Using an out of date life raft

[Graham376]

Viking make VERY high quality rafts, assuming it was serviced correctly I wouldn't worry about using it for another year. Back during the peak of the pandemic we were issuing extended certificates for commercial rafts due to severe delays in servicing and organising swap-outs etc.

My SeaSafe is about 2 years overdue for service which may invalidate the warranty but I'm not concerned about it working. From my past experience and horror stories elsewhere, I sometimes wonder whether servicing can be detrimental.

 

[Helidan]

My SeaSafe is about 2 years overdue for service which may invalidate the warranty but I'm not concerned about it working. From my past experience and horror stories elsewhere, I sometimes wonder whether servicing can be detrimental.

I quite like SeaSafe rafts. They are a decent quality and repack easily. You should get it surveyed though.

 

[Graham376]

I quite like SeaSafe rafts. They are a decent quality and repack easily. You should get it surveyed though.

Overdue repacking only due to Covid travel restrictions to Marine Safety at Gibraltar who is my preferred authorised service station. Hopefully, will get down there next month.

 

[Pete7]

That's the problem because of its age it is an annual service at around £600 a time. ADEC Marine who serviced it last time no longer service Viking rafts. I will be going to Ocean Safety, but was hoping to get another year out of it before I give it away.

What are your longer term plans on return from Ireland? For that price you could nearly buy a 4 man Seago now. Is it an ocean liferaft? not really? but if you are coastal sailing is that a problem. We carry a Seago, mainly for the risk of fire in addition to sinking as the dinghy is stored deflated.

Pete

 

[NormanS]

Our dinghy is rarely towed, but is otherwise always stowed fully inflated on its side on the side deck, against the deck saloon. The LR came with the boat, and I had it serviced a couple of times in 10 years or so. It occurred to me that in order to launch the LR, I would first have to launch the dinghy, which didn't seem to make much sense. Accordingly I have done away with the LR, which was nearly 30 years old. On pulling the painter, it inflated perfectly and remained inflated for some weeks. We don't do ocean passages, but cruise extensively around the Western Isles.

 

[Adrian62]

I have a life raft which is out of date ,open it up annually and check it is dry as it is in a vac sealed bag inside canister . My option is that I would not replace it but carry it anyway as it does not take up much space . If we need it and it works is a bonus , as we have the dingy inflated ready to go. We are only coastal cruising . But I would not use as my main source of safety .

 

[QBhoy]

stick it in the freezer until you want to use it...be fine !

 

[Sandy]

For coastal cruising a mobile phone and an inflated rubber dinghy is sufficient. How much to get it redone?

Have you any experience of using a mobile phone in an open rubber dingy in a F8 gusting F11, sea state rough, that you can share with the forum?

 

[Norman_E]

My take on old liferafts: Some years ago the expat liveaboards in Marmaris Yachtmarine organised an out of date liferaft test, using the swimming pool. About a dozen old liferafts were tested, ranging from just out of date, to one that had been sitting unused for almost 20 years. As I Remember it all of them inflated except the last and oldest one which was too perished to hold air. I think the consensus was that a three year re-test was actually pretty conservative, and that most would be safe for longer. Of course batteries in torches may have died, but the basic safety of the rafts looked OK.

 

[fisherman]

In the war 35000 mariners died, most from exposure. The idea is to get in an enclosed raft and zip it up, after 20 minutes the atmosphere is saturated and you stop losing heat to evaporation, though you will be sick. Even in relatively benign conditions round here exposure and hypothermia will be the problem sitting in the open for even a short time, particularly if you got wet.

 

[titsey]

What do you do with your old life raft if you end up buying a new one? Are any parts recyclable? or does it go to landfill to rot down over the next 600 years?

 

[fisherman]

Bottle went to a service agent, canopy went for dahn flags, rest in landfill. the next one is in my one-day-to-be local fishing museum, where it will be inflated for people to try out.

 

[Graham_Wright]

More and more I wonder if clubs could organise gatherings for collective self servicing. Each time a raft is opened, there is likely to be a fight to get it back in again and many hands etc.

The big benefit is that you will know how well it was inspected (or not) and not have to wonder if the "professionals" really were.

 

[Graham376]

Have you any experience of using a mobile phone in an open rubber dingy in a F8 gusting F11, sea state rough, that you can share with the forum?

That's not a problem, he wouldn't be in the dinghy long enough to use the phone, it will invert very quickly.

 

[penfold]

Have you any experience of using a mobile phone in an open rubber dingy in a F8 gusting F11, sea state rough, that you can share with the forum?

If you're caught in that while coastal cruising you're doing it wrong.

 

[pandos]

Have you any experience of using a mobile phone in an open rubber dingy in a F8 gusting F11, sea state rough, that you can share with the forum?

Even with a certified or brand new raft it may still be the only option.....

 

[Momac]

Have you any experience of using a mobile phone in an open rubber dingy in a F8 gusting F11, sea state rough, that you can share with the forum?

Serious question
What are the worst case sea state and wind conditions that would reasonably be expected to allow a life raft to be launched from a leisure boat and to allow peole to get into the raft .

 

[coopec]

Serious question
What are the worst case sea state and wind conditions that would reasonably be expected to allow a life raft to be launched from a leisure boat and to allow peole to get into the raft .

Good question.

I thought I'd check to see how life rafts faired in the Fastnet Race and found a lot of them just blew away as they didn't have ballast bags. (Apparently there has been large improvement in design since the 1978 Fastnet Race)

There are SOLAS requirements regarding launching,

Liferafts: SOLAS Requirements, Safety Features & Launching Procedure

 

[fisherman]

The service engineer in about 1994 told me about a training exercise on a high sided ferry. The raft, 40 person I think, was inflated on the end of the crane, but due to the gale blowing at the time just spun round like a catherine wheel. "Any volunteers?" .........
In the Croatian ferry disaster people died sitting on upturned rafts, not knowing the procedure.
We were told if possible to have the inflated raft on deck well before evacuation, but yachts don't have the space and FVs have steel and sharp edged machinery.

 

[penfold]

Davit-launched rafts have bowsing lines; just like davit-launched(or freefall) lifeboats, those operating them need to know what they're doing and carry out drills regularly, otherwise they're as dangerous as not having them at all.