Will a liferaft float?

Ben_e_Toe

Ben_e_Toe

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Seems an obvious question........ except that I was pondering the canister mounted on the pushpit versus valise in the cockpit locker question.

If the worst happens and you have a valise in the cockpit locker, in the confusion of the 45 seconds it takes the boat to sink, will the valise 'float' out of the flooding locker (assuming it is top opening) or will it make its way to the seabed?
 
All commercial use liferafts are designed to be buoyant in the canister - otherwise there would be no point in fitting a hydrostatic release to automatically releases the raft if vessel sinks. I assume that leisure rafts should also float for the same reason but have not checked this.

The requirement to secure the raft painter to the boat before launching is to prevent it from drifting away (either in canister or inflated) and to allow you to inflate the raft as the gas cylinder is activated by the painter.

For those who have not read the instructions: check painter is secured to strong point, undo the raft lashing, carry to the side, check the water is clear, throw raft over side, pull all the painter out of raft (could be a lot of line to come out), sharp tug on painter to inflate.

For more info and hands on experience do attend a survival course, if nothing else you will realise that a liferaft is much like a kiddies paddling pool with a tent on and is a very poor second best to the boat you might have to leave.

Incidentally survival courses are compulsory before anyone can be employed at sea - while resisting regulation of leisure boating it makes sense to take similar precautions.

Have fun.
 
No the liferaft will not sink if not inflated, theyy are designerd to float, until the lanyard is pulled to inflate them. I damn well hope so anyway! But seriuosly they do, leisure and proffesional.
 
On the first survival course I attended the raft had not been packed correctly - It started to inflate but was twisted with the pressure relief valves on the oposite side of the twist to the gas cylinder. It assumed a strange shape before a loud bang released all the gas.

Have spoken to a fisherman who's vessel was sinking and first raft did not inflate, the second did otherwise he would not have been around to tell the tale. Apparently this is not that uncommon, which is why the first draft of the code of practice for yachts commercial use required two rafts for 200% of crew.
 
Big tug needed too...

And it takes a surprisingly hard tug to set the thing off! Everyone with a liferaft should try to see it during servicing and, ideally, set it off by pulling the painter. It's a reassuring experience.
 
45 seconds?

If struck in the fog, or suffering a gas explosion, or if you clip the keel off on an errant container (of which our waters appear to have plenty just now), you may well not have 45 seconds.

I can't think of one good reason to spend a £grand on a liferaft and not a bit extra on the means for it to float to the surface and deploy itself in the event of catastrophy.

Therefore you really need a hydrostatic release (CORRECTLY ATTACHED), a smooth canister (so it will float out from amongst tangled rigging etc., and a mounting point that gives best chance of it floating clear in the first place.

I would be very interested to hear suppliers justify the use of a valise raft, which inevitably will be put below (or as proposed in a locker with a latch on it), and possibly buried by other stowage.

I once saw a yacht, may have been a Sadler, that had a cubby hole at the back of the cockpit, protected by a cover. Whether that would allow it to float clear and could be rigged with a hydrostatic release, is anyones guess.

Except in anticipation of a gas explosion that blows the top clean off, anything stored below would not get the vote of my beer tokens!
 
Re: I\'m really surprised they float

Yeh, I thought the same . . . but then I thought - think how much the same valise or canister full of water would weigh - you wouldn;t be able to lift that very easily either, would you?

- Nick
 
With these thoughts in my mind, I've looked into getting my plastimo valise one transferred into a canister, and I got a reasonable quote, so this is one of my 1st priorities when I get home. It's bloody heavy, and getting a valise out of it's storage location in a panic situation is not something I fancy.
Jem.
 
There is no reason why you should not regularly test your lifejackets if you wish. Don't inflate by gas canister, or breath as that will put a load of moisture into the air chamber. Just connect a dinghy pump to the oral inflation tube and blow it up that way. You'll reassure yourself about leaks. They are very easy to repack.
 
Re: I\'m really surprised they float

My liferaft is also surprisingly heavy. I wonder what that weight does to stability of the yacht when its stored on the cabin rooftop.

As mine is a valise, I store it the cockpit sole, and do worry about deploying it in anger. As said I would hope to be able to lift it out if I had too, but its not easy to move it even when tied up to the berth (pontoon), never mind in a stormy sea, and with possible injuries.

Bit of a conudrum
 
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