Which type (I, II or III) of life jackets should I buy?

I have 3 coastal auto inflate jackets from WM for my family. We need to purchase an additional 8 life jackets to keep on board.

We are mainly boating in SF Bay but we will be doing an occasional coastal trip down to Half Moon Bay, Santa Cruz, etc.

I'm wondering whether the additional jackets I purchase should be type 1, 2 or 3.

Or should I have mostly type 2 or 3, with a few type 1 in case I have a non-swimmer on board?

Would love to know what the general best practice is.

Thanks,
Mike

Forget type 3, they aren't meant for offshore use.
I use type 1 because the have significantly more floatation and do a better job of keeping your head above water.
If you get ones similar to this: Commercial Life Vests | PFD Life Jackets | Safe Life Jackets:
they don't take much more storage than type 2.

I second HopCar's recommendation. The commercial life vests he provided a link to are excellent, effective and much more comfortable if one is forced to spend any amount of time in the water.

Ken

Also remember that the inflatables do not count unless they are worn.

Bacchus said:

Also remember that the inflatables do not count unless they are worn.

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Not sure what you mean. How is that different from non-inflatables?

The types all work in numerical order, 1 being the best, then 2, then 3, then 4.

Mostly mine are type 1 and 2, about 12 jackets.
I have one type 3 and 4 type 4, (2 rings, 2 seat cushion style).

Where do you put all your jackets? Are they stowed or are they out clearly seen.

sdowney717 said:

The types all work in numerical order, 1 being the best, then 2, then 3, then 4.

Mostly mine are type 1 and 2, about 12 jackets.
I have one type 3 and 4 type 4, (2 rings, 2 seat cushion style).

Where do you put all your jackets? Are they stowed or are they out clearly seen.

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There is space under the bench seat in the cockpit. Ideally I'd have a waterproof zippered bag or something to store them in. That way you could simply lift up the hinged seat covers, unzip the bag and access clean life jackets very quickly.

MichaelB1969 said:

Not sure what you mean. How is that different from non-inflatables?

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The coast guard requirement is that there be a lifejacket for every person on board. However, this only applies to inflatable PFD's if the PFD is actually being worn while underway. Having 5 people and 5 inflatables in a locker is consider the same as having no PFD's in the eyes of the CG.

Type II are suitable for most coastal cruising. I would have one or more Type I if I had someone who was not a strong swimmer and was on the boat on a regular basis, or if venturing offshore.

Consider having a variety of sufficient PFDs. Some "workaday" inflatables for protected waters and while in dinghy, as well as coastal models (enough for the whole crew), and if cruising well off shore, get the maximum flotation PFDs (and survival suits if the waters warrant) as well as life raft.

We have type I's to cover everyone we might have aboard plus type II's for kids too small for type I's. We have some other jackets then for other conditions and situations. For instance, Inflatables to be worn when conditions seem to merit something. Also immersion suitsand we have some flotation jackets too.

MichaelB1969 said:

Not sure what you mean. How is that different from non-inflatables?

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If you are checked by LEO and have X # of people aboard...
You have to X # of noninflatables aboard or if you want / need to count inflatables they must be wearing them when boarded.
If you have X-2 noninflatables and 2 inflatables in storage you are not in compliance...
Whether LEO issues a citation or warning is subject to many variables

Thanks everyone, very helpful. I now understand the distinction between the inflatables and non-inflatables from a LE perspective. Last night I ordered a mix of type I and type II jackets in addition to the inflatables I already have.

As always, appreciate the guidance!

MichaelB1969 said:

Thanks everyone, very helpful. I now understand the distinction between the inflatables and non-inflatables from a LE perspective. Last night I ordered a mix of type I and type II jackets in addition to the inflatables I already have.

As always, appreciate the guidance!

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We look at inflatables as convenient and nice to have but never count them toward our total quantity. That way we don't have to keep up with who has them on and who doesn't. We know if someone removes one we're still covered.

BandB said:

We look at inflatables as convenient and nice to have but never count them toward our total quantity. That way we don't have to keep up with who has them on and who doesn't. We know if someone removes one we're still covered.

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This is a how I view it as well, but I admits that last summer we had 1 more person on board than we had non-inflatable PFDs. We now have enough non-inflatable PFDs to cover all of them.

I happened to read something interesting on the USCG website on lifejackets. They said that there were 53 incidents of drownings by boaters who were wearing PFDs (I can't recall the time frame). They also said that in those situations the type of PFD (i.e. Type I-III) was not a factor. In other words, folks don't drown because they are wearing a Type III instead of a Type I PFD. If they drown with a PFD it is for other reasons.

dhays said:

I happened to read something interesting on the USCG website on lifejackets. They said that there were 53 incidents of drownings by boaters who were wearing PFDs (I can't recall the time frame). They also said that in those situations the type of PFD (i.e. Type I-III) was not a factor. In other words, folks don't drown because they are wearing a Type III instead of a Type I PFD. If they drown with a PFD it is for other reasons.

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Very good point. There's a huge difference in odds between no PFD and no PFD, but very little difference based on the type of PFD.

I don't hear it so much anymore but when I was young, I heard whining from old men (sorry, but they were older) who were boating before today's rules that they knew people who would have drowned if they'd had a jacket on, caught under a boat and swam out. They were the same men who knew people who would have died in car accidents if they'd had their seat belts on (thrown out of the car and it instantly went up in flames) . There are possible scenarios like those, but we all know that seat belts save lives and PFD's save lives.

The subject of drowning while wearing a life jacket has come up.
I would bet that the vast majority of those who drown while wearing a life jacket are wearing type lll jackets. It takes effort to keep your face out of the water while wearing a type lll. If you are unconscious, you are likely to drown.

Type l and ll are designed to turn an unconscious person with their face out of the water.
The type l is significantly better at this than the type ll.
The inflatables are even better at this that the type l commercial jackets.

HopCar said:

The subject of drowning while wearing a life jacket has come up.
I would bet that the vast majority of those who drown while wearing a life jacket are wearing type lll jackets. It takes effort to keep your face out of the water while wearing a type lll. If you are unconscious, you are likely to drown.

Type l and ll are designed to turn an unconscious person with their face out of the water.
The type l is significantly better at this than the type ll.
The inflatables are even better at this that the type l commercial jackets.

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Actually I think most who drown while wearing life jackets do so by extended time in very rough seas. I don't think most events lead to lack of consciousness. If you're in 20' seas though, you're just not going to last if help doesn't come quickly.

I suspect that a lot of drowning while wearing a PFD is hypothermia related...once you can't really move your limbs.....your survival odds are pretty slim. Even if your jacket floats you face up, waves breaking over your head is going to cause problems.

Benthic2 said:

I suspect that a lot of drowning while wearing a PFD is hypothermia related...once you can't really move your limbs.....your survival odds are pretty slim. Even if your jacket floats you face up, waves breaking over your head is going to cause problems.

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I agree.