LIFERAFTS !!! arg - all at sea - which one?

[William_H]

I agree with the concept of mother ship is best. Liferafts are good in aircraft and good for giving people a safe feeling but are found to be very uncomfortable in a sea. Total sinking or fire should be the only reason to get in the raft. So if you don't nneed a raft to satisfy regulations, spouse or being seen to do the apparently right thing then I would suggest more effort be put in to making the mother ship unsinkable and fire resistant.
Yes I understand a large raft with few people are a real problem in that you rattle around inside and there is not enough weight. Liferafts certainly overturn and this should be a top concern. I would suggest a separate grab bag floating and tethered would make the liferaft canister or valise lighter and easier to manage when launching. regards olewill

 

[joeh]

author dave kerr has a method of calculation of buoyancy requirements in his book " nature of boats "
i have read about inflatable bags used in protecting pallets on fork lifts which i thought could be an option

joe

 

[Talbot]

Re: thoughts on the issue

Number of people on a raft is always a good subject for an argument. If you are concerned only about bad weather and a fast rescue, then putting 4 people into a 4 man raft is an acceptable solution. If you think that you may need to be in the raft in hot weather or possibly hot and calm, then a larger raft is a much better bet so that there is space to move around. My avon has ropes set up inside the raft so that if it is not populated by the maximum number of people , they have the ability to space themselves out inside the raft to provide the correct buoyancy distribution in rough weather. This was an add in at the last service and mimics the set up in the latest raft design.

 

[andy_wilson]

For ocean use get a double or inflatable floor. Get a good one and fit it with a hydrostatic release.
Get the basic stuff packed in the canister, have all the optional upgrades ina separate 'raft' grab bag, that way you can inspect and maintin it yourself, OR use it on the yacht in the event that you are not deploying the raft.
So for instance in my 'raft' grab bag that brings me up to commercial spec., I have access to extra first aid including some drugs not readily available, extra flares, radar reflector, drogue, thermal protective aids etc. etc.
You can augment this with fresh water and high energy supplies + vitamins before a major crossing and be bang up to date.
Second crew gets the second 'yacht' grab bag with passports, hh VHF, GPS, medicines, money etc. etc.
Third crew gets the ships flare cannister.
Fourth gets the emergency water carrier.
Fifth gets food and can openers (in a bucket - which may be needed at some point!).

And so it goes on.

 

[Malish]

There have been a few reviews in the yachting press over the last year or so. One make performed spectacularly badly (and the manufacturer was none too apologetic). I purchased a decent Viking one on the basis that if I needed it I wanted to be confident about its performance - and I'm convinced in the case of Viking that you are paying for the product not the name (I've no association). Why did I buy? well although most of my time is spent in the Greater Thames Estuary, there was a report in the yachting press from a sailor (Dutch as I recall) whose well founded boat struck a floating object at night off the Essex coast - it went down pdq and although he wasn't in the middle of an ocean he most certainly benefitted from owning and deploying in short order a liferaft - this sort of near-shore incident makes you think?

 

[DrBob]

I too bought a Viking raft for 1500+ after reading that report and spending a day climbing in and out of the darnned things on the Sea Survival course. No way would I like to get one without a top of the range boarding ladder. It was difficult enough in a swimming pool. At least I know what to expect if the worst happens

Dr Bob

 

[CharlesM]

Moonfire

Can you name the make that came out badly? So I know at least to stay away from that one.

Cheers
Charles

 

[Mirelle]

That was the incident that decided me to buy one. In my case a canister Avon. I don't know if it works as I have not tried it.