Which life raft?

xyachtdave

xyachtdave

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Sorry if this is a repeat, did a quick search and not found much info.

Up until today I wanted a Viking life raft, having seen them at the London show a couple of years back and to be honest they made the others look a bit fragile.

Nobody seems to sell them, I called the Hamble office today and was quoted over £1500 for the most basic coastal, and £1800 for the rescue-you pro in a 4 man. Boat show prices then were around a grand and 800 quid. Questioned this pricing, was take it or leave it.

Where would you put a £1K budget for a life raft, based on coastal sailing and channel crossing, on a boat that is used lots?

Up until now I have managed without by thinking necessity would give me the invention to stop the boat sinking.........
 
By accident rather than intention I bought, it turned out, what the guy who does the servicing says, is a really good liferaft. Can not remember the make but having seen it inflated he has commented on quality of materials, construction and design with a sensible boarding ladder, large ballast pockets and inflatable floor. It is now 10 years old and hopefully will continue to be serviced for some time.

Therfore I would buy as good as I could with out going over the top and not worrying about frilly extras such what sort of torch, how much water etc. But would be concerned about how easy to get in, how stable etc and therefore would want to see these details before parting with cash. Can you visit a service centre? And seems you have every right to not purchase from the local guy and look further afield.
 
xyachtdave said:
Where would you put a £1K budget for a life raft, based on coastal sailing and channel crossing, on a boat that is used lots?
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Zodiac, in a canister. You can get a Coaster version for around £1100. It's vacuum-packed, with 3-year servicing and a 12-year warranty.
 
There really is no definitive answer. Firstly the chances of you ever needing to use it are almost zero. Secondly, the documented cases of rafts used in an emergency do not give one confidence that they will perform as expected.

The failures occur independent of the type of raft and perceived quality level. The best performing raft in recent times (based on an inevitably small sample) was a budget Seago. Rafts from so called premium manufacturers have failed, both in simulated tests and real life. Some failures are due to servicing errors, others on new rafts, and some because they simply do not perform their function in extreme conditions (failing to inflate, inflating upside down or proving impossible to board).

You can read the real experiences in the MAIB and Irish equivalent reports, but not sure that makes the decision easier - more likely turns you into a cynic, but you will at least know what happens in (limited) practice.

Then I expect you will buy the unit that fits your budget and salves your conscience.
 
This is a dilemma upon the horns of which I am currently perched.

A bit of a rethink is going on; most of our sailing is in waters where rescue would be there in minutes if ever needed. For offshore trips, short term rental looks interesting, especially as we'd lose the once-every-three-years servicing cost.
 
This is the problem, something you never want to or realistically will have to use, but you want to be sure it actually works when needed......

It seems branding and price don't guarantee it will be of any use in your (unlikely) hour of need.
 
We used to have a Seago valise... which was well rated... I px'd it for a plastimo canister job..... The Seago did rate very high. Its nice to have the canister on deck, looks the part. Hopefully it will make the requisite noise and float in the event of its use.
 
Very few yachtsmen can authoritatively comment on one brand or liferaft versus another. Some may have the misfortune to have experienced how one performs in use, but to have experienced two (in order to be competent to give a comparison) starts to look like carelessness*.

All I know about mine is the appearance of the valise. Mighty fine it looks. I hope that is the most of her I ever see.


*Ref Oscar Wilde: "To lose one parent, Mr Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. "
 
We hired for 10 years when we went across Channel but bought when heading off long distance. Did a lot of research at the time but found Ocean Safety provided good choice, advice and price.
 
I purchased a 6 man Seago valise type for my 30 footer, I have never used it but it does give some comfort.
The main problem is where to keep it. It weighs some 30kg so keeping it in a locker is a problem for any of the girls to lift it out. When racing we put under the saloon table but it should really be on deck to be of real use.
At some time I should exchange it for a 4 man canister and fit on the transom or some where on deck.
 
Clive said:
I purchased a 6 man Seago valise type for my 30 footer, I have never used it but it does give some comfort.
The main problem is where to keep it. It weighs some 30kg so keeping it in a locker is a problem for any of the girls to lift it out. When racing we put under the saloon table but it should really be on deck to be of real use.
At some time I should exchange it for a 4 man canister and fit on the transom or some where on deck.
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I have a 6-man liferaft, but on a recent Sea-Survival course, my wife and I were advised that this was probably too large. We rarely sail with more than 4 aboard, usually only 2, and we were advised that the weight of the occupants is a major feature in the stability of liferafts - and that a liferaft loaded less lightly than it is rated for may be unstable in a storm. It makes sense, I suppose - the area exposed to wind is larger, and the weight holding it down is less. The inverse is that a 4-man liferaft can have 6 people squeezed into it and still have a safety margin. Given that we would be unlikely to be sailing far offshore with more than 4 people aboard, I guess that our next liferaft will be a 4-man version.
 
I have a Givens 8 man, pricey at nearly $6000 but it is the business. I hope I never have to use it. But if I do, I have the peace of mind it can never turn turtle and trap all the occupants upside down. It has a special construction and was developed by NASA for the recovery of space crews. Servicing points in Europe are limited but I am not shy of sailing to the states to get it overhauled when the time comes.
 
VO5 said:
I have a Givens 8 man, pricey at nearly $6000 but it is the business. I hope I never have to use it. But if I do, I have the peace of mind it can never turn turtle and trap all the occupants upside down. It has a special construction and was developed by NASA for the recovery of space crews. Servicing points in Europe are limited but I am not shy of sailing to the states to get it overhauled when the time comes.
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Ah - but if you didn't have to keep sailing to the USA to get your liferaft serviced, maybe you wouldn't need a liferaft.:rolleyes:
 
VO5 said:
I have a Givens 8 man, pricey at nearly $6000 but it is the business. I hope I never have to use it. But if I do, I have the peace of mind it can never turn turtle and trap all the occupants upside down. It has a special construction and was developed by NASA for the recovery of space crews. Servicing points in Europe are limited but I am not shy of sailing to the states to get it overhauled when the time comes.
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I have heard of these, but at what equates to £4K ish, is best left to you offshore (sail to the states, real casual) dudes!

Winslow look 'top shelf' too, but similar budget unfortunately...... I might just count on being lucky and buy an extra bucket or two.....
 
xyachtdave said:
I have heard of these, but at what equates to £4K ish, is best left to you offshore (sail to the states, real casual) dudes!

Winslow look 'top shelf' too, but similar budget unfortunately...... I might just count on being lucky and buy an extra bucket or two.....
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Winslow look top shelf, but are nowhere near.

The reason is that this one has a double floor, double bouyancy, fully sealable canopy but the plus is underwater...

When launched, under the floor is a hemisphere which fills with seawater giving the raft extraordinary stability, guaranteeing that even in a hurricane, if it rolls down the face of a wave, of whatever height, it will always right itself.

No other liferaft in the world is like this, pockets or no pockets, hence the price, but money well spent in my view.

But I hope never to have to use it.
 
I'll be buying a liferaft later this year.

I'll be buying the cheapest possible as the only requirement is that my wife says we must have one before she joins me beyond the familiar waters of the Solent.
 
SolentBoat said:
I'll be buying a liferaft later this year.

I'll be buying the cheapest possible as the only requirement is that my wife says we must have one before she joins me beyond the familiar waters of the Solent.
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Suggest you both do the sea survival course with the simulated liferaft launch. Then ask her what she thinks about the whole idea!

My view of liferafts was formed the the training pool in Stonehaven over 30 years ago. Anything to avoid being in a position of depending on a raft is preferred!
 
Ha!

My concern would be that if I send her on a course like that, she'll never set foot on a boat again.

Maybe I should get her on a dunker course (inverting submerged helicopter mayhem fun) and she'd never want to fly anywhere again and we go sailing for all our hols.
 
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