Life Jackets

[scarlet]

There was an interesting article linked this week in "Cruising Compass" that was worth sharing. The article discusses the the safety of life jackets as it relates to regular inspection and maintenance. I will attach the link below.

As I was writing this, I realized that it is time to think about updating our personal life jackets. I think most everyone would agree than the inflatable ones would be most comfortable.. and the more comfortable, the more apt you are to wear them every time you sail.

What makes/models do you all use? Or, could you recommend a good brand?

here is the article:

Three quarters of lifejackets found to be deficient after checks in Cowes, Isle of Wight - MySailing.com.au

[LifePart2]

Very interesting considering our (yesterday) experience:

We have two Spinlock Deckvest lifejactets. We bought them in 2010. Since then they have lived under the salon seat on our catamaran. Very occassionally we actually wear them - night sailing mostly. Every year or two we open them up and service them - replace the gas canister (which is invariably corroded on the outside), inflate the bladder, rinse off in fresh water.

We just did another service - and discovered that BOTH of them are now inoperable: The bladder of both has torn off its attachment to the vest/harness, so there is a huge hole there, and the plastic around the waist buckle has disintigrated. How did the bladders get ripped off the backing when the whole thing has remained packed up inside the zipped covering all the time?







Good thing we didn't fall in the water the last time we went sailing.

This raises a couple of questions:

1) is 9 years a good/acceptable/bad lifespan for a lifejacket? How long would you expect your lifejacket (barely used) to last? Our closed-cell lifejackets don't have that weak point on them and a basically as good as new.

2) I guess we should be examining (pulling it out, inflating it, packing it back) the lifejacket before every outing?

I guess we need to replace them. Not sure what brand to go with though.

[Snore]

Originally Posted by LifePart2

1) is 9 years a good/acceptable/bad lifespan for a lifejacket? How long would you expect your lifejacket (barely used) to last? Our closed-cell lifejackets don't have that weak point on them and a basically as good as new.



.

I too am a frugal sailor. But I believe safety gear should “age out”. Any fabric will decay over time. My personal opinion is that after 5 years or so one should think of replacing safety gear like inflatable PFDs, jack lines and tethers.

Even type 2’s should get retired after 7-8 years. The closed cell PFDs May “look” good but would they work for 24-hours or longer-if needed?

I can squeeze a dollar do hard that Washington grimaces. But when it comes to safety, that is foolish economization.

[grecko]

We have the Mustang auto-inflating life jackets. They are comfy enough to wear all the time.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by LifePart2

Very interesting considering our (yesterday) experience:

That is a bit worrying. Could extremes of temperature have caused that? say water in the jacket freezing during the winter?

Pete

[requiem]

Originally Posted by LifePart2

We just did another service - and discovered that BOTH of them are now inoperable: The bladder of both has torn off its attachment to the vest/harness, so there is a huge hole there, and the plastic around the waist buckle has disintigrated. How did the bladders get ripped off the backing when the whole thing has remained packed up inside the zipped covering all the time?

....

1) is 9 years a good/acceptable/bad lifespan for a lifejacket? How long would you expect your lifejacket (barely used) to last? Our closed-cell lifejackets don't have that weak point on them and a basically as good as new.

I'd consider it very disturbing; while I still replace soft goods, my understanding is that nylon itself is remarkably stable and that loss of strength is either due to use (generally a slow degradation) or exposure to harmful environments (e.g. UV over the long term or acids for short-term damage). That is, it's similar to expiration dates on many drugs: defined based on stability testing and thus more of a minimum than a maximum.

But, I don't know what the buckle was made from; the pictures remind me of the "resin rot" that would happen to the Casio G-Shocks watches. Similarly, the polyurethane coatings used to waterproof some fabrics also "rot" over time, and who knows what the lifespan might be of various adhesives. I'd be curious what Spinlock says about the expected time-in-use, and whether that includes storage.

I have a 2008-vintage Mustang, it spent a decent number of years in safe storage (i.e. cool, dark, and dry) and it still passes my inspections. My desire to replace it has more to do with modernizing than concern; in that era things like crotch straps and spray hoods didn't seem to be a thing. Actually, if I wander by West Marine, they still aren't a thing except for the Deckvest.

[Flagman101]

I own a Spinlock deckvest and wear it extensively. I am a sailing instructor so it's mandatory. With over 200 hours of sailngs classes per summer and more just plain sailing and regattas. It does not even have a bit of wear except a few stains
This is not normal wear and tear. I would reach out to Spinlock Customer service
They wil find it interesting for sure.