What is your lifejacket policy?

[Baggywrinkle]

Each crew member gets allocated a life jacket when they come aboard, they all go through a fitting process to ensure their jacket is properly adjusted and they know how to put it on. Then it goes in the locker in their cabin so they know where it is and they keep it for the duration of the trip.

We sail in the med, so water temperature is not an issue and falling overboard isn't really an issue either, we do it deliberately to go for a swim. At anchor no-one wears a lifejacket unless it starts blowing a hoolie and I need someone on deck.

The rules about when to wear them are simple, when the skipper says so, or if they feel they want to - non swimmers wear them on deck always when underway.

I'll tell the crew to wear them as soon as I feel the waves are big enough to make keeping a head above water difficult when fully clothed.

At night, always lifejacket and tether.

 

[Plum]

I'm curious to know how people manage their lifejacket policy on board?

I don't insist adults wear them, but I do insist that they have one allocated to them and that they try it on so they know how to put it on and so that it can be adjusted to fit, and if they choose not to wear it, that it's on deck, to hand, and they know where it is. I tend to keep mine on, and I find most people, having put it on and realised it's no big deal, tend to do the same. However when stationary (at anchor or in the marina), we take them off.

But to be honest, it's a motorboat, we don't deliberately go out in rough conditions, and the chances of anyone falling off are pretty slim.

The reason it came to mind was while idly musing a larger boat (as you do during the off season). If I was running (say) a 50ft flybridge, would I have the same policy? I'd still want people to be allocated and fitted with a lifejacket and to know where it is, but I think there would perhaps be less expectation to wear one, and I'm not sure I'd bother personally on a boat of that size. But then why? It's not like you can't fall off a 50ft boat, or have it sink under you. But certainly, whenever I see boats of that size about, it's very rare to see everyone permanently in lifejackets.

Hence the question - it would be interesting to know what people do, and on what size of boat.

I can only assume you, or someone else on your boat, has never fallen overboard.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Have you mentioned this to Mrs Chiara ?

Didn't go well when i mentioned it to Mrs R

She IS the skipper

 

[SC35]

I can only assume you, or someone else on your boat, has never fallen overboard.

If adults are seated inside a mid sized Motorboat in moderate conditions, how would they fall overboard, unless they were so annoying that you threw them overboard?
You don’t wear a life jacket on the QMII on the dance floor.

Possibly different for a sailing yacht that spends a lot of its time tipped over at strange angles.