Life Raft for trailer boat

[NAGG]

Not exactly correct, everyone has this preconceived idea that every shark is going to eat you the second it comes near, I have seen dozens of sharks diving, most just swim by doing what ever they want, seen a couple surfing, same thing, they just keep doing shark things, even fishing for them, at times it's near impossible to get them to bite, it's not always the case, but, they don't just everything they come across.

Depends where in the world you are & the species of shark

I wouldn't want to be going into the waters of NW Australia (Kimberley's) ....... as soon as the dinner bell rings you would be shredded .

Chris

[gazza2006au]

I was more thinking of marine junk floating in the ocean and possibly passing by ships seeing the laft raft 100's of kms offshore and taking the time to stop and check the raft for people x times over, i can understand a helicopter wouldnt be able to pull it up unless they slashed the material to deflait it

[NAGG]

I was more thinking of marine junk floating in the ocean and possibly passing by ships seeing the laft raft 100's of kms offshore and taking the time to stop and check the raft for people x times over, i can understand a helicopter wouldnt be able to pull it up unless they slashed the material to deflait it

a helicopter rescue wont be bothering with hauling a life raft mate ...... bank on that

chris

[scottar]

[QUOTE=NAGG;1690316]

A trailer boat on fire ........ How quickly could you deploy the life raft ? I reckon you'd have 2 choices to make on a trailer boat - fire extinguisher or dive overboard .

Chris

If it's mounted on the roof or bow you could literally have a small raft in the water un-inflated in seconds if you have access to a knife or belt cutter. Probably quicker than most could put a lifejacket on. Depending on what you use as a manual release, without access to a knife - 20 to 30 seconds max. At the end of the day, if you are going into areas that are extremely remote, it's a good item to have if you are so inclined. One thing is for sure - if you don't have one - you can't use it. Even in regards to staying with a vessel that has level flotation full of water or in particular is floating upside down, I would be securing the raft to the vessel and getting out of the water to slow the onset of exposure and hypothermia.

There was a drowning up here recently where a woman simply could no longer hold on to an upturned vessel and was washed away without a lifejacket.

[scottar]

Sharks - luck of the draw. The guy that taught our Survival at Sea course was ex armed forces. He recounted part of his training which was to spend 24 hours at sea in southern W.A. Plenty of things that went bump in the night - not a whole heap of fun from his account.. Then you get the trawler operators that fall overboard and manage to survive which in my mind is a bloody miracle given what follows trawlers. Some aren't so lucky. The account of three survivors being reduced to one from a trawler in north Qld comes to mind.

[NAGG]

[QUOTE=scottar;1690332]

If it's mounted on the roof or bow you could literally have a small raft in the water un-inflated in seconds if you have access to a knife or belt cutter. Probably quicker than most could put a lifejacket on. Depending on what you use as a manual release, without access to a knife - 20 to 30 seconds max. At the end of the day, if you are going into areas that are extremely remote, it's a good item to have if you are so inclined. One thing is for sure - if you don't have one - you can't use it. Even in regards to staying with a vessel that has level flotation full of water or in particular is floating upside down, I would be securing the raft to the vessel and getting out of the water to slow the onset of exposure and hypothermia.

There was a drowning up here recently where a woman simply could no longer hold on to an upturned vessel and was washed away without a lifejacket.

If the boat was on fire , what are you going for ? ..... a raft on the roof or fire extinguisher ..... tick tick tick tick tick ?

How big is that life boat on the roof ? ..... are you really going to have one on a typical trailer boat ?
Access to a knife or belt cutter ....... if you have a fire ?

You'd want to be well trained in this stuff - the average boater would be in panic mode ....... hence I would want the boat that floats .

What are the scenarios where a boat sinks ? .....

Chris

[scottar]

[QUOTE=NAGG;1690335]

If the boat was on fire , what are you going for ? ..... a raft on the roof or fire extinguisher ..... tick tick tick tick tick ?

How big is that life boat on the roof ? ..... are you really going to have one on a typical trailer boat ?
Access to a knife or belt cutter ....... if you have a fire ?

You'd want to be well trained in this stuff - the average boater would be in panic mode ....... hence I would want the boat that floats .

What are the scenarios where a boat sinks ? .....

Chris

Some of us are trained Chris and much like my recommendation to the OP, it's a fantastic idea to familiarize yourself with ALL of your safety gear on a regular basis. Check your safety equipment. Become familiar with it's operation, it's short falls, it's required maintenance if any. At the time it's required is not the time to be reaching for a user manual. When was the last time you took your favorite fire extinguisher out of it's bracket, turned it upside down and gave the bottom end of it a good solid thump.

Do you ever fish with more than yourself - much like the kid in the taco add - Why can't we do both? On commercial boats there is a thing called a "muster list" which outlines the duties of the various crew members. There's no reason the skipper can't direct a crew member to get the raft in the water while he has a crack at putting out a fire. If he was a forward thinker (or just a responsible skipper) he may have even secured a belt cutter where the raft is or even shown his crew how to operate the manual release.

Most guys that are going to be doing really remote area stuff aren't running around in boats where a small raft wouldn't be able to be fitted if they wanted.

Boats sinking or capsizing............at times it seems pretty regular on the news - hull failure, whale strike, human error - who knows. I've had a couple of near misses myself in my early years courtesy of weather and a dodgy bilge pump install in a borrowed vessel. If someone wants to take the extra step of having more safety measures and is within their means to do so - good on them I say.

[Dignity]

[QUOTE=scottar;1690337]

Some of us are trained Chris and much like my recommendation to the OP, it's a fantastic idea to familiarize yourself with ALL of your safety gear on a regular basis. Check your safety equipment. Become familiar with it's operation, it's short falls, it's required maintenance if any. At the time it's required is not the time to be reaching for a user manual. When was the last time you took your favorite fire extinguisher out of it's bracket, turned it upside down and gave the bottom end of it a good solid thump.

Do you ever fish with more than yourself - much like the kid in the taco add - Why can't we do both? On commercial boats there is a thing called a "muster list" which outlines the duties of the various crew members. There's no reason the skipper can't direct a crew member to get the raft in the water while he has a crack at putting out a fire. If he was a forward thinker (or just a responsible skipper) he may have even secured a belt cutter where the raft is or even shown his crew how to operate the manual release.

Most guys that are going to be doing really remote area stuff aren't running around in boats where a small raft wouldn't be able to be fitted if they wanted.

Boats sinking or capsizing............at times it seems pretty regular on the news - hull failure, whale strike, human error - who knows. I've had a couple of near misses myself in my early years courtesy of weather and a dodgy bilge pump install in a borrowed vessel. If someone wants to take the extra step of having more safety measures and is within their means to do so - good on them I say.

All very valid points. I am a PIA with my regular crew as I go through all the rescue paraphernalia, where the life jackets are, the flares, other rescue equipment, even have all the local rescue organisations easily available with their respective channels they operate on. I even have my radio call sign above the vhf so they can't miss it.
Why do I go through all this every time, it's because I have been involved in an incident at sea and it wasn't my boat but I was aware of where everything was and how to use a radio.
Huge difference to panic that engulfed some of the crew.

[NAGG]

[QUOTE=scottar;1690337]

Some of us are trained Chris and much like my recommendation to the OP, it's a fantastic idea to familiarize yourself with ALL of your safety gear on a regular basis. Check your safety equipment. Become familiar with it's operation, it's short falls, it's required maintenance if any. At the time it's required is not the time to be reaching for a user manual. When was the last time you took your favorite fire extinguisher out of it's bracket, turned it upside down and gave the bottom end of it a good solid thump.

Do you ever fish with more than yourself - much like the kid in the taco add - Why can't we do both? On commercial boats there is a thing called a "muster list" which outlines the duties of the various crew members. There's no reason the skipper can't direct a crew member to get the raft in the water while he has a crack at putting out a fire. If he was a forward thinker (or just a responsible skipper) he may have even secured a belt cutter where the raft is or even shown his crew how to operate the manual release.

Most guys that are going to be doing really remote area stuff aren't running around in boats where a small raft wouldn't be able to be fitted if they wanted.

Boats sinking or capsizing............at times it seems pretty regular on the news - hull failure, whale strike, human error - who knows. I've had a couple of near misses myself in my early years courtesy of weather and a dodgy bilge pump install in a borrowed vessel. If someone wants to take the extra step of having more safety measures and is within their means to do so - good on them I say.

Hey , I'm not arguing against having a life raft ...... If you have the space to fit one - why not have one - I would .

Absolutely good advice to check all your safety gear - service where necessary ...... I do this every November - I actually replace my fire extinguisher when I replace my flares .

Chris

[Dignity]

Im not expecting to sink but I am aware that as we begin to venture further and further out to sea (up to 150km) that the the time it will take someone to respond to an emergency event is going to be great,

Sure we have life jackets and epirb but exposure is a issue so i I got to thinking about a life raft or something similar that will be a reliable life saving device if ever needed.

Any thoughts?

Are you getting any closer to a decision?

[scottar]

Hey , I'm not arguing against having a life raft ...... If you have the space to fit one - why not have one - I would .

Absolutely good advice to check all your safety gear - service where necessary ...... I do this every November - I actually replace my fire extinguisher when I replace my flares .

Chris

AMSA , some extinguisher manufacturers and the fire fighters that run the training facility in Brisbane recommend inspecting extinguishers every 6 months. Part of that inspection for a DCP extinguisher involves inverting it and making sure the powder is moving freely. If you don't feel it fall into the top of the extinguisher, a good solid bump with your hand is usually enough to break it free. It can apparently pack down hard enough it will affect the extinguishers efficiency.

[Brettoh]

Are you getting any closer to a decision?

I am procrastinating, Still on the list of things to do. Its something I think about regularly though.

[purnong]

I am procrastinating

Haha, you surely are