Would you buy a second hand life raft?

[Star-Lord]

Very important to remember 2 people in a six man raft is not safe because raft will be too big therefore unstable. 1-4 persons = 4 person raft. If you have a life raft It is a good idea doing a course ( in a swimming pool) because when you deploy the raft it will probably turn upside down. It is easy to sort out but it's nice to have practised it. Also after 5 (or 6) years the Liferaft will need to be serviced annually (Ocean Safety ones).

When I did Sea Survival course one person could not get themselves into the liferaft by themselves. It took two people inside the raft to drag them inside. It is useful to know if you can, or can not, get in the liferaft!

 

[Refueler]

Very important to remember 2 people in a six man raft is not safe because raft will be too big therefore unstable. 1-4 persons = 4 person raft. If you have a life raft It is a good idea doing a course ( in a swimming pool) because when you deploy the raft it will probably turn upside down. It is easy to sort out but it's nice to have practised it. Also after 5 (or 6) years the Liferaft will need to be serviced annually (Ocean Safety ones).

When I did Sea Survival course one person could not get themselves into the liferaft by themselves. It took two people inside the raft to drag them inside. It is useful to know if you can, or can not, get in the liferaft!

Size of raft for job has been covered and is true that you should not have bigger than needed.

As to getting a person into the raft ...... we were taught to turn them round so their back to raft .... push them under water to have the LJ bouyancy help you lift them high enough to pull up and over into the raft ... That tactic is fine for those who know that's going to be done ... but for the uninitiated - it can cause serious panic !!

 

[fisherman]

The raft we trained with had a tape from the bottle, across under the floor, round the tube, through the door and across the floor inside. It was not difficult, stand on the bottle, hold tape, fall back, and keep pulling the tape so you drag the raft off your face, and pull it under you, as much as climb in.

 

[Refueler]

The raft we trained with had a tape from the bottle, across under the floor, round the tube, through the door and across the floor inside. It was not difficult, stand on the bottle, hold tape, fall back, and keep pulling the tape so you drag the raft off your face, and pull it under you, as much as climb in.

So ?

Try that in a howling wind !!!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

So ?

Try that in a howling wind !!!

Although we didn't try it in a howling wind, the instructor did get my wife to right the liferaft first - she was the oldest member of the class bar me, far and away the smallest and lightest person present (she weighs about 6 stone) and it was an 8 man dinghy. She succeeded, much to her surprise! And, of course, she set a mark for the rest of the class, most of whom were students in their 20s. Given the broadly spherical nature of a liferaft with a sprayhood, I'd have thought that the wind might not make as big a difference as you'd think, and that it should be possible to arrange things so that the wind helps (get the bottle to the downwind side, stand on it while pulling on the handles on the bottom and the wind should be helping the liferaft to right). However, that doesn't take the disorientation resulting from being in a heavy sea and the effects of cold into account .

 

[fisherman]

raft

So ?

Try that in a howling wind !!!

I'm responding to, quote: "When I did Sea Survival course one person could not get themselves into the liferaft by themselves." We could, but we were younger then.
Given the chance I would have to try it in a howling wind, but when a FV sank suddenly after hitting the Gilstone, off St Marys, Scilly, the skipper, in the water, raft popped up: "Oh good, that worked then" and it flew off into the dark.
It was recorded in the Estonia ferry disaster people were found sitting on top of upturned rafts, no training, presumably.

A friend, fifty+, smoker, drinker, non swimmer and by his own admission very unfit, did the Robert Gordon course, for oil rig vessel work. 12 man raft, weather laid on, he righted it, but took a long while.

 

[Refueler]

raft

I'm responding to, quote: "When I did Sea Survival course one person could not get themselves into the liferaft by themselves." We could, but we were younger then.
Given the chance I would have to try it in a howling wind, but when a FV sank suddenly after hitting the Gilstone, off St Marys, Scilly, the skipper, in the water, raft popped up: "Oh good, that worked then" and it flew off into the dark.
It was recorded in the Estonia ferry disaster people were found sitting on top of upturned rafts, no training, presumably.

A friend, fifty+, smoker, drinker, non swimmer and by his own admission very unfit, did the Robert Gordon course, for oil rig vessel work. 12 man raft, weather laid on, he righted it, but took a long while.

Don't get me wrong ... I've done it as well as a young 18 - 19 year old ... but at 64 ... its going to be a lot harder ...

Of course you do it trying to have the wind / waves help you to blow it over on top of you ...

The Estonia Ferry disaster .... lets be honest - how many times on Ferry's have you been shown anything ?

 

[penberth3]

…...Given the chance I would have to try it in a howling wind, but when a FV sank suddenly after hitting the Gilstone, off St Marys, Scilly, the skipper, in the water, raft popped up: "Oh good, that worked then" and it flew off into the dark.....

That's a problem I'd never thought about with hydrostatic release!

 

[Refueler]

That's a problem I'd never thought about with hydrostatic release!

The Hydrostatic connects the holding straps.

The painter should be made fast to the HRU .... but has a weak link (if you don't have a weak link - then you have not installed properly).

Here's general guidance notes :

Life Raft Release System and Launching Procedure
By Anish | In: Guidelines | Last Updated on December 13, 2019


As discussed in the previous article, life raft has an advantage over life boat as they are easy to launch and during emergencies, the life raft inflates itself automatically as soon as it comes in contact with seawater. In this article, we will discuss the life raft release system and launching procedure.
The life raft on board ship are released or launched into the water by three different methods:

1) Auto release with Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU).
2) Manually launching.
3) Launching by Davits.

Auto Release with Hydrostatic Release Unit (HRU):
The life raft HRU plays an important role when it comes to saving a life during an abandon ship situation. SOLAS 74 clearly specify the requirements for construction and positioning of the HRU at the life raft.
The Working of HRU:

• HRU acts as a connecting media between life raft container and ship deck, where it is stored.
• The HRU comes in action under the pressure of water exerted on HRU when the ship sinks below 4m of water level.
• The HRU consists of a sharp knife or chisel which is used to cut the strap lashed over the container carrying life raft, but it still holds the painter at the weak link.
• The HRU is connected to the container through a lashing arrangement which can be disengaged quickly by means of slip hook when launching the raft manually.
• The HRU is connected to a strong point on deck through a weak link.
• When vessel sinks, the HRU cuts the rope and the container floats to the surface of water.
• As vessel sinks further, the tension in the painter causes the life raft to inflate out of the container.
• The tension acting on the weak link will cause it to break making the life raft free from the ship.
• When vessel sinks, the HRU cuts the rope and the container floats to the surface of water.

The raft will float free and can be blown away .... its a sad fact that there's no other alternative because the vessel has sunk ...

 

[fisherman]

The Estonia Ferry disaster .... lets be honest - how many times on Ferry's have you been shown anything ?

Absolutely. Local raft service man went on an exercise with Brittany Ferries, the forty man raft was inflated on the crane, 100ft above the water, in a strong wind, it was twirling like a catherine wheel. No one offered to get in.

 

[fisherman]

A decent raft will have a boarding ladder of course, my cheap £550, Seago did.

 

[Refueler]

A decent raft will have a boarding ladder of course, my cheap £550, Seago did.

Having been in Plymouth Sound in March doing Sea Survival ..... I can honestly say that trying to convince your cold numb body to try and get foot into a webbing 'ladder' that is halfway up your body is impossible.

Just as example - I fell into Bembridge Hbr in reasonable weather and temp ... I could not get foot onto my rudder and then up the boarding steps fitted to transom on my yacht. I had to have two guys lift me up. My body was numb quicker than time I had to get back ...

 

[Resolution]

Having been in Plymouth Sound in March doing Sea Survival ..... I can honestly say that trying to convince your cold numb body to try and get foot into a webbing 'ladder' that is halfway up your body is impossible.

Just as example - I fell into Bembridge Hbr in reasonable weather and temp ... I could not get foot onto my rudder and then up the boarding steps fitted to transom on my yacht. I had to have two guys lift me up. My body was numb quicker than time I had to get back ...

which is why the better modern life rafts usually have some sort of inflated ramp up which you slither.

 

[Beneteau381]

Although we didn't try it in a howling wind, the instructor did get my wife to right the liferaft first - she was the oldest member of the class bar me, far and away the smallest and lightest person present (she weighs about 6 stone) and it was an 8 man dinghy. She succeeded, much to her surprise! And, of course, she set a mark for the rest of the class, most of whom were students in their 20s. Given the broadly spherical nature of a liferaft with a sprayhood, I'd have thought that the wind might not make as big a difference as you'd think, and that it should be possible to arrange things so that the wind helps (get the bottle to the downwind side, stand on it while pulling on the handles on the bottom and the wind should be helping the liferaft to right). However, that doesn't take the disorientation resulting from being in a heavy sea and the effects of cold into account .

I did mine in the RGIT in Aberdeen, sadistic barstewards they were too! They turned the lights off so black as could be, wind maker fans and saidfellow with a fire hose. Jump in off the diving board fully kitted, pull the lanyard, howling gale, artificial lightning, push a couple in the raft, then back to the liferaft and they do the bounce and pull in. The fire hose man hits you in the face with the water until you twig and shield your mouth with hand as instructed! I could have cheerfully hung one on him!

 

[AntarcticPilot]

I did mine in the RGIT in Aberdeen, sadistic barstewards they were too! They turned the lights off so black as could be, wind maker fans and saidfellow with a fire hose. Jump in off the diving board fully kitted, pull the lanyard, howling gale, artificial lightning, push a couple in the raft, then back to the liferaft and they do the bounce and pull in. The fire hose man hits you in the face with the water until you twig and shield your mouth with hand as instructed! I could have cheerfully hung one on him!

Thankfully, my only experience of RGIT was that I had to have a medical check up there before joining British Antarctic Survey! That was in the days when going to Antarctica would have meant a minimum of 6 months down South, and potentially longer if the weather didn't cooperate with the re-supply schedules. For other reasons I never did that, but when I joined BAS it was on the cards.