Life rafts on small bluewater boats

[Bycrick]

About 40 years ago, I did a passage from Tahiti to SF. WX info was what I could get of SW radio, minus WXFAX. By the time it was over, I’d have killed somebody for good weather data, forget the cost. Since then, it’s more a question of what equipment you have on the boat to collect raw data, and how confident you are in your ability to interpret that data correctly. Only you can decide that.

[goboatingnow]

If you can receive it , any weather forecasts are very useful to have. Even if you cant avoid it yiu might be able to mitigate the worst effects.

[aqfishing]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Didn’t think this thread was contentious enough so you had to import more contentiousness from another thread. [emoji79]

Ha Ha Ha. That is funny!!!

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Mara Mae

"The idea that this information is somehow not "actionable" is just hooey."

This is not really argument but simply a personal opinion that the member wants us to accept based on his experience. I do not know what I said that indicated to this member that I was looking for support for my opinion and in fact I didn't express an opinion. I asked a question. The question meant to probe the value of offsoundings enroute weather forecasts for a small (ie slow) boat sailor. In my professional experience judging go or nogo weather based travel decisions, the more dangerous the cell the faster they are moving. A slow boat 4-6 kts (Westsail 32 etc, ) has slim chance diverting and running away from them. I do not really understand why my question has caused such a commotion. Might I respectfully suggest that the more emotional and passionate responders reread my OP slowly and closely?

Your professional experience is piloting an aircraft, correct? Your total exposure time to weather is measured in a few hours in that case. Weather avoidance for this situation really doesn't apply to a cruising boat making an ocean passage. It is more akin to cruising in the tropics and spotting a squall..
On passage you are not looking for info on each squall, you are looking for info on how the weather is changing and what possibly more uncomfortable weather might be forming. This does allow you make course changes to better your situation in a slow boat.
I think you've been given examples above. Here's another one that is more common than you'd think. Passage from Tonga to NZ, about 7 to 10 days. Part way down you see a front intensifying that is coming off NZ. You are going to be hit by it. One good strategy is to slow down, or even heave-to, for a day so that you take the front in the smaller latitudes where they tend to be much weaker and less dangerous than closer to NZ.

As far as precieved commotion in this thread, ignore it. It is really minor and you are far better off getting some info from someone who is passionate about their point because of real experience than the dispassionately written, super rational presentation from someone that has formed their opinions on offshore passages by reading every post on CF for the last 10 years.

[OldManMirage]

Originally Posted by Adelie

Didn’t think this thread was contentious enough so you had to import more contentiousness from another thread. [emoji79]

Lol, sorry !

I did think the other thread was needlessly contentious but I thought this one was going better.

And Billkny really did illustrate my point for me.

[Breaking Waves]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Breaking waves;

Curious if you have any insight in this incident.

About 2 years ago there was an experienced German skipper who left Carriacou, . . . . ..

Sorry, no, I had no involvement in that and don't know anything other than the barebones public reporting.

You can find some public commentary on the incident (I think this is the one you are referring to - there is more detail elsewhere but this gives a quick summery of the ball being dropped between organizations) here: https://boatwatch.org/safety-at-sea/...eacon-network/

[boat driver]

Originally Posted by contrail

But, as I am sure you know, those EPIRBs needed a lot to go right, which is one reason the new ones (new for several decades!), using a completely different technology and network, were developed. If I remember correctly, the old ones are not even legal, any more.

old erpirbs are obsolete. its not illegal, just no one listening for the cal.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by boat driver

old erpirbs are obsolete. its not illegal, just no one listening for the cal.

Depends, 406mhz epirbs are around a long time now. My plb is 16 years old and is a full 406mhz GPIRB, still current

[team karst]

My long range sensors are detecting some EPIRB confusion.

The pulse 406MHz component of the Tx ensemble is to uplink data to satellites.
There is still a continuous 121.5MHz component that is used for "local" detect and DF techniques by civilian aircraft. This guard freq. is typically monitored by oceanic crossing flights. It has no ID or other data content.
And, typically the 2nd harmonic (243MHz) for military COM band.

[Mara Mae]

Originally Posted by OldManMirage

Lol, sorry !

I did think the other thread was needlessly contentious but I thought this one was going better.

And Billkny really did illustrate my point for me.

I appreciate the information in both threads. My wife and I are learning lots from reading these. We feel well thought of by all and well understood and represented by Adelie.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

In the case of a liferaft, I remain unconvinced they pass my benchmarks. They are very costly, and have a questionable reliability record. But I certainly don't dismiss them either. It is definitely a question of cost (both financial and others) vs benefit.

I remain shocked at the price of a liferaft in the US, perhaps Canada too.

This is the later model of ours, it was worth the investment to have an alternative that I hope never to have to use.

https://www.seagoyachting.co.uk/products/cruiser/

Originally Posted by Breaking Waves

That is a very reasonable approach.

I will comment (and it's just a sample of one, so just for conversation rather than any real point) that the only 'fire' we ever had at sea (halfway across the Atlantic was in our cockpit locker - wires to the solar panel shorted and fried alone the back of the cockpit locker

Cheeki Rafiki's rafts were still in their cockpit locker when the boat was found (upside down with crew missing) so it is obviously more ideal to have the raft more deployable . . like transom pushpit mounted . . . but it is all compromises, like everything.

Thanks, as you say "its all compromises". If we had 40ft we might choose a different approach, but I am loath to give up our creek crawling ability to use quaint old harbours and drying locations. With tens of thousands of miles of superb cruising on our door step we aren't going to cross oceans, more over night type of passages are all that's needed.

Pete

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Pete7

I remain shocked at the price of a liferaft in the US, perhaps Canada too.

This is the later model of ours, it was worth the investment to have an alternative that I hope never to have to use.

https://www.seagoyachting.co.uk/products/cruiser/

That looks like a decent raft for a fair price. One of the big expenses in owning LR is the typical 3 year reinspection. The cost varies a lot depending on the raft maker and the country you are getting inspected in. It is common to have 2 inspections costing the original price of the raft.

[Pete7]

The last inspection at the 7 yr point was £260 including an exchange cylinder as the cylinder date wouldn't see us through to the next 3 year service interval. Not too bad.

The boat came with a lovely Avon 6 man raft the likes of which you can't buy today. However, it was very heavy for me, doubtful the wife could lift it. At the 22 yr point I retired it. The new owner was delighted with it.

The linked raft once called "offshore" now probably coastal and a second better equipped version taking the "offshore" label.

The crew of an Irish fishing trawler spent 5 days in one drifting around the Western Approaches a few years back before being rescued. Likely a horrendous experience, but they lived.

[Paul L]

Originally Posted by Pete7

The last inspection at the 7 yr point was £260 including an exchange cylinder as the cylinder date wouldn't see us through to the next 3 year service interval. Not too bad.

.......

Decent reinspection price. My comments above were about getting the inspection done while cruising. Many authorized inspection stations worldwide are very proud of their work and charge likewise. Plus it is usually impractical to ship the raft from overseas.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Decent reinspection price. My comments above were about getting the inspection done while cruising. Many authorized inspection stations worldwide are very proud of their work and charge likewise. Plus it is usually impractical to ship the raft from overseas.

Oh I can see that being a real problem in some forgotten back water. I might be tempted a DIY in that situation, or insist on being present for the inspection. Actually not a bad idea. I spent an afternoon in a blacked out swimming pool in an identical raft to ours, as part of a RYA survival course.

Pete