Life Raft

[LakeMichiganDave]

We do our boating primarily on beautiful Lake Michigan out of Chicago. When we boat over to the Michigan or the Wisconsin side, we generally hug the shoreline for the most part.
This upcoming season we are considering some extended destinations. We are considering more of a direct route, lake crossing, to save time. What's do most others have on board regarding life rafts. We currently do not have a dingy for our 50' GB.

 

[sealandsky]

A couple months ago I bought an 8 person (12 overload) Viking life raft. It's fully enclosed, sea anchors, emergency provisions. I'm just about to mount it in the aft cockpit. I'm on Lake Superior, Chris Craft Catalina 480.

 

[Snapdragon III]

For a boat that is not doing world cruising, I would say the most important thing in choosing a life raft is to get one that can be serviced locally when it expires. Shipping them is a pain due to the flares and compressed gas in it. It is way better if you can just throw it in your car, and drive it to the place that repacks it, then go pick it up when it's done.

 

[O C Diver]

Highly recommend a life raft. Boats go down very quickly, especially if sunk by a big ship in the fog. One with a hydrostatic release and automatic inflation is a good idea. The one on Slow Hand was 4 person and came with the boat. I put an 8 person on my charter boat and the new owner replaced it two years ago at a cost of $2,200.

Highly recommend a waterproof VHF with alkaline batteries in a waterproof bag to be repacked in the life raft. The one on my charter boat had three sets of batteries and offered significant peace of mind.

Having a ditch bag is also a good idea, but often that requires time to grab it, that you may not have.

Ted

 

[Larry M]

How many people will you be crushing with? We had a 6 man off shore raft for the 2 of us. It weighed over 90 lbs and took 2 people to manage it. When we had it recertified, we went to the company doing the work. After it was inflated, we sat in it. It was plenty big for the two us and the certification company suggested we get a 4 man if we were going to replace it. His comment was about it’s stability in high winds with only 2 people in a large raft.

Ours was an off-shore life raft. Companies also make near shore rafts that are lighter and designed for those who cruise near rescue points.


Fortunately, in 10 years, we never needed it.

 

[ScottC]

I couldn't agree more with Snapdragon's comment about local service.
Our first life raft came with the boat and had poor service representation throughout Europe. After shipping it to have the service performed every three years, we decided to pronounce it at end-of-life after year 12.
The STARTING POINT for researching the replacement life raft was to learn what we could get serviced locally. Very locally - like a 2km drive. The second criterion was that the raft had to be popular enough to have good service representation throughout the Med, as that's where we currently are. This all led us to a Plastimo 4-man coastal. I'm sure the manufacturer & service options are much different in the States, but my recommendation remains: Start by researching what can be serviced locally.

 

[Hippocampus]

On the blue water sailboat had a 4 man ocean Winslow. Most rescues occur within 24h even when off the shelf. On passage never had more than 4 aboard. The majority of time you are not on passage it’s just 2. In that setting it’s important one person by themself can launch the raft. That allows the other person to continue to attempt to save the boat until the last minute. Given my wife is under 100lbs that fact severely limited choices. The Winslows were originally developed for airplanes and are the lightest. The 4 man was light enough she could deploy it by itself. Life rafts in canisters have a tough life. Sitting in the sun they are exposed to weather. They heat up in the sun. They are fixed in position. All life rafts may not properly inflate even when properly maintained and repacked at appropriate intervals. If my vessel was large enough I would carry several due to this. But my boats aren’t ships so I carry one. If open ocean or offshore would carry a Winslow as big as the smallest crew could deploy and it would be in a bag. My concern isn’t just sinking but rather uncontrolled FIRE. During fire it not unlikely one area of the boat will be engulfed by smoke and another have much less. On the current boat we can disembark from either side at midship or off the swim platform so we can deploy the raft where smoke is less. If smoke isn’t completely overpowering would deploy the raft where wind or current would cause it to drift away from the boat most rapidly. With a fixed mounted raft you have no choice as to where it will be deployed and it may be somewhere inacessible. So for small boats canisters may not be the best choice.
Now on a coastal SD hull we no longer do near shore beyond ~25m offshore nor ocean passages. A single floored, single tube raft is sufficient. We would be rescued in hours not days. They are a fraction of the cost of an ocean rated raft. We continue to have a ditch bag which is kept next to the raft. Both are easily available and stored inside to decrease risk of theft. Theft of liferafts was an issue when we were cruising the Caribbean same as dinghies. Now it’s less of a concern but still exists as we aren’t on the boat as much. Strongly suggest when you bring your raft for service have them inflate it while you’re there. Crawl inside. It’s surprising how small the interior is. For coastal think it’s ok for size to match number of crew as rescue will likely be fast. For ocean would go 2 persons up in size if you can. If you have the room and money for ocean would have two rafts with each mounted on opposite sides of the boat. Would consider crossing the Great Lakes ocean. For ocean would strongly suggest doing a Safety at Sea course before buying a raft. A raft does you no good if you can’t get in it. You make think you will step off the boat into the raft. Circumstances may not allow that. Climbing into a raft from the water is an experience harder than you may think. Doing SaS will inform you to pick a raft best for you.

 

[Greg QS]

I have an 6-8 man auto release in a fiberglass shell. Something is better than nothing. Look at where you can have it serviced and the new lower end units have much longer service intervals. Service intervals normally are driven by the contents inside. Mine has 5 years from new. Then every 3 after. Chose a company based on the location of the drop off service center near me. They are very expensive to ship due to the pyrotechnics inside.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Resist the urge to get a bigger raft than you need. As mentioned above too light a load and strong winds will cause problems. Also if you are unfortunate enough to have to spend a long time in the raft you want one small enough you are sliding all around on the bottom. You want to be packed in close together.

I recommend that during service and re-pack you visit the service outfit. Tell them you want to see it fully inflated. Crawl in. Envision having to board the raft in difficult situations. Learn where everything is and what it does.

 

[ScottC]

Just before sending my prior life raft of for scheduled service, I got some friends together on a summer evening and we went down to a dock and deployed it...just to get familiar with the whole experience. It inflated upright. We practiced boarding. I flipped it over and practiced flipping it upright again. It was fun and gives me great peace -of-mind should I ever have to deploy the raft for real someday. The experiment added some extra cost to the scheduled service because they had to fill the bottle instead of just weigh it. But it was well worth it.

 

[Portage_Bay]

Resist the urge to get a bigger raft than you need. As mentioned above too light a load and strong winds will cause problems. Also if you are unfortunate enough to have to spend a long time in the raft you want one small enough you are sliding all around on the bottom. You want to be packed in close together.

I recommend that during service and re-pack you visit the service outfit. Tell them you want to see it fully inflated. Crawl in. Envision having to board the raft in difficult situations. Learn where everything is and what it does.

Nothing beats in the water practice. Do be aware that inflation with the pressurized bottle shortens the life of the raft. The quickly expanding gas, usually CO2, forms ice crystals that abrade the inner walls. For that reason good service shops do the annual with low pressure compressed air. The 5 yr is done with the raft's bottle.

 

[Circumnavigator]

Now on a coastal SD hull we no longer do near shore beyond ~25m offshore nor ocean passages. A single floored, single tube raft is sufficient. We would be rescued in hours not days. They are a fraction of the cost of an ocean rated raft. ....We continue to have a ditch bag which is kept next to the raft. Both are easily available and stored inside to decrease risk of theft. Strongly suggest when you bring your raft for service have them inflate it while you’re there. Crawl inside. It’s surprising how small the interior is. For coastal think it’s ok for size to match number of crew as rescue will likely be fast. For ocean would go 2 persons up in size if you can. If you have the room and money for ocean would have two rafts with each mounted on opposite sides of the boat. Would consider crossing the Great Lakes ocean. For ocean would strongly suggest doing a Safety at Sea course before buying a raft. A raft does you no good if you can’t get in it. You make think you will step off the boat into the raft. Circumstances may not allow that. Climbing into a raft from the water is an experience harder than you may think. Doing SaS will inform you to pick a raft best for you.

Emphasis added above.

My wife and I have sailed around the world and have crossed the Atlantic on Fintry. Such voyages need serious life rafts as it may be days before you are rescued. On the other hand, on the Great Lakes, you are within helicopter range everywhere and you can expect to have a chopper overhead with a couple of hours of setting off your EPIRB. So, save money on the life raft -- certainly buy a quality brand, but you don't need an insulated floor, two tubes, or a canopy. Spend the money on an EPIRB with built in GPS.

Hippocampus also recommends a Safety at Sea course. I teach Safety at Sea with team of members of the Cruising Club of America -- we have taught just under 1,000 students in the last three years and get rave reviews. At any of the US Sailing sanctioned events, you will fire flares, put out a real fire, stop real floods, and cut away shrouds. You will also jump into water fully clothed and climb into a life raft.

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Jim

 

[psneeld]

Never bet your life on quick rescues from the air or for that matter by any means.

While the vast majority of rescues do go according to plan, more than a few variables can extend your "expected recovery time" in terms of doubling it or tripling it. Doesn't mean the rescue units aren't trying hard...just things do come up.

I do agree the difference between offshore and coastal rafts makes sense, I will offer that survival suits are critical too when boating in cooler water temps. People have died from hypothermia while sitting in life rafts.

 

[proudsailor]

Some questions you need to ask yourself- How many people aboard? If just a couple, then consider what will be easiest to manhandle. Will you manually launch or have it automatically launch? Manual launch rafts are in valises, less expensive, and can be stored anywhere (although you want them easy access). Automatic launch (hydrostatic release) requires deck space that is clear and open. If your cruising weather is usually warmer, you won't need insulated, higher end. And if you're coastal, there are rafts made for that type of rescue (less time at sea before recovery than in open ocean). Concur w/ life rafts that you can service nearby. We bought a coastal version from Revere at the Annapolis Boat Show at substantial discount. My regret is not doing a fixed, hydrostatic release top side. We opted for the valise which we store near the interior helm station when not underway which takes up living space. Easy to move around, but a PITA for living aboard.

 

[psneeld]

A problem with small recreational vessels, hydrostatic releases and cradles can be if the vessel only sinks "halfway". Air pockets and light weight construction combined with unlevel weight distribution can cause the part of the boat to be above the water and therefore no raft release. Then with fuel and oil in the water, the exposed parts of the water and you too can get covered with fuel and oil and be unable to climb aboard to release the raft.

I know it sounds strange, but have seen it happen in my USCG career in person and video.

 

[Pat T]

We do our boating primarily on beautiful Lake Michigan out of Chicago. When we boat over to the Michigan or the Wisconsin side, we generally hug the shoreline for the most part.
This upcoming season we are considering some extended destinations. We are considering more of a direct route, lake crossing, to save time. What's do most others have on board regarding life rafts. We currently do not have a dingy for our 50' GB.

Hi Dave,
My boat was originally from the east coast and came with a rescue pod of some sort. I think if I were to cruise to the Bahamas or somewhere more offshore I would get it recertified but now it sits in my garage. I regularly cross Lake Michigan (Racine to South Haven) in my Grand Banks 42 CL and previous sailboats. I currently have a fairly light weight 9 ft dingy and an electric OB. I figure if worst comes to worst that is my life raft. I can just about manhandle that off the boat if my hoist failed.

 

[Hippocampus]

There’s been much discussion about using dinghies for life rafts. Summaries conclude that they are inadequate even in a coastal setting. Too parse through points raised by others.
In the setting of fire you have minimal time. Time yourself as to how long it will take you to launch and get inside. I thought it would be as fast. Tried I and unfortunately it takes longer than you would think.
Unlike a raft climbing in to a dinghy is more difficult. If you’re injured you may not be able. Even with help from someone already inside it’s easier with a raft.
Even a single tube coastal raft is more stable than a dinghy in a seaway.
Etc

 

[psneeld]

Think of survival as a process requiring certain equipment to keep you alive.

Think of the possible equipment you might need (survival suits, dinghies, inshore life rafts, offshore rafts) for where you are going and under what conditions....but they are really just one link in the survival chain.

If you are driving a mile or so to the grocery store in the summer in the typical suburban US town....how much and what equipment will you carry? Then think of the other extreme....driving to the southern tip of South America in their winter....what would you take?

Everyone can picture in their mind their cruising area, season(s) and weather windows. So buy what you think you will need....if you are a middle of the roader, you might choose something that is suitable 95% of the time..... if an extreme safety type., you may go straight to the deluxe safety gear options.

As far as dinghies, sure they are lower on the list for survivability but practical for survival in protected waters or fair weather. That is unless they are modified into a survival platform and suitable for worse conditions. Either way, they should be towed or quick to launch. Mine could be launched and boarded in less than 30 seconds and that will depend on how you store/launch it. They may be easier to board than a liferaft with the right ladder. Again...it all part of a process/plan....and the parts all should fit your situation.