Life Raft Value

[JusDreaming]

I am trying to help a friend, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, to sell things from his boat.
He has a "Viking Life Raft" that was suppose to be serviced in 2004. It has never been deployed, but I have no idea of it's value, if it has any value, so I need input as to what it is worth!

[MarkJ]

Nothing. 10 years out of service. It will cost $1,000 to service. And still be too old to rely upon. IMHO

[Dockhead]

Put it on EBay with a low reserve. Someone might buy it for something.

Vikings are good ones, and if it's not more than 20 years old, someone might want it. But it will be worth very little because of the high cost of service. It will need hydro testing of the cylinder, all new consumables, and it might not be serviceable -- might not pass the leak down test.

Value (if any) will also be influenced by the type --- is it canister? Or valise? Vacuum packed? The last thing is crucial, as the service interval is extended to 3 years. If it's not the vacuum packed type, and/or it's more than 20 years old, then it is unlikely to be worth anything. But in any case, you can always try on Fleabay.

[svHyLyte]

Originally Posted by JusDreaming

I am trying to help a friend, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, to sell things from his boat.
He has a "Viking Life Raft" that was suppose to be serviced in 2004. It has never been deployed, but I have no idea of it's value, if it has any value, so I need input as to what it is worth!

Denny--

It might be wise to contact Viking to see if the raft can be serviced and re-certified after such a long time and, if so, at what cost. Click on: Viking Contacts

For what its worth, some while ago we sold 6 year old 4-man Avon offshore raft that was vacuum packed and had been serviced for only $1,000 or less than 1/5th its cost new (the thing was too heavy for my much better half to handle if I were injured/disabled). For most folks, an inshore raft will be adequate for emergencies and several good ones can be had for less than $3,000 new. Accordingly, the cost-benefit of an aging raft of uncertain reliability is too poor to bother with. Re-certified if possible, however, there may be a few hundred dollars over the re-cert to be had.

FWIW...

[Orion Jim]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Nothing. 10 years out of service. It will cost $1,000 to service. And still be too old to rely upon. IMHO

Great advice. If you have a conscience don't sell a death trap.

[TacomaSailor]

I wonder about some of the advice you are being given.

We have a 15-year old Winslow 4-person offshore liferaft. It has been serviced every 4 or 5 years. It was last serviced in 2013 (it was 13 years old at that time) and the Winslow certified repair/inspection facility told us it was "as good as new" and in near perfect condition.

It might be worth a few hundred dollars to have it inspected. If it is in good condition then spend the extra money to have it certified.

[Seymore]

I agree with Tacoma, hands down.

In 2028 I bought a used 1985 Avon canister 4-man life raft. It was out of its canister, because the previous looker had opened the canister to examine it and riffled through it. I got the mass of fabric and canister home, and tried to fold the mess up and stuff it back into the canister. Not a chance.

A 5 year old Plastimo life raft had come with the boat. I had tried dutifully to have that inspected (Plastimo kept saying 'Just take it to any service station'), but the service stations I asked all said the same thing, they wouldn't touch it, firm!! Since the Avon was so old, I figured it couldn't be inspected either. I went to the local life raft service joint and asked how much they'd charge to simply stuff my Avon life raft into its canister, thinking I'd pay $25 and take a chance on it.

'We wouldn't do that', said Steve, the service guy, 'We'd certify it!'. And they did. The 20 year old Avon offshore life raft they inspected and certified. It cost me the regular few hundred dollars, money well spent.

Life rafts and inflatable dinghies are different, one from the other. The OP should check with a life raft service joint to know if they'll service and certify the Revere life raft, and what they'd charge.

[colemj]

Originally Posted by Seymore

In 2028 I bought a used 1985 Avon canister 4-man life raft.

So do we have flying cars and sexbots yet in 2028?

And paper charts?



Mark

[Suijin]

I think the OP's question is not whether the liferaft is fit for recertification, it's whether it's worth anything on the market. It may well be viable for recert but that does not mean that it's going to have any significant value. Don't forget that the shipping on these things is not cheap, either, given that they require special handling due to the CO2 canisters. If it's a 2001 liferaft then it may have some value. If it's a 1985 raft then it probably does not have value worth the effort. Then again it's a matter of finding the right buyer.

You could well pay to have it recertified (and the longer it's been since the last recert the more expensive that is going to be...if it was DUE in 2004, it's going to be expensive) and find yourself unable to sell it for what you paid for that process.

If it were me I would put it up on Craig's List, as that gets you out of a shipping situation. Or put it on Ebay with a starting bid price of $1 and a reserve that is simply equal to the least you'll take for the hassle of packing it off for shipping, with buyer paying shipping (to be determined).

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Suijin

I think the OP's question is not whether the liferaft is fit for recertification, it's whether it's worth anything on the market. It may well be viable for recert but that does not mean that it's going to have any significant value. Don't forget that the shipping on these things is not cheap, either, given that they require special handling due to the CO2 canisters. If it's a 2001 liferaft then it may have some value. If it's a 1985 raft then it probably does not have value worth the effort. Then again it's a matter of finding the right buyer.

You could well pay to have it recertified (and the longer it's been since the last recert the more expensive that is going to be...if it was DUE in 2004, it's going to be expensive) and find yourself unable to sell it for what you paid for that process.

If it were me I would put it up on Craig's List, as that gets you out of a shipping situation. Or put it on Ebay with a starting bid price of $1 and a reserve that is simply equal to the least you'll take for the hassle of packing it off for shipping, with buyer paying shipping (to be determined).

Exactly. I don't think anyone is disagreeing with anyone here. The life raft might be serviceable -- or might not. After servicing and certification, the life raft might be worth something more than what it cost to service and recertify -- or it might not.

My 12-year old Avon Ocean raft, which had never been serviced, was fine. Good as new. But it still cost me about a grand to service and recertify it, and a similar new one only costs about 1000 pounds (they are cheaper in the UK).

You can take a risk and invest the money and undergo the hassle to do all of that, then sell a certified, serviced raft if everything works out ok. You might make some money above what you invested, or maybe not.

Or you could sell it as-is on EBay with a low reserve, taking the chance that someone out there will take a view on it. That's what I would do.

[Seymore]

Originally Posted by colemj

So do we have flying cars and sexbots yet in 2028?

And paper charts?



Mark

O fer Pete's sake! Y'check everything 3X and still they creep in.

2008. I bought a used 1985 Avon life raft in 2008, and it turned out OK.

[Seymore]

Originally Posted by JusDreaming

I need input as to what it is worth!

All right, $850.

[hellosailor]

Denny & -
The best advice is to ask Viking what it will cost to recertify and repack, assuming the optimal case that it needs no repairs, just repacking. And if it can be dropped off someplace for truck shipping (West Marine does that) so you can avoid the hazmat fee ($75 each way?) on shipping.


It probably has some value, but if you can tell the buyer "This is what it will cost to repack..." and answer a few questions like that, you are much more likely to GET a buyer. Most old life rafts are not worth the cost of repacking, or their manufacturer will not repack them after ~10 years. Viking?


IIRC Viking is one of the rare few that are built well enough to retain some value & be kept in use longer. Get their direct answer.

[TacomaSailor]

"IIRC Viking is one of the rare few that are built well enough to retain some value & be kept in use longer. "

Viking used to be, and probably still is, the choice of many PNW commercial fisherman and captains. Solid and durable.

[HopCar]

Jus dreaming, I see you're sometimes in Florida. If you ever get to Miami, Viking has a warehouse and service center here.