Harness with traditional PFD

[jamesrw]

I was looking for the ultimate starter PFD, for me this would be one with a harness and non-inflatable. Is there such of a thing and why not?

The reason I am planning on sailing around the world at some point and I thought why buy two life preservers when I can purchase one that has a harness and is non-inflatable. The reason why I don't want an inflatable one is it is easy to capsize a 14 foot Capri.

Any advice?

[JPA Cate]

Well, sir, if you google on "flotation gear with harness", you'll find some good professional safety gear.

Ann

[desertsailor]

If the circumnavigation is not in your immediate future I would suggest that you find a PFD suitable for sailing the Capri 14.2. When sailing offshore you do not want to pinch pennies when it comes to safety items. Just check out the cost of weather gear">foul weather gear and you will see that the cost of a good quality PFD is one of the less expensive items you will purchase.

Regarding the stability of a Capri 14.2. I've raced this type of boat for about three seasons and have yet to dump it. The times I've seen a 14.2 capsize winds were near or above 20 kts.

Hope this helps.

[jamesrw]

Thanks good advice, the cost of a new life vest won't be that much.

BTW I dumped it on my second day, at the dock. Our coach asked us to take the sails down. I got on the boat in the middle of the hull, stepped to the leeward side in front of the boom. The boom swung to me, so I pushed the boom away from me, well you know the rest of the story, the main caught the wind, I was standing up on the leeward side and over it went.

This is so obvious and stupid now but even dripping wet I wasn't sure what I had done wrong until I got a line of questioning from the coach that were all yes answers. "Were you standing? On the leeward side? Did the boom swing? Did you push the boom?"

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by desertsailor

If the circumnavigation is not in your immediate future I would suggest that you find a PFD suitable for sailing the Capri 14.2.

Ditto. You're not going around the world this year, so get a good, non-inflatable that is not too constricting for the Capri. Something like this would be perfect and is not at all expensive... Â* (not sure why the weird tag, but that's a link to Overton's website)

Then when you are ready to head out for the deep blue, get yourself a new vest that is suited for that.

Good luck.

[desertsailor]

I would like to add one more item. Find a PFD that is comfortable for you, and has some pockets. The first one I bought for dinghy racing i,e. Capri 14.2, was simple and inexpensive. Later, I found out that I was always looking for a pocket to store things such as keys, emergency whistle, or small flash light. Same goes for the inflatable PFD/harness that I later purchased.

Happy sailing and watch the lee side.