New Life Raft

[Leonidas]

Time has come to replace my old ( Plastimo) life raft with a new 6 person (canister) suitable for cruising usually in coastal waters. We do not contemplate to embark to an offshore trip in a hurry. I came across several makes during the last boat show at Excell, most of them similarly priced , the majority of them made in China, except for the Arimar Seaworld ( not an ISO9650 type 1) which is made in Italy, and very reasonably priced. I don't think any of them is self righting and as far as I know the one made by Viking is the only available ( albeit at an elevated cost) in the market.
Decision time and I should welcome your views and share your experience on any rafts which are usually available in the market, and whether upgrading to ISO9650 is worth the extra cost considering that a well stocked grab bag can contain all the extra items that will satisfy the ISO rating and whether the self righting facility is a must.
Thanks for your input.

 

[ashtead]

How old is the one being replaced? We have a Seago one which is in valise and kept below so just wondered when it should be replaced?

 

[awol]

ISO9650 is a lot more than the contents of a grab bag and grew from bad experiences of Fastnet and Sidney-Hobart life raft usage.
Of course, you are never going to use it - are you?

 

[pvb]

How old is the one being replaced? We have a Seago one which is in valise and kept below so just wondered when it should be replaced?

The service centre doing the routine service will tell you if the liferaft is unserviceable.

 

[pvb]

I came across several makes during the last boat show at Excell, most of them similarly priced , the majority of them made in China, except for the Arimar Seaworld ( not an ISO9650 type 1) which is made in Italy, and very reasonably priced. I don't think any of them is self righting and as far as I know the one made by Viking is the only available ( albeit at an elevated cost) in the market.

Sea-Safe offer self-righting liferafts in the leisure market.

I don't think you should consider ISO9650 as something to "upgrade to", but rather as a minimum standard.

As for country of manufacture, I bought an Ocean Safety raft which is made in the UK. Waypoint rafts are European-made, with significant UK content.

 

[GrahamM376]

Sea-Safe offer self-righting liferafts in the leisure market.

I don't think you should consider ISO9650 as something to "upgrade to", but rather as a minimum standard.

As for country of manufacture, I bought an Ocean Safety raft which is made in the UK. Waypoint rafts are European-made, with significant UK content.

At least one of the Ocean Safety rafts is a re-badged SeaSafe. We have the self righting version but not via Ocean Safety.

 

[Kinsale373]

I went through this last year. Bought in France and needed to either service or replace the 6 Man Canister for the trip home. It was 12 years old. From memory the service interval is 3 years. Again from memory, I don,t think that they will service units over 15 years old. You can check this by contacting the companys who provide service. So I made the decision that it was more cost effective to purchase a new one. After some thought I decided to go for a Valise 4 Man. I did not plan to have more than 4 on board for the delivery from France to Ireland. We rarely cruse with more than 4. The big advanatgage (Apart from cost) was the reduced weight and size. The 4 man valise stows neatly in my dry cockpit locker and is fairly easy to lift out. I'm no weakling and fairly fit but i struggled to lift the old 6 Man Canister.(Im pretty sure it was a Plastimo), I could not see myself getting it up from down below deck in a panic anyway! I went for a Seago , good price and good reviews.
Kinsale 373.

 

[ashtead]

Thanks pvb so no need to replace in summary so long you keep servicing however as opposed to paying out for a service are there merits in buying a new one after say 10 or so years with an Ocean safety one ?

 

[pvb]

Thanks pvb so no need to replace in summary so long you keep servicing however as opposed to paying out for a service are there merits in buying a new one after say 10 or so years with an Ocean safety one ?

I don't know, it's a very subjective decision. Most liferafts today have a 12 year warranty, so might reasonably be expected to be OK for 12-15 years.

 

[ashtead]

Thanks pvb . It might be approaching that vintage so will look out for suggestions on here.

 

[Tim Good]

+ for Sea-Safe.

They are in fact the same rafts that Ocean Safety now produce as their Iso Charter model. I did ask them if they made it and they said yes... then I said why is it identical to the SeaSafe and why does the photo on your site say "SeaSafe" on it which half photshopped away. You can still see it. They got very shirty with me and couldn't provide an answer.

Then went to the distributor in Liverpool and looked at them in person. I was happy to buy based on the quality and that Ocean Safety clearly thinks they're good enough to buy in. They also come in a slimline model which comes in a smaller pack that the Ocean Safety version at a lot less! Win Win and Win.

See the OS site and see the "SeaSafe" marked on the top:

https://www.oceansafety.com/sectors/commercial/product/charter-iso-less-than-24-hr-pack

 

[pvb]

+ for Sea-Safe.

They are in fact the same rafts that Ocean Safety now produce as their Iso Charter model. I did ask them if they made it and they said yes... then I said why is it identical to the SeaSafe and why does the photo on your site say "SeaSafe" on it which half photshopped away.

I don't think it's an attempt to Photoshop it out. The Sea-Safe trademark is a rather awful logo in which part of the lettering is only shown in outline.

View attachment 62159

As far as I'm aware, the Sea-Safe rafts are made in China. Ocean Safety don't claim that these particular rafts are made in the UK.

 

[Tim Good]

I don't think it's an attempt to Photoshop it out. The Sea-Safe trademark is a rather awful logo in which part of the lettering is only shown in outline.

View attachment 62159

As far as I'm aware, the Sea-Safe rafts are made in China. Ocean Safety don't claim that these particular rafts are made in the UK.

Yeah your probably right about the logo... But indie specifically ask if OS had designed and made it and they said yes. I then ask why the picture on the site is a SeaSafe raft... They said it wasn't, and they deneyed they bought it from SeaSafe or that it was made in China.

I just felt misled. They could have said yes we buy them in and confident in the product at that price point. You can google the firm in Liverpool that Repacks them and they welcome you to pop down and see them inflated. They will sell direct to end user and have the loads in stock, including 1 year old repacks for 1/3 off.

 

[tudorsailor]

Then went to the distributor in Liverpool and looked at them in person. I was happy to buy based on the quality and that Ocean Safety clearly thinks they're good enough to buy in. They also come in a slimline model which comes in a smaller pack that the Ocean Safety version at a lot less! Win Win and Win.

I cannot see the slimline on the seasafe website. What are the dimensions of the cannister? Is it still ISO (ARC) compliant?

Tudorsailor

 

[Tim Good]

I cannot see the slimline on the seasafe website. What are the dimensions of the cannister? Is it still ISO (ARC) compliant?

Tudorsailor

Not sure but I was quite taken with it so asked for mine to be Repacked to the slim canister. They can get the 4 or 6 man into the slim canister. It's all wrapped up in the boat at the moment but Norwest Marine would no doubt tell you or send a pic.

 

[GrahamM376]

As far as I'm aware, the Sea-Safe rafts are made in China.

Yes they are. We bought ours via Marine Safety in Gibraltar but delivered from French importer direct to Faro. Of all the rafts MS service and sell, that was the one he recommended and I don't think his margin was the reason. It's due its first service soon so will have a look at it when unpacked.

 

[Leonidas]

Yes they did, hence the need for a new one. In addition, the old one is a valise type and I would rather have one fitted on the push pit for easier deployment

 

[Gwylan]

Time has come to replace my old ( Plastimo) life raft with a new 6 person (canister) suitable for cruising usually in coastal waters. We do not contemplate to embark to an offshore trip in a hurry. I came across several makes during the last boat show at Excell, most of them similarly priced , the majority of them made in China, except for the Arimar Seaworld ( not an ISO9650 type 1) which is made in Italy, and very reasonably priced. I don't think any of them is self righting and as far as I know the one made by Viking is the only available ( albeit at an elevated cost) in the market.
Decision time and I should welcome your views and share your experience on any rafts which are usually available in the market, and whether upgrading to ISO9650 is worth the extra cost considering that a well stocked grab bag can contain all the extra items that will satisfy the ISO rating and whether the self righting facility is a must.
Thanks for your input.

We have taken to renting and sending it back at the end of the season. Overall not any more expensive and you are not hostage to getting the raft collected, serviced and returned - and the odd incidentals that the service centre dreams up. Last time it was sending the inflator cartridges out to be pressure tested and then refilled?

 

[fisherman]

FYI a life raft is becoming a requirement for 7-10mt F Vs about now, and the minimum is ISO9650