LIFERAFTS -- Delayed Inspections

[seabreez]

Originally Posted by Douglas McLean

Greetings cruisers,

Does anyone have advice regarding delayed inspection of liferafts? I have a six-person Revere Offshore Elite in a fiberglass canister on deck, purchased in 2010, last serviced in 2013, recommended service intervals of three years. The last inspection was done by a reputable, Revere authorized company in Ft. Lauderdale. I am in Ecuador, heading for New Zealand, and getting it serviced in Tahiti or New Zealand will mean 4 + years since the last service.

Is four or five years since the last inspection a) probably OK, b) a bad idea, c) really dumb.? The raft has never been subjected to freezing conditions, but it has been on deck in the tropics.

Cheers,
Douglas McLean
s/v Gillean -- In Transit

In my opinion, (commercial use), we have to inspect every 4 years for inland waters which makes no sense as we can see shore all the time. The inspection is not yours to determine for time extension. It is a liability issue. The life raft is for the safety of your passengers and you can / possibly be sued for not providing the minimum requirements for your crew or passengers. It's insurance protection. I am not aware of the issue for passenger on pleasure crafts...

[Orion Jim]

I just brought my life raft in for service last week. I asked to be present when it was inflated and they were happy to have the technician who will service my raft available to me when I arrived. He explained every step of the recertification procedure and provided a valuable familiarization lesson. I got to test the inflation trigger which took much less force than I'd have anticipated. We found the spare flashlight batteries had leaked but remained in their hard plastic case. The flares had expired. The inflation cylinder was in perfect shape and doesn't need testing for seven years. The raft was in perfect condition.
Spending a half hour with a technician familiarizing yourself with your last means of survival is a worthwhile experience.

[ingrid75]

This is not a recommendation. It is merely an observation. When we were in majuro there was a boat crew who had been in the Marshall Islands for a very long time and had no access to a raft inspection service. They bought a new life raft because their old six-man Avon was almost ten-years out of date and they did not trust it. After the new raft arrived, the crew announced in the local yacht club that they would attempt to deploy their old raft the next morning, just to see what happened. As you can imagine, this created a lot of interest. The next morning a large flotilla of dinghies gathered around the "test" boat. The old raft was tossed overboard and the lanyard pulled. After a very few seconds, the canister separated and the raft emerged. It fully inflated and basked in the glory of cheers and whistles. Everybody took turns getting into the raft and gasping at how small a six-man raft was. the raft was left tied to the test boat for a week or so and never lost pressure. It was then towed to the near-by swimming area where it became a popular toy for the local kids. Six month later it was battered but still afloat. Please note that this raft had been kept on the deck rather than hanging on the the transom or slung under the boat and that it had always been protected by a Sunbrella cover. Hope this helps with your desision.

[maury]

I recently manually opened a 1980s 6 person Avon only to find a broken connector on a hard hose which screws into the top of the regulator and is part of the pull mechanism. I doubt it would have worked.

I am considering a near new life raft but the story of a case missing the raft has me thinking.

[Sailingallday]

My story. Crossed the pacific this year and decided to buy a new raft in NZ. The old one was 12 years old and four years since previous inspection. I had been thinking of just getting it inspected and figured just because of the age, I would buy a new one.

Got the new one in place and the shop that sold me it asked for my old one to do a demonstration for cruisers with it. I helped them load it and prep it after a “safety talk” as the part of the boating week

They throw it off the dock, expecting it to blow. It doesn’t. Haul, tug, jerk on the line and it doesn’t blow at all. Finally the cord breaks connecting to the activation canister.

The life raft never goes. Upon further inspection, the canister and triggering mechanism were completely corroded.

My learning - get your equipment inspected in the times advised. There is no other way to be confident. Nothing is guaranteed, but I am sure glad I did not need the raft while crossing the pacific!

[maury]

.

“The life raft never goes. Upon further inspection, the canister and triggering mechanism were completely corroded.

My learning - get your equipment inspected in the times advised. There is no other way to be confident. Nothing is guaranteed, but I am sure glad I did not need the raft while crossing the pacific!”


So even with a proper timely maintenance I wonder what percentage of life rafts would function properly if they were all tested. Our stories demonstrate that an inspection and repack on schedule may increase the odds of successful deployment but it can still be a dud shortly after inspection.

[Talk Story]

I had one that came with my boat that was not worth recertifying due to its age and it had been recertified 2 out of the 3 times already. So I deployed it and was surprised at how new it still looked. I doubt there was anything wrong with it.

If you opt to not get it recertified, include any perishable items in your ditch kit that are in your liferaft - I think water and glow sticks were both expired in mine.

[maury]

Ug, contemplating a relatively new never deployed 4 person raft. This conversation sure has me scratching my head with caution.