How To Inspect and Service a Life Raft

[Iron E]

I just ran across this video of inspecting and recertifying a Life Raft. I've (fortunately) never used a Life Raft. I picked up a few ideas for my ditch bag by watching the video and seeing how little is actually in the Life Raft.


Apologies if this has already been posted; I did my due diligence and searched but didn't see where it had been.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_uJldUtvp8

[psk125]

We had LSRE inspect the liferaft when we got our new-to-us boat. It's not free, or cheap, but it's not something you want to mess around with. Seems like they know what they're doing.

[nuku34]

With respect, many people including myself have inspected their own life rafts. With the proper equipment, it can be done well.
Of course it will not be a "certified" inspection, but that was never a problem for me (I wasn't racing and never could afford offshore insurance). Its not "rocket science".
The obviously vital issue is whether the raft holds pressure for a reasonable time. If it doesn't, I'd scrap it as repair is a specialized skill. Testing the cylinder to make sure its full is simply a matter of weighing it.

Replacement of all the "consumables" in the raft is also no big deal, and in my case, I prefer to have most of that stuff in a separate ditch bag anyway.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by nuku34

With respect, many people including myself have inspected their own life rafts. With the proper equipment, it can be done well.
Of course it will not be a "certified" inspection, but that was never a problem for me (I wasn't racing and never could afford offshore insurance). Its not "rocket science".
The obviously vital issue is whether the raft holds pressure for a reasonable time. If it doesn't, I'd scrap it as repair is a specialized skill. Testing the cylinder to make sure its full is simply a matter of weighing it.

Replacement of all the "consumables" in the raft is also no big deal, and in my case, I prefer to have most of that stuff in a separate ditch bag anyway.

To all the newbies. I hope you heed this post. nuku's been there. We've known each other for 34 years.



Ann

[nuku34]

Thanks for the plug Ann. For the newbies, if you have heaps of $ and always get everything done by "professionals", then you can stop reading here. My many years of full-time cruising were done on a moderate budget, and I don't always trust professionals to do the job correctly. Its also often not possible to find a pro when you're in the 3rd world, so DIY is necessary.

I won't go into the case in detail, but one of the rafts I owned was inspected by a large certified commercial facility in San Francisco in 1988 at a significant cost. I was not present at the inspection. At that point the raft was around 6 years old and had always been stored in a valise inside the yacht in a completely dry area.
3 years later I had the raft inspected by a certified commercial facility in Suva Fiji. I asked to be present during the inspection. The inspection revealed that the gas cylinder was completely empty. We had the cylinder tested and refilled. When I (self-inspected) the raft 3 years later, the cylinder was full. Go figure.

If you are going to pay big $ to have your raft certified, I suggest you ask to be present during the inspection.
Repacking a valise raft is pretty easy. Hard canister rafts are difficult because you need to seal the halves of the canister with a special rubber band and glue. I personally wouldn't self-inspect this type of raft.

Some rafts are first packed in a heat-sealed heavy plastic bag before being packed in the valise or container. If you do a self inspection, you can re-seal these bags with heavy duty duct tape.

Rafts in a hard canister carried on deck, especially in the tropics, have a hard life due to heat and moisture and age faster.

My personal preference is a valise raft carried inside the yacht or in a dry cockpit locker. Since I always sail with just myself and girlfriend, all we need is a 4 man raft, and that is small/light enough to get on deck quickly.
Different strokes for different folks and all I'm doing here is relating personal experience and preferences.
Disclaimer: this post was not AI generated.