Where do you mount your liferaft?

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peterandjeanette

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My problem :-

I have a Jeanneau 45 DS. The boat has a dedicated location for a liferaft at the stern under the cockpit floor. To launch the liferaft there is a rear exit hatch directly over the bathing platform. The boarding ladder needs to be lowered to allow the hatch to open. My boarding ladder cannot be lowered until the dinghy is dropped from the davits. That's one hell of a lot to do if an emergency evacuation is required.

Being a short guy I don't want the liferaft on the coach roof so I can't see forward when on passage or berthing.

My question :-

Does the team think that the pushpit on a Jeanneau 45 is strong enough to mount my 4 man liferaft canister, in a cradle, without any reinforcement, to allow for a fast deployment?
 
Have you considered this:-
If it is rough enough to use a life raft the dinghy will be filling with water so would be better off the davits & just cast adrift. If you are abandoning in calm weather ie fire, then you will use the dinghy as first resort.

As for having the liferaft fitted to the hatch ( you sensibly discount this) - i would, on my boat at least, consider that dangerous. My hatch garage is fitted with just 6 screws. A good wave hitting the liferaft will not only take the liferaft away but the hatch garage plus hatch away leaving the boat severely exposed.

My liferaft sits on the cockpit floor under the mainsheet track. I have to step over the track so stepping over the liferaft is no different. I struggle to get it down into the cabin for winter storage so i would have no chance getting it out in a blow
 
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Your pushpit rail will certainly be able to support a 4 man raft mounted in a cradle. Make sure you buy an adjustable cradle
 
Strikeliner said:
Your pushpit rail will certainly be able to support a 4 man raft mounted in a cradle. Make sure you buy an adjustable cradle
Click to expand...

I did not consider the pushpit on my 42DS to be strong enough to support a 4 man Ocean Safety liferaft. I imagine that the 45DS may well flex in a similar manner. However, I simply fitted a support strut down from the bracket to the sugar scoop. This works well and transfers the load to a very strong section of fibreglass.

Similar fitting might be OK on 45DS with davits as long as liferaft drops down under the dinghy. You might have room to fit on stern right out on starboard side and launch clear of the dinhgy.

Strikeliner's profile doesn't show anything at all so I have no idea of the type of boat. It might be a 45DS and he is better informed. However, it would not be a good idea on the 42DS unless a strut is fitted or liferaft is a lot lighter than mine.


I'll see if I can dig out some pictures.
 
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The adjustable bracket and 4 man liferaft on my boat weigh in at more than 30kgs. I could see the inboard pushpit mounting point flexing when I put around that weight on top and pushed it in and out. I decided it wouldn't have been a good idea to simply fix the bracket to the pushpit. It would be OK in calm conditions but not something I'd want to stress in bad weather.

My solution was to use a strut made from a couple of pieces of stainless steel tubing. The strut clamps on to the base of the bracket and has a articulated joints at either end. The bottom fits into a 45 deg. bracket bolted through the sugar scoop with a pad underneath. No sign of any flexing now on pushpit, mounting points or mounting point on hull.

I'm afraid that I couldn't find any decent pictures of the mounting bracket. Try saving the picture below and zooming in to look bits of the strut.

Sorry that it isn't a great picture. I can probably find a list of the parts I bought.
LifeRaftDSCN3782.jpg
 
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Where do you mount your liferaft?
The new boat has a 4-man valise lifteraft stored on the floor in the after cabin. The plan for offshore trips this year is to store two of the biggest fenders on the floor in the after cabin and put the liferaft in the top of one of the cockpit lockers then fix the catches to keep the locker lid down. It could be a faff entering and leaving port but I think we will have enough fenders and warps in the other locker to get the boat moored up in most circumstances.
 
Hmmm. Quite a mixture of thoughts and solutions here.
Many thanks to all who did reply, especially Mistroma with the photo.

It is not my intention to go out in severe weather, but my crossing of Biscay a few years ago and the quick build up of the tramantana/mistral winds in the Med proves that anyone can get caught out at any time. And the liferaft needs to be immediately available.

I think it needs some careful planning, but the obvious solution is to include a bracing strut somewhere on the stern.

Fair winds to all.
 
I've always been of the opinion that the best place for a liferaft is just forward of the mast. It's the highest point of the boat, you can clip onto the mast whilst you're releasing it, and you don't have to lift it to launch it and it can be launched in any direction. Yes, there's the guard rails to consider but they should be tensioned with string so you can quickly slice through the bindings.
Having said all that, mine is mounted in a cradle on the pushpit!!!
Mike
 
On the pushpit but _inside_. I have no doubt a large wave could sweep a raft from an exposed position either on top of the cabin or hanging off the pushpit. I surf a lot and know the force involved in even very small waves, never mind a big wave. At least if it rips free of its's spot it's still in the cockpit now! It does take up some room, but worth the hassle.
 
KellysEye said:
Our 4 person liferaft was stored in a frame on the pushpit ready for immediate deployment.
Click to expand...

davidej said:
Mine too... but a 6 man on a 36 ft boat.

I see no need for additional bracing - i have never seen the pushpit flex.
Click to expand...

Quite a few people have said that they see no need for bracing and that the pushpit doesn't flex. I'd agree that may well be the case on their boat, though they don't usually state the make and model. It is certainly not the case on my Jeanneau 42DS.

I imagine that the pushpit will be sturdy on a smaller boat or one with a narrow stern as the pushpit will follow a U-shape around the sides and across the stern. However, the 42DS has a wide stern with a large walk-through gap in the middle. The pushpit is in 2 L-shaped sections, coming around from the side and across the stern. The stern section is quite long and stands high above the deck in the centre and the upright is on a fairly narrow section atop a vertical fibreglass panel. So plenty of leverage and things to flex.

Older boats will probably have a thicker layup and large backing pieces. The Jeanneau isn't flimsy but I doubt is was designed to fix a 30+kg weight at the top and then throw the whole lot around in heavy weather.

It would be useful to OP if your boats are largish modern designs with a wide stern and centre walk through. Perhaps they are more similar to a 45DS than my 42DS and the OP should heed your advice. My comments are solely based on the 42DS which has a fair bit in common with the 42DS.
 
Mistroma said:
Quite a few people have said that they see no need for bracing and that the pushpit doesn't flex. I'd agree that may well be the case on their boat, though they don't usually state the make and model. It is certainly not the case on my Jeanneau 42DS.
Click to expand...

The previous owner hung a 6-man raft off the stern rails of our Maxi 34. That definitely needed (but didn't have) bracing and I'm fairly sure the railing bases leak because of it. With bracing, it would be quite a good place for a raft. In our ownership, though, the outboard and the Jon Buoy have priority over the space.

Pete
 
On the pushpit.

I had an interesting discussion with the service agent in that the inflation line should exit the TOP of the canister as otherwise the weight of the liferaft is on the arming/cylinder. This leads to the instructions being upside down but the explanation was that if you are leaning over the liferaft (mounted on the outside of the pushpit in a bracket) to deploy it, then the instructions will in fact be the right way up!
 
DipperToo said:
On the pushpit.

I had an interesting discussion with the service agent in that the inflation line should exit the TOP of the canister as otherwise the weight of the liferaft is on the arming/cylinder. This leads to the instructions being upside down but the explanation was that if you are leaning over the liferaft (mounted on the outside of the pushpit in a bracket) to deploy it, then the instructions will in fact be the right way up!
Click to expand...

Interesting, I filmed mine being re-packed and might be able to see where the cylinder sits. The line exits on the side at bottom left so I imagine that will put the cylinder at the bottom. The guy used webbing straps and ratchets to pull the casing together so I can't see the liferaft falling down inside and putting much weight on the cylinder as it is jammed in place. I might ask Ocean Safety before swapping it around. The instructions can be read from the sugar scoop, not certain I'd be able to hang over from the cockpit and read them but will make a note to check before putting back on the bracket.
 
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