Servicing Engine & Liferaft

Daydream believer said:
One assumes that you are not suggesting that one inflates using the cord & activating the air bottle when servicing. :rolleyes:
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No. What I'm suggesting is familiarity with the liferaft and it's contents by self servici g gives you a much better margin than just having a mystery box or bag that someone else may or may not have "serviced" correctly. Knowing how it all fits together will really help if things go wrong.
 
Cheeky Girl said:
its that time of year now to think about servicing the engine etc

for the engine service MD 2030 I do the following

1 Replace impeller
2 Change oil & replace filter
3 Change the fuel filters

Do I need to look at anything else

The boat will stay in the water over winter

Also the life raft (Seago) is due its first service.
Is it needed ?
Can I do it myself

thanks for any help
Graham
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I obtained an ancient Seago, 13 years old iirc, to take apart and learn. I found that it had never been serviced, that taking it apart and trying to get it back in the bag properly was almost impossible. That the Chinese gas bottle was still full ( I weighed it) That an outfit in Liverpool would hydro statically test it, refill it and put a new trigger on. That the valve was made of a soft brass which distorted when a spanner was out on it. I was warned of this by the service people in Liverpool. And finally that when the lanyard was pulled it started to inflate but then the distribution manifold froze, the gas wasnt distributed, the bottom tube was over pressured and the pressure relief valve let the gas out so that there wasnt enough to eventually fill the raft, that the top tube and tent tube didnt inflate. Some would say that it didnt work because it hadnt been serviced? I have also had two Seago dinghys, both fell apart because the glue failed on the attachments after a few years. The first one to do so was replaced for trade price because of this. I will not buy another one off them.
 
Helidan said:
I really do not recommend anyone try this. For example, one critical function check is to verify that the fast release valve operates correctly. You need special tools to reset the operating head after the test.
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Unfortunately, there's no guarantee a raft will work after service by an approved centre as we found out, fortunately at another service centre 3 years later.
 
Daydream believer said:
I do not recognise the reasoning behind that statement. If one lobs it in the oggin & it does not inflate, how will knowing how it goes together help? One is not going to get a spanner out & start adjusting bits is one :rolleyes:
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The answer to that is Yes.
I found quite a few faults with my first liferaft which had been serviced. I've checked them myself since then. If you're a "practical boat owner" servicing your engine, fixing electronics , repairing keels then checking a life raft is not difficult. Once you've pumped it up and sat in it you know what it looks like and where everything is. You'll know where the valves are and the inflation mechanism. You can check your powerful dinghy pump fits. You'll be aware how to open the container and get it going in case of malfunction. You can also remove all the useless bits and carry decent stuff in a grab bag. You'll quite often find so called "safety items" are of poor quality.
 
KAM said:
The answer to that is Yes.
I found quite a few faults with my first liferaft which had been serviced. I've checked them myself since then. If you're a "practical boat owner" servicing your engine, fixing electronics , repairing keels then checking a life raft is not difficult. Once you've pumped it up and sat in it you know what it looks like and where everything is. You'll know where the valves are and the inflation mechanism. You can check your powerful dinghy pump fits. You'll be aware how to open the container and get it going in case of malfunction. You can also remove all the useless bits and carry decent stuff in a grab bag. You'll quite often find so called "safety items" are of poor quality.
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I would suggest that vaccum packing a liferaft is beyond the average PBO. Plus i would not recomend playing with the cylinder valve. I think that your assertions carry little weight in the grand scheme & the grab bag can easily get lost during the evacuation. So removing bits might be considered unwise.
But to each his own & if you wish to do it then there is no law to say that you must not-( unless chartering perhaps & one might ask why?) But that is only my opinion.
 
Graham376 said:
Unfortunately, there's no guarantee a raft will work after service by an approved centre as we found out, fortunately at another service centre 3 years later.
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In my experience the raft will deploy just fine, malfunction is rare. If anything it's usually the painter line that can be a bit tight to pull out because the vacuum bag has lost pressure and the whole raft has expanded. I take great care in positioning the painter line sachets to ensure it runs as free as possible.
 
Helidan said:
In my experience the raft will deploy just fine, malfunction is rare. If anything it's usually the painter line that can be a bit tight to pull out because the vacuum bag has lost pressure and the whole raft has expanded. I take great care in positioning the painter line sachets to ensure it runs as free as possible.
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We took Plastimo Offshore container raft to authorised service station at Alcantara near Lisbon for its 3 year service. Next time we took it to Gib agent and he phoned us to go and have a look at it. It was filthy, the insulated floor was missing, both inflation valves were cracked and wouldn't have worked and the old torch batteries had leaked. Can't remember whether the flares had been changed or not. We now have a SeaSafe self-righting and no way will I risk taking it to the Lisbon agent, who appears to be the same as serviced the Plastimo.
 
AIUI Seago have taken all servicing of their rafts in-house and no longer certify any other organisations. The next service lasts 3 years and maintains some resale value for the raft. I, for one, would be very leery of a self-serviced raft.
When my Seago 6-man got to 12 years and was due a bottle test and reverted to yearly certification I carefully opened and inflated it with a reverse vacuum cleaner. I tried to get it back into the canister a few times but the vacuum cleaner was not powerful enough to compress the bag. I gave the almost packed raft to my yacht club cadets, it inflated when pulled and fun was had.
 
awol said:
AIUI Seago have taken all servicing of their rafts in-house and no longer certify any other organisations. The next service lasts 3 years and maintains some resale value for the raft. I, for one, would be very leery of a self-serviced raft.
When my Seago 6-man got to 12 years and was due a bottle test and reverted to yearly certification I carefully opened and inflated it with a reverse vacuum cleaner. I tried to get it back into the canister a few times but the vacuum cleaner was not powerful enough to compress the bag. I gave the almost packed raft to my yacht club cadets, it inflated when pulled and fun was had.
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Seago authorised us last year for the ISO 9650 type 1 & 2 rafts. We can also service SOLAS/MED lifejackets.
 
awol said:
AIUI Seago have taken all servicing of their rafts in-house and no longer certify any other organisations. The next service lasts 3 years and maintains some resale value for the raft. I, for one, would be very leery of a self-serviced raft.
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So, avoid Seago if heading outside UK waters, delivery charges both ways plus customs, VAT, etc, would be a nightmare. When we bought our SeaSafe, part of the decision was based on location of service agents.
 
Beneteau381 said:
I obtained an ancient Seago, 13 years old iirc, to take apart and learn. I found that it had never been serviced, that taking it apart and trying to get it back in the bag properly was almost impossible. That the Chinese gas bottle was still full ( I weighed it) That an outfit in Liverpool would hydro statically test it, refill it and put a new trigger on. That the valve was made of a soft brass which distorted when a spanner was out on it. I was warned of this by the service people in Liverpool. And finally that when the lanyard was pulled it started to inflate but then the distribution manifold froze, the gas wasnt distributed, the bottom tube was over pressured and the pressure relief valve let the gas out so that there wasnt enough to eventually fill the raft, that the top tube and tent tube didnt inflate. Some would say that it didnt work because it hadnt been serviced? I have also had two Seago dinghys, both fell apart because the glue failed on the attachments after a few years. The first one to do so was replaced for trade price because of this. I will not buy another one off them.
Click to expand...
For those with dinghy disintegration issues, there is a dinghy repair article in the current PBO.
 
Daydream believer said:
I would suggest that vaccum packing a liferaft is beyond the average PBO. Plus i would not recomend playing with the cylinder valve. I think that your assertions carry little weight in the grand scheme & the grab bag can easily get lost during the evacuation. So removing bits might be considered unwise.
Click to expand...
None of the rafts I've worked on were vac packed. I think most people would be horrified if they saw how poor some of items packed in liferaft are.

As for Seago dinghys. Both the ones I have have been great value and pretty solid. One was lost at sea for a week and came back. I tow them most of the summer. Got caught out in a F8 this summer. The dinghy spent most of the passage either airborne or upside down in the water or on top of the self steering gear. A bit of wear on the towing eye but otherwise unscathed.
 
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