Viking is my life raft of choice, and has been for some time. I visited one of their facilities in Norway a couple of years ago and it only reinforced this notion. A visit to the life raft factory - Ocean Navigator - September/October 2017
However, I encountered a scenario on a new Viking raft installation recently, one I thought I’d share with the TF. I'm not sure if the hook was shipped this way or this is something the dealer or installer did.
The red ribbon on this manual release hook, first two photos, does nothing when pulled, it’s simply tied around the hasp.
The actual release is the very small lanyard, I’d call it a string. Someone who was unfamiliar with this system, and who looked at the pictogram instructions (which do not match the actual installation), may not be able to release the raft manually.
It looks as if the design has changed since the pictogram was created. I could envision this being a problem in the event of the raft needs to be released in a genuine emergency.
Here's what it should look like, the final photo (it still does not match the pictogram exactly, but it's similar). If yours does not look like this, you should change, and test it to make sure the hook opens easily.
However, I encountered a scenario on a new Viking raft installation recently, one I thought I’d share with the TF. I'm not sure if the hook was shipped this way or this is something the dealer or installer did.
The red ribbon on this manual release hook, first two photos, does nothing when pulled, it’s simply tied around the hasp.
The actual release is the very small lanyard, I’d call it a string. Someone who was unfamiliar with this system, and who looked at the pictogram instructions (which do not match the actual installation), may not be able to release the raft manually.
It looks as if the design has changed since the pictogram was created. I could envision this being a problem in the event of the raft needs to be released in a genuine emergency.
Here's what it should look like, the final photo (it still does not match the pictogram exactly, but it's similar). If yours does not look like this, you should change, and test it to make sure the hook opens easily.
