Life raft on a small 27 footer

[McGregor]

Hi, long time lurker first time poster here
I have a Vancouver 27 that I'm currently preparing for a longer voyage (Atlantic to Caribbean and then beyond).
I will mostly solo sail but I will have company occasionally so I have already fitted a Raymarine LifeTag system. I will also get an EPIRB.

What I'm struggling to fit is a life raft. When I bought the boat it came with a life raft in a HUGE hard case but I'm scratching my head trying to finding a place to actually store it. There were no mounts or anything fitted anywhere. Its due date for service has come and gone with a few years now. Should I just ditch it and buy a new one. Are newer models smaller in size?

I've seen many solo sailors on smaller boats that simply don't have a life raft at all. Personally I'm not worried so much about sinking but more about fire.
I have already taken precautions such as sealed and vented gas bottle compartment in the cockpit with a new hard copper line going to the stove with remote shut off at the bottle. I also have three fire extinguishers at various points and an abundance of fire blankets.

I'm not even sure what it is I'm asking here. I know there is not one clear answer to the "life raft question". I would mostly just like to hear what others think about it, especially on such a small boat as mine.
Thank you for reading.

[Bill O]

On a different 27' boat, the owner was clever and put the soft valise in the cockpit well (aft under the tiller) with a wooden top flush w/the seats.This made it accessible if needed and kept it out of the sun.

Before you ditch the old one, would open it up and check it out (hopefully w/o tripping the auto-inflation trigger). Seen old rafts hold air for days (after manually filling them), while others we used the auto inflate and it froze/blew out all the valves. Depending on the raft, sitting in the hard case in the sun may have killed it. Any way you slice it, doing an inspection will be good learning experience. Also sit inside it after inflated to see how small they really are inside.

How many person is your old one? For 1 or 2 people would get a 4 man offshore. Bigger in rough conditions isn't necessarily better.

I'm certain this will be controversial, but as long as it holds air for several days and your inflation canister is full (weigh it) it should be fine (your call). It's not too hard to change batteries in flash lights check overhead lights, rations, etc in the survival kit. The survival kit is usually minimal and you will want a ditch bag filled with essentials to take (if needed).

[Lowcountry]

An old, expired life raft you say? What could go wrong? Buy a new, small 4-person liferaft in a canister and mount it on the outside of your stern rail.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Lowcountry

An old, expired life raft you say? What could go wrong? Buy a new, small 4-person liferaft in a canister and mount it on the outside of your stern rail.

Absolutely, or buy a valise soft cover type as we have and put it down below on a berth. Our 4 man raft weighs a bit more than the small dinghy engine but can still easily be lifted in a hurry.

Fire is probably my biggest concern and reason for the raft.

Pete

[neilpride]

Having sailed for years without liferaft, as the saying goes, prepare for the worst expect the best. Get one.

Aft in the cockpit could be the best spot, under the boom if you have place, or the stern rail.

[Scubaseas]

I carry a Winslow 6 person Ultralight offshore on a 32' Pearson. It can fit in a locker, on a berth, strapped onto the binnacle or behind the helmsman. I've seen others stored on deck below the boom aft of vang and on the pushpit. I've had it over 28 years and every time it's serviced, they can't find anything wrong with it. They sell new rafts too. I would rather have it and never use it than not have it when I need it. Fire is my main reason for having it. Collision and sinking a second reason.

[McGregor]

Thanks for the input Bill! I will definitely try to open it myself and see if there is any point in having it serviced.
I once visited a service center in the Colón free zone, Panama. We tried to inflate a raft that we had brought for service. It had been sitting out in the sun in a canister for 7 years. Half of it inflated and the rest was just powder.
I'm not too sure of the history of my raft but I believe it has been stored mostly indoors in Northern Europe. And I believe it is an offshore 4 person raft, can't remember the make off the top of my head.

Currently it's stored in my storage unit. As I live in an apartment I'll have to try and find a field nearby to try and unpack it once the season kicks off here.
The hard part is going to be finding a space to mount it. Off the transom won't work because I have two large aluminum poles for wind generator and radar on either side and a Monitor wind vane in the center.
Thanks to all for suggestions so far.

[Pete7]

Given your location in Europe, use this as a price point to make the decision of whether to use the existing liferaft or replace with a new one.

https://www.marinesuperstore.com/lif...iser-liferafts

Second hand liferafts are a gamble but there is a market if you wanted to sell the existing one and replace with a Valise type which is easier to store below as we do. We sold an old 6 man Avon in a valise case out of service for £200 and the buyer was delighted. The reason for sale was 18 years old and weighed a tonne. The Seago replacement is much lighter and in an emergency any adult could lift it out of the bunk and into the cockpit for use.

Pete

[McGregor]

Great suggestion. I suppose I'd have to find someone fairly close that would want to buy it because It's absolutely huge and like yours weighs a tonne.