Liferafts

[wheneverIcan]

Can anyone tell me the difference in a liferaft "Valise" or "Cannister" - there seems to be a weight difference and the cannister type is more expensive. I'm looking at the ocean safety 4 person ones

http://www.seamarknunn.co.uk/catalog/subcat440.htm

i have decided to buy one for cross channel use and want to spend between £500 - £600. Has there been any articles recently in the mags that anyone may have seen?

5 yearly intervals for service would be good but is this a good idea - the Ocean Safety ones are 3 yearly servicing - must be a reason??.

Any help greatly appreciated

Simon


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[Tiger Rag]

I could be wrong but always thought a canister is the solid fibreglass shell and the valise came in a soft vinyl covering.

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[jfm]

Yes I think that's right. With the canister, you just lob the whole thing in the sea and the canister opens. With the valise type, I wonder do you have to take em out of the valise and then lob em in? Or does the valise rip open?

Canisters are used when the liferaft is stored outside. Valise is used where you want to keep it in a locker, or praps under a bed on the forward cabin, out of the way, ahem

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[jimg]

As the others say the valise is a vinyl type bag and you store ready to hand, the cannister type are in a GRP container that is usually mounted outside in a readily accessible location. Both types operate when a painter is pulled , i.e tie to a rail and toss overboard. You need a double insulated floor for warmth in the UK, but I would not go over the top with high specs for crossing the Atlantic etc. I bought a Plastimo valise type and hope to never use it!

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[DavidJ]

The valise rips open
David

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[jimh]

Hi Simon

I recently purchased the ocean safety 4 man valise myself - 530 quid for something that will hopefully never be used - guess the real value is in peace of mind.!!

I opted for the valise for a couple of reasons; I have a rear seat with stowage under (lockable when boat in marina) , I thought the canister may take up too much room strapped to my fender rack on the bathing platform, and I was concerned at the 'walkability' of the canister mounted external.

On reflection, (and especially as I was offered a cannister at the same price) I think I now would have prefferred the cannister; the valise weighs a ton, is quite large (much bigger than those other orange holdall type valise) and takes up ALL the space in my rear seat stowage.
all IMO

Jim

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[wheneverIcan]

thats really intersting, isn't the cannister one even heavier though?

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[jimh]

it may well be, however because the cannister is externally mounted (or at least is designed to be) it is naturally easily deployed - mine will take some serious man-handling to get it out of the locker, painter tied and then over the side -

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[snooks]

Valise vs Cannister

It all comes down to where you're going to store the thing, it's a weighty bit of kit so the lower the better....Ideally it should be protected from the elements, but easy to access. A contradiction I know

It also depends on you're type of boat, if a fast planning boat hits a rock, there is very little time to go through lockers for liferafts, but on a semi-displacment you might have more time.

If you are going to keep it in a locker and have space go for the Valise, but don't put bulky items on top of it. It comes in a soft case (like a holdall) which you sling over the side, then tug on the painter till it goes pop

If you can find room on deck and can find some wood to support it on go for the cannister, they come in a hard plastic/grp case...they can also be fitted onto a pushpit guard rail - But make sure that it's fitted the correct way up, some have to be re packed for vertical stowage because the gas bottle should be on the bottom...You can get a hydrostatic release which will let the liferaft go if you're boat goes down without you

An inflatable floor is good, but most areas of europe are accessable in a few hours by Search and Rescue so it's not essential IMHO

Consider an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon), that way if your boats dissappears into the blue depths you still have a method of alerting the SAR teams with your position (depending on model) and the fact you're in trouble

It's also worth spending £75 on a RYA Sea Survival course...you get to inflate, jump in, turn over and generally fool about in a liferaft. I did it last weekend and feel at least I have some idea of what to expect if things go worse than pear-shaped




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[salamicollie]

try hireing one , i have just hired one from norwest marine find it on the internet 4 man valise which is kept inboard. canister is kept on board.

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[peterandjeanette]

I opted for the valise. Why? Because it was requested by SWMBO. Working on the assumption that I would be on the radio / fighting the fire / plugging the leak or any other "manly" pursuit, she felt that she could heave the thing overboard easier because it had handles. She tried to handle a cannister and could not manage the bulk/weight.
Just hope we never have to use it - but the knowledge it's there helps.

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[Gludy]

One thing that is important when you come ti use a liferaft is that it inflates the right way up - not upside down. The job of turning it up the right way in any sort of sea is not an easy one.
Further, the means of getting into the raft should be a stair like structure not a rope ladder.

I investigated all this and reached the conculsion that the only ones that fit the bill are the self righting Viking ones.

I, like you all hope never to see it used but if I do want to use it, I want it to work. I am moving my liferaft position from the flybridge to the a holder on the stern. Trying to handle a liferaft in a sea, up on the flybridge is almost impossible.

When I examined the one on the boat I had just bought - the panter was just 3 feet long - not even enogh to reach the rail to chuck overboard before inflating!?



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[DavidJ]

I've just bought an Arimar 4 man valise international. On the Sealine S37 the 'drivers' seat lift to reveal a useful space for it (in fact you could fit 2 in there) The weight is 24kg (the canister one is 25kg) which is luggable.
I just didn't have the space on the back for the canister because of the passerelle.
Have a look at http:/www.x-pace.com/english/procedure.html
which gives instructions on using the Arimar.
David
David

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[kazbaz2]

i dont know of the phone number but a local company here can deliver and advise they hire sell and lease and service called south eastern marine based in basildon essex speak to sue or glen

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[Guest]

Some assorted observations: I only have direct experience of cannister liferafts but some are definitely heavier than others. I had an Avon 6-man on the previous boat that was close to being unliftable, whereas the ML Lifeguard 6-man that I currently have is quite manageable. I realise of course that this may say something about the quality of the cannister's contents!

Someone was worrying about the apparently short length of their painter - you should find (he says hopefully) that heaps more line pulls out of the case if you ever use it in anger - I only have about half a metre visible, which is just sufficient to secure to the liferaft mounting cradle. I was tempted to make a joke about the length of one's painter but I'll spare you - Pauline would be the only one who laughed anyway...

Hydrostatic releases - hmmm... In one of those SOLAS-moments I was very tempted to fit one this year, but then my daydream turned bad. Hydrostatic units need a fairly significant amount of water pressure to release automatically. Now, if you were ever unfortunate enough to experience the almost spontaneous sinking in which such a unit would be potentially useful, wouldn't it be just rotten luck to do so in shallow water, with the liferaft immersed perhaps just a couple of metres below the surface? Alternatively, your sunken boat could be lying in a way that trapped the liferaft. Finally, liferaft cannisters are not particularly water-tight and some have little drain holes. This seems to be one reason why they need servicing every year. Anyway, considering just how heavy the cannisters are to start with, I wonder how long they would retain any buoyancy? If the cannister floats purely on the strength of the gas cylinder contents then that's okay. But in my bad dream, maybe the liferaft would release, buoyancy WOULD lift it to the surface but the painter line (tied to a strong point on the boat per instructions) would be too long to fire the liferaft inflation mechanism! Water would get in to the cannister and it would sink again!!

In all honesty, I can't see that fitting a hydrostatic unit is a bad thing but, considering my Murphy's Bricks scenario, just don't rely on it launching the liferaft for you!

Happy Boating!

Nigel

PS: I still have the aforementioned Avon 6-man liferaft including full RORC kit if any strong person wants to give me a ton for it (an appropriate figure as it happens!) - it needs servicing of course.

<hr width=100% size=1>Medway Motor Yacht Club
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mmyc.co.uk>http://www.mmyc.co.uk</A>

 

[Guest]

My 6 man cannister is kept on the flybridge under the aft beds readilly tied to a rail for launching.We have practised with a similar weighted object i.e. a heavy drum filled with water throwing from flybridge found it much easier than from down below,as the fall from the top gives enough with a short swing to clear the boat.
I watched my Plastimo 6 man being serviced and added bits & pieces as they went along wouldn`t allow the t.v.or c.d. player though.Premium Life rafts told me mine was as good as any and hoped I wouldn`t have to try it in anger.
How are you finding your squaddie nearly bought the 43 was no bigger than I have now. Will be looking at some after the season 47-50 ish.

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