talbot]

I guess it is those 2-4 tons of lead that make a mono sink so quickly!

 

[djs]

thanks Mark
yup - my immediate inclination was exactly as per your thoughts. coastal, day sailing - don't bother, but i'd hate to be sitting on the south coast, two weeks to kill and a perfect wind for beam reach to a moules supper and not have a raft on board. my next problem is that i'm inclined to buy, but also have a tendency to buy on impulse and quickly (where did that boat come from - oh yes dear a funny thing happened on the way back from the pub!). and don't ant to get pushed into buying something of less quality/value because of the time pressure i feel under. i'll just knuckle down and do the research - pity i'll be getting back to base just as SIBS starts.
cheers
Dave

 

[djs]

exactly my fear - call to OS great suggestion - we know folk there. thanks
Dave

 

[djs]

heather will sleep 6 but i don't imagine going with more than 4 as i hate it when things get crowded so 4 person is what i'm considering. also i'm wary about getting a six person if most sailing done two up. having done the rya sea survival cse in a swimming pool i have no desire to ever be in a raft as they are hideous things but two folk in a bag of wind built for six sounds like a recipe for disaster.
Dave

 

[djs]

hee hee. made me chuckle out loud. thanks for that

 

[djs]

cheers nick
i'll make a start on the search with your suggestion.
thanks
Dave

 

[MarkJohnson12345]

don't get a liferaft thats too big.

Best be snug than being thrown around when injured and stressed after loosing boat.

 

[djs]

jus done a quick google and of 6 potential suppliers of seago offshore 4 person liferaft, 5 were exactly same price, one 5 quid less and one 50 qid more. so much for a competitive market place. methinks i'll have to spend some time working the phones and see who'll blink first.
D

 

[kengill]

I'd suggest you find out if it failed due to a new standard of tests being applied to a liferaft that was not designed to take the overpressure from the updated current batch of tests.

As I understand it it is possible a significant number of liferafts may be at risk when the pressure relief valves are taped shut during the new test regimes- which are at significantly higher pressures than some liferafts were designed to operate under. The newer liferafts were designed and built to cope with the new standard tests. the older ones were not and are at risk of catastrophic failure during the overpressure test.

There again I could be wrong.