What to do with Old Life Raft?

[Zugenruhe]

Bought the boat a few months ago and it came with a life raft in a case mounted to the deck. I would imagine it is useless based on the care of previous owner. I don't know if there is a way to find out if it is worth restoring. I don't know the make or model. I don't even know if it can be safely unpacked to determine make or model. I have thought about inflating using the output of a wet/dry vac, but then it would need repacking by a certified life raft person.

Any suggestions?

[rebel heart]

Do you have a picture of it?

[Zugenruhe]

I'll take one next weekend and try to post it to this thread.

[Whaubner]

Look for a local life raft serving company. I am sure they will take an initial look and give you an assessment

[cruise]

my liferaft is also in a case it is about 10 years old, i get it serviced every year according to my serviceman it is still fully operational.

[MarkJ]

At $3,000 for a new one I'd be checking not chucking!

[psneeld]

test it...toss it overboard and pull the lanyard...worst that can happen is nada and you cut it up and throw it in a dumpster if you don't feel like taking it to a repack facility...

if it works fine...maybe all it neeed was a repack.

[Capt Phil]

Neat thing about a repack is you can put into it what you want... like cat food and single malt whiskey. Also, you can put in a hand pumped water maker that doesn't normally come with older models and several new ones. Phil

[CPseudonym]

Originally Posted by Capt Phil

Neat thing about a repack is you can put into it what you want... like cat food and single malt whiskey. Also, you can put in a hand pumped water maker that doesn't normally come with older models and several new ones. Phil

Hand pumped water maker certainly is practical but a bottle of single malt sounds downright civilized.

[Capt Phil]

I aim to please, CP... if I'm going to spend some time in a raft, at least I want as many creature comforts as I can get! Phil

[Minggat]

Originally Posted by Whaubner

Look for a local life raft serving company. I am sure they will take an initial look and give you an assessment

What he said. I found this one in SC. They might network you to one closer
to you.
Life Raft Service, Repair and Inspection :: Air-Sea Safety and Survival, Inc.

[David_Old_Jersey]

I would go with the idea of unpacking and inflating (manually) by self - and if it holds pressure for a day or so then take it for a service / repack (sounds like it is out of date anyway), if no markings on the outside of the container then likely will be some inside.

[sestina]

Don't just pull the ripcord. If it's operational, you'll need a new gas cylinder! Take it to a service centre for assessment. Cost effective life expectancy is about 12 years according to my liferaft guy.

Don't skimp on emergency equipment, it may be the only thing between you and the guy upstairs.

[Zugenruhe]

I don't plan to pull the rip cord. I suppose the first thing to look for is manufacture name, model, and manf date. I'll check it this weekend.

[Viking Sailor]

Be careful when taking an old raft in for evaluation. I once took a raft in and the shop owner said that it was no good. Two weeks later I when back to pickup a new raft he had ordered for me. When I walked in to his shop he acted strange and kept trying to stay between me and his rental rack. I went along with it for a while until he got distracted by another customer. You can guess what I found for rent -- my old no good raft. Other then not using him again there was really nothing I could do about it either. Later I did find out that liferafts on recreational vessels don't need to have a re-cert. There is a thread on CF that deals with DIY repacking of rafts.