LIFE RAFT SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT HOW TO

While this helps keep moisture out, 'The heat seal on a vacuum bag can come apart, or the raft can shift and pinch it,' Haskell says. To extend time between inspections, rafts are sealed inside a vacuum bag. 'If the canopy comes unglued, you don't have protection from the sun.' Both Haskell and Bohne say annual inspections head off such problems, but both are concerned with the trend toward three-year service intervals. 'If the ballast bags come unglued, the raft ,' Haskell says. Both he and Haskell report problems where some manufacturers of welded-seam rafts glue on ballast bags or canopies. With 100 percent welded seams, there is no glue to degrade.'Д«ohne's caveat - all-welded seams - is important. 'There is no direct ultraviolet exposure, so it's usually the glue that fails. 'A PVC life raft with 100 percent welded seams is the longest-lasting life raft you can buy,' Bohne says. For longevity, Haskell likes neoprene best, natural rubber second and PVC last. 'They're reasonably priced and a good value,' Haskell says, but all three brands are made of PVC rather than rubber. Mark Haskell, owner of A Sailor's Place in Stuart, Florida ( adds Zodiac to that list.

Cold water calls for a raft with an inflatable or insulated floor to prevent hypothermia.Д«ohne points to European-made EV or Revere rafts as among the most compact. Even when cruising within a few miles of shore, it may be many miles between inlets safe to traverse in a storm, so raft stability becomes important. Five miles from Florida is a lot different than five miles from the coast of an island in the Bahamas, the latter requiring a raft better able to handle weather and packed with more survival equipment. 'The more remote you get, the longer it's going to take for rescue,' Bohne warns. But his second question also plays strongly in his suggestions.

When space is tight, Bohne often recommends a coastal raft or even a bare-bones rescue pod supplemented with an EPIRB and a simple ditch bag, both within arm's reach of the helm. 'If you have to go across the engine room hatch, that's a bad idea,' he says. Storing a raft near the stern doesn't take into account the most likely source of a fire. A raft on the bow or atop the hardtop might be out of the way, but Bohne warns either is nearly impossible to reach in rough seas on a foundering boat. This often means choosing a smaller or lighter raft with fewer features but that fits in a locker somewhere near the helm. 'I'd rather they have a less-expensive raft they can get to than the best raft in the world that will burn or sink with the boat,' Bohne says. The first question seems odd, but Bohne says it's often the most important. 'I can eliminate 90 percent of the choices with just two questions: What kind of boat do you have, and where are you going?' says Brian Bohne, manager of Inflatable Services and 84 Boatworks in Fort Lauderdale, Florida ( ). With that in mind, we asked two life raft sales and service experts for frank advice on choosing a raft.

LIFE RAFT SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT HOW TO

For many it comes down to a choice of how to spend that $2,000 or $3,000. Consider too that a new chart plotter or better radar might prevent a catastrophe. Human nature is to spend less on things one never intends to use. In hindsight, shipwreck survivors wish they had more or better equipment when they abandoned ship, but the same can be said about insurance. After everything else has failed - bilge pumps, fire-suppression systems and the skipper's best efforts to save the boat - the crew turns to the raft, likely never to see that boat above water again. A life raft is the last piece of equipment boaters ever expect to use.

Life raft survival equipment