Liferafts andi

[Stemar]

I wouldn't bother with a liferaft, but a dinghy's essential kit for me. I don't do marinas if I can help it, but the dinghy takes me from a delightful anchorage to a nice pub for a meal. It may also save my arse should I have to leave the boat, as the French say, <<le feu au cul>>, though I devoutly hope never to put that to the test.

[heresy] I'd think about whether you really need flares, or whether an electronic flare would better meet your needs. [/heresy]

Blazing rows Discussions here have produced much heat, but little light. Personally, for Solent pottering, I've gone for the electronic one on the basis that it works far longer than a firework, should we need it, I can let Milady get on with holding that while I do whatever I can to keep us alive, and, if we do end up in the dinghy, I'd far rather not have something that would sink us in an instant if it's dropped.

 

[Zing]

I wouldn't bother with a liferaft, but a dinghy's essential kit for me. I don't do marinas if I can help it, but the dinghy takes me from a delightful anchorage to a nice pub for a meal. It may also save my arse should I have to leave the boat, as the French say, <<le feu au cul>>, though I devoutly hope never to put that to the test.

[heresy] I'd think about whether you really need flares, or whether an electronic flare would better meet your needs. [/heresy]

Blazing rows Discussions here have produced much heat, but little light. Personally, for Solent pottering, I've gone for the electronic one on the basis that it works far longer than a firework, should we need it, I can let Milady get on with holding that while I do whatever I can to keep us alive, and, if we do end up in the dinghy, I'd far rather not have something that would sink us in an instant if it's dropped.

A fire can spread extremely fast, it can give you only single figure seconds to abandon ship. Far faster than I think most people believe. (There are accounts of this out there). A collision can sink you just as fast. Make sure you can launch the dinghy instantly or it may burn or sink with the boat and leave you swimming and if the water is cold, with just minutes to live. If you have no life raft, the dinghy needs to be inflated. Not easy for many and that is when a liferaft is a good option.

 

[Stemar]

Jissel's only 24 ft, and I'm far too lazy to inflate the dinghy every time, so it tags along behind. The long bit would be getting the OB off the boat transom where it lives at sea as a backup if the engine decides it doesn't want to play.

 

[xyachtdave]

I sold a Viking valise life raft on YBW a few years back. I'd just had it serviced (£400) and had to come to the conclusion for day sailing on the East Coast I could live without it.

The very likeable chaps that bought it from me had just purchased a boat in the Solent, were (if I remember correctly) new to boat ownership and thought they needed one onboard.

If they and their family felt safer with it on their boat, fair play to them and a good call to buy it if it removes any anxiety about sinking.

I'd rather put my money into keeping the boat as close to perfection as possible, rig, sails, engine, electrical installations etc along with scrubbing any fouling off regularly and generally keeping a tidy ship.

Accurate weather info is available in seconds these days via various phone apps, the chances of getting caught out in anything really nasty is basically zero, so unless doing a passage out of sight of land for more than a few days I really can't see the point in a liferaft.

The 'emergency' call outs I see locally are navigation errors - running aground on well charted drying areas and sailors unable to start their engines and apparently unable to sail too.

 

[greeny]

I'm surprised you're proposing no liferaft and no dinghy from a safety perspective. I would like to think I had somewhere to go other than into the water in the unlikely event of fire and /or sinking.
In fact in Portugal they actually accept an inflated dinghy instead of a liferaft as meeting safety inspection for lower class of boat certification, Category 4 coastal if I remember correctly.

 

[Graham376]

I'm surprised you're proposing no liferaft and no dinghy from a safety perspective. I would like to think I had somewhere to go other than into the water in the unlikely event of fire and /or sinking.
In fact in Portugal they actually accept an inflated dinghy instead of a liferaft as meeting safety inspection for lower class of boat certification, Category 4 coastal if I remember correctly.

You remember correctly and Cat 4 boats are restricted to 6nm offshore.

 

[Sea Devil]

I would not bother with a liferaft for singlehanding either, though you can now get a small two man quoit:

Seago Rescue Platform RP500 - Compact 2 man liferaft

It might give you some chance of getting aboard dryish


I like a dinghy though, pretty vital for where I sail anyway but it's a useful backstop if you sail with, maybe, one crew. Also handy for attending to the waterline and removing stuff from the prop. No doubt just the job for running out a kedge as well but that is something I have only read about, though I have taken to the dinghy several times when mooring up. Also, on one occasion, pushed the boat a long way by outboard with the Redstart lashed alongside,

The 2 man seago looks really good. Thank you