Spray Hoods

[totopalm]

Anyone used one in earnest, what did you think of it?
There are differing schools of thought knocking around
Personally i think they must be an aid to safety, although
i have never used one

 

[Pinnacle]

Ask GC1 for his views.

 

[totopalm]

Thort i wus

 

[GC1]

We used them on our sea survival course, a pure rip off at £19 or so but get one or die a slow horrible death, end of story ;

AND get one of These to ensure your wait for help is as small as possible, no excuse at these prices, even non gps is better than a slow death /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[totopalm]

Pete theres a school of thought that they could suffocate
a person, by the plastic face mask sticking over the mouth
and nose, I 'spect the person would have to be unconscious
in the water. Did you hear that on your survival course??

 

[GC1]

The hood has to be pulled up by you, it could be possible to smother your face if you were unconcious face down, but without it you would be dead anyway, stop messing about and thinking of excuses and GET ONE /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Maybe we could get a bunch made for us all in China for 10p each and sell them, that is all they would cost max.

We had water sprayed on us and I tell you what, putting on that pathetis bit of plastic and nylon made such a BIG difference. Buy one and go in a swimming pool for a play, or stand in the shower with swmbo and play liferafts /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Better still, go on the course and see what it is all about, EVERYONE on here should do the course, perhaps one of the trainers who post on here could organise a bargain course at cost price for forum members at £50 each or something.

 

[Channel Ribs]

[ QUOTE ]
...organise a bargain course at cost price for forum members at £50 each or something.

[/ QUOTE ]

I cant do the course, but I can do Baltic spray hoods at cost. Still more than 10p though - sorry /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Can do Fastfinds too, but cant get them in dark blue to colour code with hull colour I am afraid.

 

[GC1]

The MOST ridiculous rip off price I have seen for a sprayhood is Crewsaver for £19.99, that is a total rip off for what it is compared to the engineering of a life jacket at the cost just twice that.

The most they should be is £5, and that is giving a massive margine for profit. Getting them made would be very easy, may need to order 10,000 or so, but I am sure we could knock them out, perhaps YBW could offer them as a free giveaway with a years membership of a magazine /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Gludy]

GC!
There is nowt better to spread the word than a convert!!!!!

I chuckled as I read your posts here remembering how much you fought on the very same issue!

 

[mont]

Basic sea survival course stated you are mad not to have one on your lifejacket belt ready to fit if needed.
If you dont die from hypothermia first then drowning lying in your lifejacket is number two.
Sea will always turn you with wash breaking over your head so the overpriced plastic hood will then stop you inhaling lots of water as you get drowsy. They have small holes to let you breath.
Basic sea survival was £100 well spent and highly recommended. Teaches you and gives you confidence to handle situations.

 

[totopalm]

Thanks for that Mont just the sort of advice and feedback i
was looking. At least you and GC1 have done the course
I have just ordered two sprayhoods from Marine Safety
£15 each.
Last Summer a yachtsman was swept off his boat and
drowned off Anvil Point, When found he was wearing a
lifejacket poor soul. Cause of death was drowning
i wonder could a sprayhood have saved him. Thanks
for your input. Cheers Tony

 

[GC1]

Don't forget the HARNESS, you will drown without it! I didn't bother wearing mine before the sea survival course, but I can guarantee you I ALWAYS do now, that course is great, so great that swmbo was never going to go to sea ever again /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif BUT she then understood it is better to be trained and prepared for what you may face and has been back on the boat. Just remember those poor souls that were found dead with their lifejackets on, two manually inflated one auto who's yacht had been smashed to pieces, a ferry is a suspect at the moment. An EPIRB may have made a difference, not an easy subject to approach re that case as we don't know the full facts, but by God I have learnt a lesson from that, I have a 4yr old and would never ever forgive myself if for the sake of a couple of hundred quid for an epirb I sacrificed her or swmbo's life.

 

[Dipper]

I have just bought two new lifejackets with Baltic sprayhoods and another sprayhood for one of my older jackets. The recent deaths off the Isle of Wight, two of which apparently drowned with lifejackets on has made me think more seriously about safety. The hoods are clipped to the toggle or strap at the top of the jacket and after inflation can be pulled down over the face. They are secured to the bottom of the inflated jacket by elastic straps which provides quite a large breathing space between your face and the plastic screen.

I also bought a two piece immersion suit (2 x 50N buoyancy) to help protect against hypothermia as I needed a new jacket and trousers anyway.

 

[GC1]

Just save up for an EPIRB now, great to see someone investing in safety, well done /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

I was looking at immersion suits, so any ideas from your research would be useful.

 

[totopalm]

They seem to an essential piece of safety kit, without having
a prohibitive price tag. I know there is an argument against
their use, but i'll take my chances

 

[Dipper]

I didn't do an enormous amount of research but flotation/survival suits seemed to come in three loose categories. There were those that were sold through sport fishing sites which were extremely cheap at around £85 for a one piece suit. These looked very good value and quality but did not quite seem to fit all the requirements for sailing. The second 'category' were the commercial suits which were generally serious bits of kit but appeared a bit cumbersome for leisure sailing but would undoubtedly be the best if you did find yourself in the water. The third type looked very much like regular sailing jackets and trousers (or combined into a one piece suit). The one I bought was in this latter category and was a Gemini two piece suit consisting of a jacket and separate trousers made by Cosalt (the parent company of Crewsaver). I got them from We Sell Crewsaver at £160 for the two items (excellent 24hr delivery). I was worried it would feel a bit bulky but the foam is distributed throughout the jacket and top part of the trousers and has the feel and appearance of a quilted finish.

I liked the look of the one piece suit but as with all safety issues you have to ask whether the safety equipment will be available when you need it. I thought it more likely that I would be wearing a jacket rather than a full one piece suit (I usually only don trousers when it is wet or rough) so at least I would have half the suit on in reasonable weather. These suits are very warm so on the plus side you don't need to wear as many clothes in cold weather but on warm or hot days you could overheat!

One slight concern is that a warning came with my 150N lifejackets that they may not turn the wearer onto their back if a flotation suit is being worn but I suspect that this is more likely to apply to one of the more buoyant suits than the Gemini.

 

[GC1]

Thanks for that informative post, I will be looking into these further taking into account your findings.