liferafts

[Euro Cruiser]

The great thing about buying a used Winslow - which is just as superb a product as Bill states; I've tested six in the water - is that you can have it shipped to the factory (Sarasota, FL) where it can be inspected and serviced by the same people who build them. It is an exceptionally impressive business; the skills and sense of ownership the workers there display is what keeps Winslow the quality - and at sea, functional - product it is.

Jack

[Paul Elliott]

I've got a Winslow liferaft, and while I've never had to use it, I am impressed with the service the company provides. I do believe that you are required to send the raft back to the factory for inspection and repacking -- at least that is what I had to do.

Jack, I am happy to read your comments on Winslow, they help me feel more secure about a piece of gear that is difficult to test and practce with. Of course, "Plan A" is to not let the boat sink!

[Brent Swain]

I feel a much greater sense of security havig a good steel hull under me than I'd get having a piece of plastic under me and a liferaft aboard.
Brent

[Sunspot Baby]

Before you buy, make sure you can get it serviced in your area. Our boat came with an Italian made EV brand. We're in NC. Closest service center is in Fort Lauderdale.

George

[Alan Wheeler]

Steel boats are known to sink just as well as anything else heavier than water Brent. Yeah sure, they may bounce off something, but steel ain't totaly indestructible and besides, it could be something other than sinking that makes it imperitive to abandon the vessel. Fire for example.
I know of a FC yacht that caught fire off the Kaikoura coast. They abandoned the vessel and waited till the fire burn't out, returned the vessel and were able to get it home. Not sure how, but I guess the engine must have still worked.

[Ferroever]

I just got a Plastimo 6-man - one year old - for $1900US. So I guess I got a good deal! Yay!

[maxingout]

Originally Posted by Pete the Cat

Whatever liferaft you buy or carry, I have a suggestion for y'all. I have an Avon I carry that I have had repacked several times. Only the last time, the packer suggested that I come and watch the thing inflate and see what I had. So I did it. I STRONGLY suggest that you go and at least look at your liferaft at the packer (if they will not let you do this, get another packer). To certify them, they have to leave them inflated for a few days. I can see now that--if I had had to use it-- I would have had a very difficult time understanding what things are in it, what they look like (you would not recognize the inflation pump from the bailing pump), and how to use them. It was a humbling experience after carrying the thing around for 10 years to realize I was so ill-equipped to use it. I am not a fan of Zodiac anything, but Winslow once had a terrible reputation which I am confident is past. I saw a zodiac used at a US Sailing Safety and Sea seminar and it did not appear to me to be any more poorly constructed than the rest of them. FWIW

The last time we had our life raft inspected was by Marine Safe at Slaack's Creek south of Brisbane. Watching the inflation and inspection was an awewome experience. My wife and I were blown away by what went into a proper inspection. We discovered that we really didn't know anything about our life raft and it was a sobering experience to realize that our ignorance could have been disasterous if we ever needed to deploy our life raft.

I won't burden you with the full details here. But if you are interested, you can visit NEWS FLASH ARCHIVES . At this URL, you will find out all the gory details that we discovered when our life raft inspection happened.

If you ever are in Queensland, take your life raft to Marine Safe and let them educate you about your life raft.

Dave
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[Charlie]

Jentine: The idea of a used raft is not appealing but a used one from the factory is something I would consider.

PTC: Thanks for the advice. I was present when they filled my old one and besides not inflating well I was amazed how poorly this one was designed.

GM: Thanks for the links. I am going to post my research as I continue on the quest for a liferaft.

EC: Thanks for the advice on the Winslow. Expensive though.

PE: I'll look into the availability of local servicing. Though if I have an offshore raft and am using the boat properly I'll not know where I'll be come time to service.

LR: It's your life. Redundancy is a good thing on the ocean.

SB: Thanks for the advice on local servicing(see PE above) I think I'll lookfor servincing around the areas we intend to cruise.

Wheels: good point. I wouldn't want to be alone offshore w/o one.

Ferro: The liferaft I had was a plastimo. Not to say that this applies to yours b/c the PO abused the one I bought but it would have been a death sentence if I had needed mine

MO: I'll look at the website this evening.

[Ferroever]

Oh dear, Plastimo's crap then?
Bummer.
I'd done a fair bit of research and had heard otherwise.
What was the big problem you had with it? This is something that all Plastimo owners need to know. Maybe there should be a recall of all Plastimo liferafts. I mean, what's the point in selling a lifesaving device, if it's not going to work. I'd appreciate a bit more detail.
Cheers.

[Charlie]

Ferro:

I have no authority to say that all Platimo liferafts are crap i did not intend to imply that. What I had was a plastimo liferaft that had not been certified in ten years and a cannister that had been neglected for 7 of those ten years. From there I'm guessing that the liferaft was left on top of the boat and had seen temperatures that ranged from the heat of the Carribean tropics to the cold of Vancouver BC. The lack of care are what destroyed the liferaft. Given what I have said above it was also an older raft so that the new ideas and research were not applied to this liferaft. I am in process of getting anew raft and have a lot of research to do I will post my resluts on a new thread.

[Ferroever]

Ah, there you go. Not only was it old and unserviced but it had also been carelessly left out in the elements.

Fortunately, mine is one year old and is being cared for in a storage facility.
Phew. Thought I might have bought a dud for a second!