Which life-raft would you buy.....

[Independence]

Which 4 man life-raft would you buy for blue water passages.

Other than date of manufacture and next service date is there anything else to look out for?

Thanks

 

[pvb]

I think a lot depends on what you mean by "blue water passages". You'd probably be best asking a couple of decent liferaft retailers for their suggestions. There's a lot they can do to tailor a raft to your requirements, by packing in extra supplies, etc.

 

[KAL]

Bought our Seago from CE Banyard in Lostwithiel, Cornwall. Cheapest I could find in the country and delivered free. Brilliant service.

No connection, just v satisfied.

 

[npf1]

For bluewater, it's worth considering self righting rafts and ones with a decent step for getting into them. It's also worth reading the Coroners report from the 98 Sydney Hobart (to see why self righting matters) and doing a sea survival course (only takes a few hours, but it'll make you appreciate why a decent step or ladder to get into the raft is a worth paying good money for).

 

[[2574]]

I've been looking and have decided upon Viking; they do look like they're well built and with Viking being more commercial market than leisure I reckon their products have to be well up to the job. They are more expensive than the pure cheapo leisure jobbies but "you gets what you pays for". See here: http://www.viking-life.com/viking.nsf/public/yachting-rescyou.html

 

[sailorman]

Which 4 man life-raft would you buy for blue water passages.

Other than date of manufacture and next service date is there anything else to look out for?

Thanks

Buy a good quality raft my old 20 yr old BFA was much lighter than my newer Zodiac.
pop over & have a word with Graham at Suffolk Sailing in Claydon. Top bloke & will advise, might even do a deal

 

[Tranona]

If you have not done so already, suggest you do the survival course. Then you will be in a better position to judge for yourself which is the most suitable and what extras if any you want in your raft.

 

[Rossynant]

Which 4 man life-raft would you buy for blue water passages.
Other than date of manufacture and next service date is there anything else to look out for?

Service cost and intervals, naturally. Quality of construction, so it could survive more than a day or so, not to mention inflate at all... Also the kit, equipment included, so you could survive more than just a day.
Besides, not zodiac/avon...

 

[Bobc]

I'd second the Viking RescYou. Top piece of kit. (I have 2 of them, a 4-man and a 6-man).

In fact, I'm thinking of selling the 4-man (as I never have more than 6 on the boat these days). If it's if any interest to you,PM me. It's 6 years old and never been used

 

[Independence]

Thanks everyone.....have already done the sea survival course although it was 4-5 years ago.

 

[GrahamM376]

Check on service situation, makes such as Seago have few service agents outside the UK and cost of postage both ways can be horrific. Been looking at replacing our 18 year old offshore raft and the self righting Seasafe has been recommended.

 

[Oldhairy]

Viking being more commercial market than leisure I reckon their products have to be well up to the job. "you gets what you pays for".

You get etc... Absolutely agree.

As to the commercial market. I know nothing about the Viking rafts, but keep in mind that rafts don't carry cargo and the shipping industry will only pay the bare minimum to comply with the law.

 

[Uricanejack]

I reacently bought a 6 man Zodiac to comply with requirment for an off shore race.
It was on sale at a big discount so I thought it would be more cost effective than renting a better one.
Beafort, Viking, DBC, LSA are all good well reputed. ufortunatly I read an article about the glue failing on seams on Zodiac rafts and they are less options for inspections in my area. but it was less than half the price of the big names.
figured a cheep one on board was better than an expensive one still in the shop.
hope I will never need to use.

 

[Chalker]

Viking RescYou. Self Righting.
Done the course in the pool. Happy to right the raft in calm waters, don't want to try in a hoolie.
Picking ours up mid April

All of the liferafts seem to use a grab-bag to upgrade to the >24 hour pack. These have no way of attaching them to the liferaft when it's chucked overboard. Attaching it to the tether/activate line risks cutting it loose when you cut away from the boat. Needs a second line attached to the raft, not the container itself but cannot get any interest from manufacturers.
Best I've seen so far is to tether the grab-bag to the liferaft rope with a loop so that it slides down it and hope that you can recover it before cutting loose. Grab bag needs to float of course. Same problems with additional water.

 

[Bosun Higgs]

Have an XM one which is a German BfA raft. When I have seen it opened up for service I have always been impressed by the construction.

 

[KellysEye]

When we went ocean sailing we bought an Avon Modula but they now make Modula, Ocean and Coastline liferafts.

 

[Athene V30]

Which 4 man life-raft would you buy for blue water passages.

Self righting, ballast bags & access are key. Plus consider the floor- if in cold water you can loose a lot of heat through the floor - some have a double skin to reduce this. Just what I remember from the survival course.

 

[FullCircle]

Not a Seago. They have fallen out with all of the servicing centres, and you have to pay to get it couriered. They also want 205 quid plus the VAT with out even inspecting the raft.

ISO9650-1 plus a grab bag works for me next year.
SOmething like this.....

http://shop.liferafts.com/ocean-iso-9650-four-person-container-packed-liferaft-31-p.asp

 

[Medic]

Another Vote for Viking

We opted for a Viking RescYou Pro for the reasons given already: high quality & self righting with excellent independent reviews. It's not a decision I have regretted, although it is human nature to always justify the decision already made!

Although expensive to buy, and not cheap to service (Viking only recognise their own service centres), there is a certain reassurance to be had from a well constructed insurance policy strapped on deck, particularly when heading off soundings.

Thankfully we have never had to use it, but I still view it as a justified premium product. I would hate to ever be in the situation where I was left wishing that I hadn't skimped!

James

 

[FWB]

If you read " Survive the Savage Sea" by Dougal Robertson you will learn that a liferaft is not much use for blue water. A rigid dinghy is what saved him and his family.