Seago vs Ocean Safety Liferafts

K

KeelsonGraham

Well-Known Member
Joined
6 Jul 2021
Messages
468
Visit site
I’ve got quotes from both companies for a 4-person offshore liferaft. The Ocean Safety one is almost exactly double the price of the Seago. The only obvious difference between them is the >24 hr service pack on the OS raft, whereas Seago just has the bog standard 24 hr pack.

Asuming that a few bottles of water and some dried food doesn’t account for the price difference, the OS liferaft must be much more robust than the Seago, or maybe not.

Can anyone shed any light on why their prices are so different?
 
Not sure about the ancillaries that come with each one, I have a separate Grab Bag with flares, VHF, water etc but looking at the Seago unit at the show I was very impressed by how robust it looked. I can't comment on the Ocean Safety rafts.
 
Hi. I would ask OS to justify the price. They can tell you the advantages.

I have seago life jackets which were very good value. I could have spent double for Crewsaver or 3x for spinlock; I am satisfied the difference wasn't worth it for my personal needs.
 
I have had a Seago for 16/17 years and when I last checked it a few years ago, it was as good as new and stayed inflated for 4 days before the family insisted that it was removed from the lounge. :D

From all comments I heard when I was looking to get it, Seago was as good as the rest quality wise. I'd get one again tomorrow if needed.
 
The ISO 9650-2 at £750 is I think rated for use for to 24 hours, ISO 9650-1 has a higher rating for for longer use but of course costs considerably more.
For coastal sailing, hopping across the Channel or Irish Sea the 9650-2 should be perfectly satisfactory as in these confines it would seem unlikely that you would not be picked up within 24 hours.
As we now restrict our sailing predominantly to the Irish Sea area we chose the Seago ISO 9650-2 valise version.
On our previous boat where we sailed further afield we had an RFD container L/raft attached to the deck.
 
I wrote to Seago to complain about the quality of their life sling but never got a reply. The bag felt apart within 12 months. Nothing was UV resistant. The sleeve for the floating line just fell apart leaving the line exposed to the sun. If Seago believe this is acceptable for a bit of safety equipment, I personally would not touch Seago with a barge pole since my life might depend on fully functioning equipment one day.
 
I have a Seago life-raft which I bought secondhand (I hope it's ok).

I believe they have a 2-year service interval, whereas some others have 3.
 
I had an Ocean Safety LR & had it serviced by Premium liferafts at Burnham at the correct intervals. On one service I fortinately took it in at the end of the season. i only just got it back in time to go sailing at the start of the next season because the bottle filling station broke to adaptor. It is a special part & it took so long to get the replacement I very nearly did not have a life raft. premium kept me informed & I do not think that it was their fault but more one of an ocean Safety one. Sort of puts me off O S if the service centres cannot get the spares.
In the end my latest one is a Seago because it fits in between the seats of my cockpit under the traveller. + it is an ISO one accepted for RORC racing
 
Daydream believer said:
Mine has just gone in for 1st service, 3 year intervals for 15 years. 1 year after that.
Click to expand...
I think you will find that after 12 years Seago servicing is annual. My calculations made it uneconomic to keep after 12 years. Cost for 12 years is purchase cost +3 services thus for a 4-man raft - £750 + 3 x £300 = £1650 or £137.50p.a. Further 1 year services are £250p.a.
 
awol said:
I think you will find that after 12 years Seago servicing is annual. My calculations made it uneconomic to keep after 12 years.
Click to expand...
This explains why mine was so cheap - it was 11 years old with a year left on the ticket when I bought it.
 
awol said:
I think you will find that after 12 years Seago servicing is annual. My calculations made it uneconomic to keep after 12 years. Cost for 12 years is purchase cost +3 services thus for a 4-man raft - £750 + 3 x £300 = £1650 or £137.50p.a. Further 1 year services are £250p.a.
Click to expand...
I did this calculation also..when I considered buying a used 4 years old one for 230 (euros) and then realised I was doing sums for the cost of servicing when I would be nearly 70 years old...so I just bought it...
 
Daydream believer said:
I had an Ocean Safety LR & had it serviced by Premium liferafts at Burnham at the correct intervals. On one service I fortinately took it in at the end of the season. i only just got it back in time to go sailing at the start of the next season because the bottle filling station broke to adaptor. It is a special part & it took so long to get the replacement I very nearly did not have a life raft. premium kept me informed & I do not think that it was their fault but more one of an ocean Safety one. Sort of puts me off O S if the service centres cannot get the spares.
In the end my latest one is a Seago because it fits in between the seats of my cockpit under the traveller. + it is an ISO one accepted for RORC racing
Click to expand...
It was a different make but Premium Liferafts once gave me precisely the same story when the service on my liferaft took months longer than promised.
Edit: I now use Suffolk Marine Safety
 
pandos said:
I did this calculation also..when I considered buying a used 4 years old one for 230 (euros) and then realised I was doing sums for the cost of servicing when I would be nearly 70 years old...so I just bought it...
Click to expand...
Some of us passed that milestone a few years back and still feel the need for a liferaft to satisfy the concerns of others.
 
awol said:
Some of us passed that milestone a few years back and still feel the need for a liferaft to satisfy the concerns of others.
Click to expand...
My comment was not aimed at a suggestion that over 70s need not worry about a raft,

It was more about realising how far into the future needed to factored in when doing sums for up to 14 years ahead, in order to see if a used raft was good value..
 
pandos said:
My comment was not aimed at a suggestion that over 70s need not worry about a raft,

It was more about realising how far into the future needed to factored in when doing sums for up to 14 years ahead, in order to see if a used raft was good value..
Click to expand...
I find it surprising how quickly things come round - flares, EPIRB battery, life jacket actuators, liferaft, first aid things, beer bottles - all have dates that seem to creep up a few minutes after money has been spent updating them.
 
For coastal sailing I specifically swapped from a life raft rated for higher time period to the up to 24 hour one. The servicing costs for the former were getting outrageous, and mostly for replacing internal contents I didn’t really want.
Many now have a single raft with up to 24 hour contents, and an optional add on with extra contents.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top