Lifejackets

[marshman]

So on that hypothesis, don't fall over on board or bump into anything, as that could feasibly fire your jacket - perhaps thats a specific jacket type but generally I believe the firing mechanism shouldn't fire until its immersed in water and only then will the pin fire to activate the inflator cartridge.

[Poppy]

Som wery sanguine advice  in this thread.  However no mention of crotch straps. They should be used at all times - if yours don't have one, they can be added cheaply.

This shows why they are so important

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDx1C6d6JFU

[Bluebell]

11 hours ago, kpnut said:

 

It’s normally only in my pocket if I’ve been on a mooring a while and going out or coming back from a walk. 
 

But serves as a reminder to have it in a waterproof pouch maybe? What a hassle that’d be. 

I’ve used a waterproof holder since I lost 2 phones from a shirt pocket, not at the same time, whilst mooring. I might even start wearing a life jacket following your tale…😎

[Smoggy]

Poppy is bang on, if you drop feet first into water an lj will likely pop straight off when it inflates without a crotch strap.

[Broads01]

When I'm coming in to moor or leaving a mooring I always have my phone on the side by the helm. I couldn't bear the hassle of destroying it by falling in. That said, it's in my pocket when I go out to the pub or for a dog walk. Some risks you just have to live with I guess.

[BroadsAuthority]

On 15/12/2023 at 13:06, grendel said:

I could not find a suggestions page on their website, so I have tagged Tom in my post for him to pass it on.

Hi Grendel, sorry for the delay in replying to this - Happy New Year!

I've passed your suggestion over to the team that manage the Yacht Stations / Visitor Centres.

Tom

 

[BroadsAuthority]

Hi Grendel,

Our Vis Services Supervisor has confirmed we already have a set of lifejacket lockers at GYYS operated by a £1 coin which is returned when you have finished using them.

Best

Tom

[Bikertov]

In advance of getting back in the water in a few weeks time, I'm about to order some life jackets, the Seago Seaguard 165N as mentioned earlier in this thread

But I was wondering, what is the etiquette regarding spare lifejackets for day guests we may have on board from time-to-time - Do I order 4 to cover the two of us and two potential guests , or just 2 for us ?

 

[CambridgeCabby]

We carry a couple of spares and if our visitors are bringing youngsters with them we ask at Richos and they have always kindly loaned us the appropriate size if they are too small for the adult spares we have 

[kpnut]

17 minutes ago, CambridgeCabby said:

We carry a couple of spares and if our visitors are bringing youngsters with them we ask at Richos and they have always kindly loaned us the appropriate size if they are too small for the adult spares we have 

That’s just what I have, and do too.

3 spares as there’s only one of me, (4on board in total) and kiddies ones when needed from Richos. Even the 6 wk old granddaughter had one issued to her. 

[Bikertov]

Looks like I might need a bigger boat then, just to store the lifejackets ....

[floydraser]

4 hours ago, Bikertov said:

 

But I was wondering, what is the etiquette regarding spare lifejackets for day guests we may have on board from time-to-time - Do I order 4 to cover the two of us and two potential guests , or just 2 for us ?

 

My first reaction is: if you only have 2 how do explain to your guests why you have no lifejackets for them, wouldn't they feel awkward?

Best to get 4 and hide 2 of them well. Then if you have to invite people you really don't like, explain that you only have 2. 

[Smoggy]

We only have our own on board, we have a spare at home for when we used to take my mum out but only worried about it if we were going to sea and then would only wear them if going on deck, we rarely use them on rivers anyway except in the dinghy and that's not a certainty. 

 

[floydraser]

When I think about it I'm surprised it's not part of the safety certificate, one for each berth for instance? Easy for me to say as mine came with 6 lifejackets.

[Vaughan]

31 minutes ago, floydraser said:

When I think about it I'm surprised it's not part of the safety certificate, one for each berth for instance? Easy for me to say as mine came with 6 lifejackets.

In France it is law that a boat must carry the same number of adult lifejackets as the number of persons for which the boat is registered.

I imagine this applies to passenger ships as well???   At least, since 1912 . . . . .

A simple precaution, in my mind.

[dom]

54 minutes ago, floydraser said:

When I think about it I'm surprised it's not part of the safety certificate, one for each berth for instance? Easy for me to say as mine came with 6 lifejackets.

Impractical to legislate for the adult/child ratio though?

I did a water saftey course the other day and the SAR organisation which ran it said their number one safety item above all else is a throwing line. I was really surprised on checking BSC rules to find that not only is this missing, but life buoys are only mandatory on non-private boats. I struggle to see the logic in differentiating between private and non-private vessels where life saving is concerned.

 

[Smoggy]

BSS is not interested in people falling overboard, it's generally about boats not catching fire or exploding as that was the biggest cause of casualties back in the day, drownings are still fairly rare, you are more likely to suffer a crush injury while mooring.

[NeilB]

1 hour ago, floydraser said:

When I think about it I'm surprised it's not part of the safety certificate, one for each berth for instance? Easy for me to say as mine came with 6 lifejackets.

Mine could sleep 9 when it was new!!!  3 berths are now decommissioned and 1 is covered in tools / outboard engine so would be a tad uncomfortable!!

I've 4 x adult and 1 x small adult / junior auto jackets and 2 x lifebelts.  Which reminds me, all the jackets need servicing by this summer!

[floydraser]

Fire extinguishers: part of the bsc but you could remove them after inspection. But if the examiner found a boat short of them wouldn't he then suspect a general lack of attention to overall safety? But while he's onboard he could have a butchers for lifejackets and a simple count up would do it; he doesn't have to go on a specific course to learn how to count lifejackets. Although now some fool has mentioned it on a forum maybe they will, and charge more for the certificate! Me, cynical? Probably.

Would you be happy on a boat with no fire extinguishers. Probably not.

[Smoggy]

But it's a BOAT safety certificate not a PEOPLE safety certificate, it was never about keeping people out of the water just about keeping them off a burning boat, the BSS don't care if the boat is sinking as long as it won't burn on the way down.

You can have more people than berths, you have just ruled out lifejackets on a dayboat, it really isn't that simple.

[Bikertov]

Luckily I do already have fire extinguishers - 3 on board if I recall correctly ? Although I don't have an automatic one in the engine bay.

And currently one CO2 detector in the saloon, but will fit a second in the cabin before she is back in the water.

[Happy]

6 minutes ago, Bikertov said:

Luckily I do already have fire extinguishers - 3 on board if I recall correctly ? Although I don't have an automatic one in the engine bay.

And currently one CO2 detector in the saloon, but will fit a second in the cabin before she is back in the water.

Bit of a thread drift here, but ... many years ago I was the manager of a company selling touring caravans.  I sold a first timer a new caravan and discussed what extras he should buy.  Top of the list was a fire extiguisher.  He asked "what size" and I replied depends on the size of fire your gonna have.  He bought a large one.  A couple of years later he came into the branch and said he had sold the caravan and moved into a flat.  He had kept the fire extiguisher and recently had a fire in his kitchen and used that same extinguisher to put the fire out and had come to thank me.....just goes to show!  

[dom]

24 minutes ago, Bikertov said:

Although I don't have an automatic one in the engine bay.

Not much point with diesel boats IMO, as diesel's actually surprisingly difficult to ignite without pressure. There's an argument for having one in proximity to the batteries, but electrical fires by their nature tend to occur elsewhere within the system.

[marshman]

Really? I had an electrical fire in the engine compartment AND had the subsequent claim turned down as the WHOLE system had not been tested regularly! Even had it been tested I can guarantee the fault causing the fire would not have been found - nothing surprises me about insurance companies!

Fortunately I was on board and coped by shutting the whole system down - that did the trick but at least I had the presence of mind to shut everything down thereby eliminating the heat source. Damage only a few hundred quid!

[dom]

The trouble with automatic extinguishers is that by the time they get hot enough to trigger, the fire will be well established, unless it happens to start right under the extinguisher. More often than not, electrical fires will happen in running systems, which means you're probably on board and will smell or see the issue before the extinguisher triggers.

The other problem is that electrical fires occur due to high current. In theory, fuses or circuit breakers should prevent it. If however you have a seized breaker, incorrectly rated fuse, etc, the current tends to set fire to the supply cable, but across a long length of cable, rather than in a single spot. If, for example the cable is feeding an anchor windlass, you could end up with a red hot cable down the entire length of the boat.

If you've got money to spare, there's no harm having them, but in the first instance, I'd always focus on bringing electical systems up to a higher standard, as an awful lot leave a lot to be desired. Unfortunately, being low voltage, people who shouldn't be touching things tend to modify and add things on with little understanding of what they're doing.