Thread: Boat setup - onboard necessities

Yes, have four onboard. Much more wearable full time.

Originally Posted by Sidetrack

Yes, have four onboard. Much more wearable full time.

Inflatables are a great idea in theory ...

I went to a swap your old life jacket plus a bit of cash for a new one.. It was run/organized by Coastguard .
A fella bought an inflatable jacket along to swap over and the Coastguard guy pulled on the string to inflate the old jacket.... It never inflated so he pulled the jacket to bits and the gas cannister was not even connected up to the inflation chambers, the fella that bought the jacket in went a bit pale. I asked the Coastguard fella how common is it that the blow up jackets don't inflate when they should. He said it happens way more than it should because people dont see what is happening to the cannister inflation area, they dont realise how old the jacket is and they dont service that all important part.

I bought new bulky jackets for my family that I know will not fail when I need them to work, hopefully I will never need them but I know they will keep our heads above the water, so did the fella that bought the blow up one in that didnt work.

Originally Posted by sore head stoat

Inflatables are a great idea in theory ...

I went to a swap your old life jacket plus a bit of cash for a new one.. It was run/organized by Coastguard .
A fella bought an inflatable jacket along to swap over and the Coastguard guy pulled on the string to inflate the old jacket.... It never inflated so he pulled the jacket to bits and the gas cannister was not even connected up to the inflation chambers, the fella that bought the jacket in went a bit pale. I asked the Coastguard fella how common is it that the blow up jackets don't inflate when they should. He said it happens way more than it should because people dont see what is happening to the cannister inflation area, they dont realise how old the jacket is and they dont service that all important part.

I bought new bulky jackets for my family that I know will not fail when I need them to work, hopefully I will never need them but I know they will keep our heads above the water, so did the fella that bought the blow up one in that didnt work.

Inflatables are fine as long as you check them and look after them - I think it's a bit of a misnomer that foam core jackets don't need care and servicing as well, as the foam core can break down or be crushed and not provide the float it is rated to when you need it.

The benefit of inflatables is that they can be worn the entire time you are at sea without getting in the way or being uncomfortable, which is a huge thing. Also, wearing foam jackets can be dodgy if its a rollover incident as you can be trapped in them and it can be difficult to get out of them.