XM / BFA liferaft service and recall

[wotayottie]

Have an XM liferaft purchased new in 2001 (I think!) and which is now subject to a recall. Its the one made by BFA in the fatherland and is I think the Offshore one. Never been serviced either so that needs doing. But the first quote for doing this work is over £400 so the question is - is it worth it with new rafts at £499? Does anyone know a more reasonably priced service agent?

Interestingly, Plastimo who took over XM arent interested in doing anything more than supplying the new valve whatsit to their agent despite it being a safety failure on safety equipment. I would have expected them to foot the courier bill and throw in a free service but the person I spoke to didnt want to know. According to the agent they dont even re-imburse his labour costs.

 

[Artemis_C2121]

Had ours done last year, included the valve replacement and a repair to an area that had been heat damaged by the heating system exhaust and more reflective tape added from memory was approx £375. Essex based company good service was happy to inflate it as we had never seen it walked us through the features etc. His opinion was BFA one of the best made he see's . I think though you can get new for not much more they may be of a lesser quality.

http://www.aerosafe.co.uk/index.html

 

[richardm47]

We too have a German-made BFA liferaft. Ocean Safety in Soton would do the recall and quoted £350 max for servicing. Mayday Marine in P'mouth would do the recall and quoted servicing at £90 for survey plus £170 max for replacing bits, but I'm not sure if Mayday are a recognised BFA agent or not. Was told that BFA would pay agents £26 for doing the recall work.

 

[Endeavourquay]

We use Mayday, and they seem to be a reliable outfit, and we use Ocean Safety, their turn around times have been very long this winter. Typical prices this winter 6man £250 + but under £400 by a long way.

 

[jema]

dont know how big the raft is.... but heres a thought, calculate 3 x yearly service + what ever repairs needed now, then compare cost to that of a new raft in container, with no service needed for first 3 years.. & up to date with the latest harmonised ISO requirements (december (ish ) 2007).... big changes in boarding area & few other design recomendations -
there are some good deals around currently, PM if you want example
regards J.

 

[sailorman]

my BFA possibly 18 yrs old has the recall regarding valves or sommat .
the recall work is FOC

if you have a service thats chargable as would be consumables

 

[wotayottie]

Hang on a minute - I thought that the raft would go another 3 years after this service before needing another. If service is a yearly thing then the answer has to be to throw the raft away.

 

[afp]

Service interval depends on make and use. Our Seasava is a three yearly service interval, but if it is used on a charter boat it has to be serviced annually.

As for costs, our 7 year old 4 man Seasava R valise costs £90 basic service plus bits, this year it came in at just over £200, which included new flares, batteries for the torch, refill of the gas cartridge, some re-taping of seams, vacuum packing and possibly one or two other minor bits.

We use Viking because they are just round the corner from us, but the first time it needed a service I rang around the local approved service agents and they all quoted the same basic service price.

 

[colvic987]

sounds very expensive to me, last service cost me £180 from messager marine in emsworth, the recall work should be free....

 

[AlJones]

I highly recommend SEMS for all life rafts and servicing.

Speak with Glen on 01268-534-427, he's a real star.

Al.