Liferaft?

N

neil1967

Well-Known Member
Joined
28 Nov 2007
Messages
1,148
Location
Tavira, Portugal
Visit site
Hi

I will shortly be buying a small (26') secondhand yacht to sail mainly in the Solent, possibly going further afield (maybe occasional cross channel) next year. I looked at around 10 small yachts in my search, all used in the Solent, none of which had liferafts. I will definately be fitting a liferaft before I go cross channel, but I would be grateful for opinions on the value of fitting a liferaft just for use in the Solent? I would also value opinions on a suitable make/model of liferaft.

Thanks
 
I knew one guy who sailed that area, he always said there was so much traffic he could never see himself needing to do more than send out a mayday, and he doubted the value of the liferaft, though he did see the value on channel crossings.
 
If you are just sailing in the Solent the biggest risk is hitting another boat with the liferaft when you throw it over the side.

Seriously though - we carry one, even though we mainly sail in the Solent
 
A personal matter. I have sailed in the channel and across to France/Channel Islands for years without one. Like most safety gear there is very little documented evidence as to effectiveness (at least for ordinary cruisers).

Risk has two components. First the likelihood of something happening and second the consequences of the event. Chances of an incident resulting in a potential sinking are very, very small. However the consequences are pretty dire (drowning!) which might be alleviated by a liferaft. There are plenty of documented cases of overzealous launching of rafts where it might have been better to stay with the boat.

In the past the decision was influenced by the high cost of rafts, but now they have come down to around £500 they have come onto people's shopping list - even though the risks have probably not changed!

In France for example they are compulsory, but I have never seen evidence that their death rate from drowning accidents is any lower than the UK very low rate!

So, the decision is yours dependent on your attitude to risk and your willingness to pay!
 
I definitely wouldn't bother in the Solent.

WHen you have to buy one the Seago 4-man valise is a good deal at under £500 from Force 4 HERE

(One of these was on the news about three years ago after a crew abandoned a yacht in the Irish Sea without making a Mayday 9and set fire to teh yacht in the process, allegedly to 'attract attention) They drifted across the Irish Sea for nearly a week before they got within mobile phone range of the UK mainland and were picked up. The LR looked in pretty good nick.

(Have looked for this on Google, but can't find it - anyone remember any more details?)

- W
 
G'day neil1967,

We have been carrying a 6 man self inflating deck mounted life raft for around 10 years and have travelled several thousand miles in all sorts of weather and some uncharted waters (with caution).

At no time have we even considered launching it, it has been a comfort but an expensive item due to regular servicing and replacement of some items including an extra EPERB stored inside it.

I'm not advising you should not have one, however I can assure you when this one has had it's day it will not be replaced. I a list of items a mile long I would rather spend my money on that would improve my time on the water.

You have to take a good long look at the risks involved and possible alternatives like a partially inflated rubber duck below decks, that was our first life raft back in days we enjoyed full on racing.

Avagoodweekend......
 
I decided to buy a life raft based on the risk of a fire on the boat causing us to abandon. I agree that the chances of a collision or something else which breaches the integrity of the hull are extremely low, but if your boat catches fire offshore and you don't have a life raft, what are you going to do. A fire may well prevent access to the fixed radio, so you may have to make a Mayday call on a handheld, which has lower power, and because the aerial isn't as high up, lower range.

At the end of the day, its a personal decision, but I did the risk assessment, and decided that it was a priority for my money.
 
A while back three liferafts, all around £500, were reviewed in PBO. I think they were XM, Plastimo and Seago. The Seago was thought the best and the review was positive (so not just the best of a bad bunch: the plastimo failed to inflate).

I currently cruise the coast around Solent, Poole and Weymouth. But when I start channel crossings I plan to buy a Seago canister for my 29' boat. Service interval was every three years, but I don't know how much the service costs, haven't looked into that yet.
 
I have the Seago 6 man canister. Its a tight fit in the canister, and mine is just coming up to 1st service.
SEMS of basildon are charging £95 for the 1st service, which is a 3 year interval.
The 1st service also has a customer witnessed inflation, so that should be fun.

Its worthwhile factoring in the cost of ownership. I think 32 quid a season is a bit of a bargain.

Also, I got mine at the Boat Show and they threw in the stainless cradle too.....
 
I think you are wise to consider carrying a liferaft. 'Sailing in the Solent' can easily morph into 'sailing round The Island' which takes you into quite exposed waters and the potential for all sorts of problems. Oldsaltoz is usually a very sensible fellow but I think he's wrong to demote the importance of carrying a liferaft just because he's never had to even think about launching it. I have never contemplated launching a liferaft either but would not be without mine.
 
It's effectively life insurance. I decided to have one because in the event that I ever needed it I didn't want to have to explain to SWMBO why I thought our lifes were not worth £ 500.
 
I would not now sail without a life raft, mainly for same reasons as Deepjoy. I originally thought to rely on the dinghy, but one of first things my DS tutor advised was to get a raft because you couldn't be sure the type of emergency requiring you to leave the boat would give you access &/or time to inflate/deploy. I now have a coastal 6 man valise, bought 2nd hand 1 year before the first service. I was a bit taken aback at the service cost quotes i got, most of which were well in excess of £200 after VAT, replacement of time expired items & delivery charges- so Jim is doing well. I eventually identified Norwestmarine in Liverpool, who quoted a basic service @ £60 plus VAT plus cost of replacement items & carriage. I was up in NW for a w/e so delivered it myself then & they did the return courier- total cost about £140, which I think was pretty good.
I hasten to add, I don't think getting the raft serviced is at all "optional"- wouldn't want to gamble where safety is concerned- but feel people should be aware of likely cost implications over & above the original purchase, so this can be budgeted for.
 
I phoned Seago's techies and they said that if I took it into Mailspeed Marine, they collect every Thursday, so carriage is free. So mine is being carried out by Seago themselves now.

Had hoped to use SEMS in Basildon, but they are not agents for Seago, and thus could not service it without invalidating the 12 year (yes thats right) guarantee.
 
I was able to see my liferaft inflated at first sevice and was able to make a video of the raft showing its features eg where the knife is,how to get in etc. This video is now downloaded to the on board laptop and I show it to new crew at their first briefing.
A few years ago I was invited to join Wahkuna on its first cross channel trip.The owner had made over one hundred crossings in his previous boat without any problems.
Fortunately I was unable to go with them.
On their return trip they were enveloped in fog and even with state of the art Radar they were mown down by a 900ft container ship.Wahkuna sank within 15 minutes . They abandoned ship to the liferaft and spent five hours praying for rescue.if they had not had a liferaft I would have lost five very good friends.
 
Franky
A very good point well made.
In a previous life, my employer made us wear all kinds of safety equipment, provided a rocket propelled seat with a built-in dinghy. In 20 years I never had to use it although we had lots of fun practising.
I certainly know, having spent a few hours in the Channel in a liferaft that its not only important to have one but its equally important to splash out on a course and practise using the one you bought!

You made a video - that's just fantastic!

There are plenty of people who made it into the raft only to succumb to something else - mostly to do with dehydration or exposure. Its important to have a good grab bag too and a few gallons of water!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top