Recommend me a life raft

[fisherman]

OK ... but that's faulty servicing - not failure of the L/R itself ... not really what I was posting on.

I hope you passed on that snippet to the Service ?? despite the time span ??

Gone bust
I did send plastimo a video, just for info, and despite the name, logo, serial number they flatly denied it was one of theirs.

 

[Tranona]

Tranona - I am well aware of the different classes of L/R inventory etc. But as you show - the pricing is not so different between them.

I would suggest pricing is such because the majority are same or basically similar L/R - but with different equipment installed inside ... yes I know there are single skin / tube versions etc. But the difference of gear inside is not significant cost difference.

My point was that if the chances of quick rescue as in coastal hopping - then can we miss a few services ???

Read your post again which raised a number of issues to which I responded.

As to your last question, there is no rational answer as there is no way of checking definitively whether a raft is likely to work at 1 year or 10 years between services.

 

[Gsailor]

Be interesting to know what the OP decides.

There are small liferafts for aircraft, as mentioned.

I never had a lr.

I have a Fladen suit BUT do not consider it lifesaving - as mentioned by one poster, it lets water in! It is warm and waterproof (except at ankles, cuffs and neck).

I have 4 different types of survival suit:
SAR orange, winch operator type (Nomex and GoreTex) easy to wear all day long

SAR orange - not Nomex but cotton-like material and GoreTex wear all day long even on mild Summer days - even more comfortable than the previous one.

Ventile survival suit from MOD - design specifically to keep downed pilots alive for longer in the sea. It has been proven - I do not have the stats any longer - on the web perhaps.

Polar survival suit - very much like suit number 2 but with a removable inner quilted lining. It uses neoprene neck and cuff seals.

Forgot - also have a very modern RAF pilot’s immersion suit -feel like cotton but is also GoreTex - rubber neck and cuff seals - I had to glue two holes or ports where tubes or wires? entered the suit - very comfortable to wear (as you would expect for a pilot flying for a while in a small cockpit)

Never tried a cumbersome neoprene survival suit.

There are stats somewhere that NOT getting wet and the associated evaporation are key to survival - hence Fladen for me is simply considered warm weather gear and certainly not apt for survival.

2nd hand suits can be bought cheaply £100 a suit e.g.

You can test them yourself or take to a dive shop to test.

Smaller aircraft l-rafts appear just as expensive as marine ones, but are obviously a smaller package to deploy.

 

[pandos]

My 1992 Plastimo was set aside in 2007. I fired it in about 2018. It failed due to faulty servicing, the bottle lanyard was set too long and the eye came up against the inside of the canister. After clearing that it fired fine. Would not have been much good if I was in the water trying to cut open the canister.

My Avon which was possibly from 1980's and which remained un-serviced, for atleast 12 years (it came on my boat and sat in my shed for 10 years) , when triggered it fired off with no issues. remained inflated for a good week and was absolutely solid in terms of pulling it apart splitting seams etc

My much more modern Lifeguard (2004) would not have fired properly because one valve was faulty. discovered this when I test inflated it using a compressor via the lines from the bottle.

My newest raft a Seago that i bought used but still in service and not previously serviced would not have worked because the knot on the tether had come loose in the valise (it was not stitched or taped) it is now...

From reports I have read, a LR working is down to a certain amount of luck...unfortunately it is rarely a lucky day that you need to use one in anger

 

[Sybarite]

Find me recent data that suggests otherwise.

Fire. (Yachting Monthly May 2015).

 

[Tranona]

Deleted Not relevant

 

[steveeasy]

I remember PhilMs account of entering Plymouth Sound at night in fog well and took it onboard when I found myself in the same place at night in Fog. I stayed out till Dawn!! Having managed to find the odd Rock quite a long way from a safe port earlier this year with a friend id not seen for 25 years who was contemplating leaping in to the water, we thought It might be wise to purchase a Liferaft for next season.

Shit Happens, Only last year I remember A very smart Twister 28 was out at sea with a very happy new owner and his friend on board. Some freak wave lead to a fire on board. and soon after the boat was gone fore ever. Cant help think id rather have had a liferaft to hand.

Steveeasy