Life Raft Brand?

[Pcamacho]

Yes, we are now currently selling the new Switlik Coastal Passage Raft (CPR) and in final stage of development for the Offshore Passage Raft(OPR). The Coastal is available, the Offshore will be available in a couple of months. they both have a 5 year service interval. The Air Charged Inflation System permits the use of a visible "go/no go" pressure gauge to detect leakage, a feature that is not available with a CO2 charge, thereby adding a degree of safety to allow an extended service interval.

[Cylinderman]

Originally Posted by NorthPacific

My Dad used to swear by his liferaft as well. Did your dad every use his?

Not that I know or that he would ever admit to me. My father was always one to expect to worst so when it came to survival gear he was always a big advocate of buying the best

[Matt Johnson]

Follow-up:

We went with the Revere Offshore Commander 4 person valise from Hopcar. He was awesome to deal with and highly recommend him to anyone. Funny to be so excited about a purchase that you hope to never use.

Matt

[Pcamacho]

Go Switlik!

[Matt Johnson]

Originally Posted by Pcamacho

Go Switlik!

I know, I know, but the pricing of those are up there. This was an item that wasn't even in our budget to begin with and we were planning on traveling without. This will be a huge piece of mind to me and our family... the wife didn't want to spend the money

[goboatingnow]

I know, I know, but the pricing of those are up there.

Lovely rafts, huge money, !!

dave

[NorthPacific]

Hi Fun why did you go with the revere? price and?

I am thinking about just buying the case and lying to everyone LOL!

[HopCar]

Matt, Thank you for your kind words. I spoke to the lady from Revere who lives in St. Augustine and she will deliver it as soon as she gets back from the boat show.

[svHyLyte]

This thread proved very timely for us. Some while ago we sold our Avon 6-man as it was very heavy and awkward and not something my (much) better half could manage if I were injured or disabled. I had planned to go with the Winslow Superlight but based upon the suggestion of a close friend of ours who is now recommissioning his yacht (a sister-ship to ours) in Trinidad, I took a closer look at the Revere which proved quite adequate for our purposes. With that, on the strength of this thread, I contacted HopCar and was quoted an extremely competitive price.

Our replacement raft arrived this AM and is now residing in our guest room closet until we need it aboard. It is small enough and light enough for a 4'11'', 102# woman to manage in the event of emergency and, because of its size, can very easily and conveniently be transported to and from the yacht and, aboard, be stowed in a dedicated stern locker together with our ditch bag and other emergency gear where it can be recovered and lauched very easily if necessary.

If one is considering buying a new raft, or frankly any other gear, one would be wise to contact HopCar for a quote. I suspect one will be glad one does.

s/v HyLyte

[Weyalan]

Originally Posted by Thames 4 Blood

I need to buy a new life raft.
6 Persons.
Sailing plans for next 3 years include Biscay and ARC.
I hope nobody has direct "personnal" experience but I wonder if there is any advice on brand, type etc that should guide my purchase?

I do not want to scrimp on this item!

Mark n Sam

You should choose your liferaft with consideration of where the local service agents are and how much it is going to cost to service. No point buying a swanky US made liferaft if there isn't a service agent within 100 miles of you!

Given that you seen to mention Biscay, I'm guessing Brit or European, so look at British or European manufacturers (no offense to our American cousins). The main players in Europe are, probably, RFD (made in Northen Ireland?), Viking (Denmark), Zodiac (France) and maybe Plastimo (aslo France, I think).

I have had no experience with Plastimo, but between the other 3 I would rate RFD and Viking above Zodiac (personal opinion). I suspect that Viking will be more expensive to service, but I don't know that for sure and anyway RFD have been bought out by Venture Capital, so who knows whats going to happen there.

This may be stating the obvious, but with liferafts, just like everything else, you get what you pay for (and I should know... I designed the world's first SOLAS approved 100 person self-righting liferaft). People seem to expect Rolls Royce performance, at Ford Fiesta pricing. If one liferaft costs half the price of another, its probably not as good. Liferafts are expensive to buy and expensive to maintain. If you are serious about safety, buy a good one and get it serviced reasonably regularly.

PS I don't work for any of the abovementioned manufacturers, so I don't "have a dog in the race".

[Mrider]

You have to make sure your life raft boat is safety checked every season, no matter which one you choose

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Mrider

You have to make sure your life raft boat is safety checked every season, no matter which one you choose

Most newer rafts are on a 3 year inspection schedule, not 1 year.

[jeremiason]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Most newer rafts are on a 3 year inspection schedule, not 1 year.

That isn't excatly true...

There are many factors that determine liferaft inspection periods...

For example, almost all of the items in the liferafts inventory have an expirtion date (Flares, Food, Water), usually two years. Also the airtank had to be tested once every five years. On the other hand if the raft is stored in dry storage you can extend the the experation date. Also if the raft ois over ten years old that can change the inspection period to every year.

In 2009, the IMO chaged SOLAS regulations extending some Inflatable Liferaft inspections to be held every 30 months.

Finally, our liferaft rep stated the reason for repacking had more to do with extending the life of the liferaft... When they repack the raft, they change the way they fold it, because over a period of time the folds chaf and could leak.

The appropriate USCG rules are contained in 46 CFR 160.151

The IMO Flier on inspection intervals is here

Now with all that said, it is seldom the USCG or Law Enforcement will hold a non-inspected recreational vesel accountable for the expired raft, but legally they could.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by jeremiason

That isn't excatly true...

There are many factors that determine liferaft inspection periods...

For example, almost all of the items in the liferafts inventory have an expirtion date (Flares, Food, Water), usually two years. Also the airtank had to be tested once every five years. On the other hand if the raft is stored in dry storage you can extend the the experation date. Also if the raft ois over ten years old that can change the inspection period to every year.

In 2009, the IMO chaged SOLAS regulations extending some Inflatable Liferaft inspections to be held every 30 months.

Finally, our liferaft rep stated the reason for repacking had more to do with extending the life of the liferaft... When they repack the raft, they change the way they fold it, because over a period of time the folds chaf and could leak.

The appropriate USCG rules are contained in 46 CFR 160.151

The IMO Flier on inspection intervals is here

Now with all that said, it is seldom the USCG or Law Enforcement will hold a non-inspected recreational vesel accountable for the expired raft, but legally they could.

So are you saying as sold to recreational customers in the US most rafts are not on a 3 year inspection schedule. My new one was ceratinly sold and marketed that way, with lines like "3 year recommended service interval".

[hellosailor]

"Now with all that said, it is seldom the USCG or Law Enforcement will hold a non-inspected recreational vesel accountable for the expired raft, but legally they could."

Now, would someone please explain to me how anyone (and the USCG would be the only law enforcement officials with the authority to enforce federal boating codes in the US) can hold a recreational vessel responsible for the dating on a piece of equipment that the vessel is simply not required to carry at all? That runs totally contrary to anything I've ever heard. Is there some statute that says "if a raft is carried by vessels exempt from any requirement to carry it, it still has to be inspected" or something to that effect? Really?

Sounds more like the FUD from the gunghos who for a while were wrongly (and probably intentionally) issuing summonses for carrying outdated flares--when the outdated flares were the extra ones carried in addition to the required properly dated ones, and exempt from any requirement at all.