Who has a life raft

little doc · 02-02-2008, 07:56 PM

I am looking at purchasing a life raft for Big Blue, and there are innumerable choices to pick from. Do we have a resident expert? How about valise vs. canister? Inquiring minds want to know...

Thanks
Scott.

tomictime · 02-02-2008, 09:44 PM

revere 6 man valise
quite a few of the dogs have them (rafts)
Valise works best for me.
this topic comes up now and then, search function is good. Nalu knows a bunch

Moldy Mike · 02-02-2008, 11:00 PM

I have a six man offshore Revere Cannister. I had good luck dealing with them. The repack every two years is pretty expensive! But. I sure feel better with it when I am way offshore and haven't seen or heard another boat for hours! Fish ON!! Mike

pathfinder · 02-02-2008, 11:14 PM

I have a Big inner tube.

PapaHog · 02-03-2008, 06:05 AM

Seems like all is needed is a cooler. I seem to remember three fishermen hanging on to one of them when their boat went down.

How scary is that?

HugeDuckFan · 02-03-2008, 06:22 AM

Viking 6 man, Solas A pack. Canisiter with hydrostatic release. USCG approved for commercial boats.

I choose a canister, for space savings, but more importantly to deal with the uber quick disaster. Nobody is diving into the cabin if we're suddenly in a perilous situation. We can still manually release if we need to.

Was able to see 6 different rafts at the Seattle show, a selection I've not been able to see before. I chose Viking for the commerical rating, the quality of construction, the longevity of the company and the market share they hold in commercial applications.

BiteFactory · 02-03-2008, 06:46 AM

The local England marine store was a great help for me. They say they sell the rafts pretty much at cost to promote safety. I know I ended up with a pretty good price for a zodiac 4 person IBA, hard pack roof mount, hydro release, etc. They repack as well. I think they have a "raft center" that does the service and stocking in Astoria. And no, I don't work for them. Just a happy customer.

tomictime · 02-03-2008, 09:26 AM

..so this is really good, so you can see the choices we all made..

Revere now offers a 3 year pack, which does cut expense on the re-cert cycle.

Commercial duty and or higher ratings cost $ and for many of us are worth it

Hydrostatic release typically happens per spec with the raft DEEP under water, some as deep as 10 M..so do not count on the release with many of our flotation laden trailer boats. Also, I want the raft b4 the boat goes down, my $.02 and I also want to deploy it tethered and at a easy egress point on the boat....

The roof mounts are subject to fouling, think antennas, outriggers, outrigger lines, radar arch, rod holders, 30 rods w Avet handles and heavy braid w mono topshots...and you can imagine a raft trapped in that ???

they also are a BIG +++ in that they get the raft outside and can be mounted centerline for great balance, etc...

So the compromise I made was the valise...but as someone said...in seconds it may prove difficult to get out of the cabin. I also have three fire extinguishers inc two outside, so I can in theroy fight my way inside to get at it.

good thread...

colbachlaw · 02-03-2008, 10:58 AM

Little doc,

I have had both a valise and a canister, and the canister is the way to go. The valise ended up in my v berth, which would be tough to get at in an emergency.

Mount it on the bow, so it is out of the way and easy to get to in an emergency.

My biggest fear is fire, so I like having the canister on the bow, far away from my fuel tank. In the event of a fire, I tell my crew to head to the bow and let me figure out what to do about the fire.

I look forward to seeing your new Bertram out on the water soon.

Mike C

Hoghunter · 02-03-2008, 11:18 AM

Question for Dan and Jim, I looked at several of the rafts at the Boat Show but due to limited time didn't get to see them all.

I did spend some time looking at the Winslow rafts and found their valise and Cannister six man to be in my opinion a very good raft and built for our conditions.

What were your thoughts on the Winslow?

HugeDuckFan · 02-03-2008, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hoghunter

Question for Dan and Jim, I

What were your thoughts on the Winslow?

In my personal opinion, Winslow makes the best raft available in the market. I wanted the Winslow 6 man, but they are not USCG approved, and they do not intend to submit their product for certification testing. Because I will have a commercial tuna only license this season, I HAVE to have the USCG rated raft, that narrowed down my decision quickly. Viking and Winslow reps do each other a lot favors, Charlie (Winslow) recommends Karen (Viking) for commercial rafts and she recommend Charlie for aviation rafts, they both respect each other's products.

I am less concerned with fouling of the raft than most, even though I have a large radar mast, 15 rod holders and 3 antennas up there. The displacement of the raft is so great, it will break almost anything that fouls it, except for the mast. The roof mounted canister can be manually deployed, easier than from a run to the bow or into the cabin, and is already tethered with the painters line and weak link. In my opinion, the only reason for a valise if to take on other peoples boats. Appearance and visibility are issues, but easy to overcome when you consider that this is a life saving device.

In the conditions many state, the hydrostatic release requires a pressure of 10 meters to release, think about where you would be with the valais under the same conditions. Would it have been pulled out of the v berth, and readied for deployment? Removed from it's case, tethered to the boat and readied for action? A sudden broaching, rogue wave or a pitchpole off a breaking wave...would the valais have better chance of being deployed than one that popped off automatically? Remember, I can manually deploy my raft within seconds..and it's out of the way for 99.9999% of the things I'll be doing on my boat.

Each skipper has the choice to make. The first choice is considering it mandatory safety equipment when running 50 miles or more offshore. This was an easy choice for me, the lives of my crew and I are worth FAR more than the $3100 I spent last week (Winslow 6 man, $4600). Whether its a valais or canister, it's the right decision. It's up to the individual to determine which one provides greater security for their crew. I felt the canister was safer option for my boat. Hey, it looks good too...you LOOK like a serious mariner who is concerned about fishing another day.

Nalu · 02-03-2008, 01:24 PM

Wow.... I could just about shed a tear! People talking about life rafts without me bringing it up and being the "safety ****" like normal.

Canister or valaise.... you're safer with one than you are without.

tomictime · 02-03-2008, 04:36 PM

Hi Jeff

first and most important, since we are on dry land, how was the LR trip ????

I went with the Revere, which by all accounts and most reviews is NOT as good a raft as the Winslow, it gets good reviews tho. At $2K delivered, I thought it represented great value. Hope I never have to use it.

I agree that what is important is thinking thru what app: canister or valise is best for your needs, rigging, etc...ease of getting to the bow, can everybody do that in broach conditions, etc..maybe two rafts and a BIG-A boat is the answer???? The valise is _____ heavy, I can tell U that....

as to looks, I guess I am vain, I have a painted alu boat... ha. the canister on roof never entered my mind as ugly tho, I guess some would agree w that...

Like Mike says, we aree talking about it and doing something, thats a big +

CAPT KUJO · 02-03-2008, 08:12 PM

I have a Winslow Liferaft. Google search them for more detailed information

CAPT KUJO

CATCH AND EAT · 02-04-2008, 07:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nalu

Wow.... I could just about shed a tear! People talking about life rafts without me bringing it up and being the "safety ****" like normal.

Canister or valaise.... you're safer with one than you are without.

Safety ****! There Mike, feel better?

I went with a zodiac 6 man valise.

HugeDuckFan · 02-04-2008, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CAPT KUJO

I have a Winslow Liferaft. Google search them for more detailed information

CAPT KUJO

Hey Capt K,

Are you not required to have a USCG approved Solas A pack for charter ops? I would have bought the Winslow, except he (Winslow rep)specifically told me they don't have the commercial rating.

Hoghunter · 02-04-2008, 11:45 AM

Thanks for the input guys. I placed my order today for the Winslow 6 man Offshore. Price is $3350 and includes options of Canopy arch tube, 3 year vac seal and insulated double floor.

This unit really looked heavy duty when I was looking at it at the show. The only remaining question is if I'm going to do the valise or cannister. The above price is for valise.

Capt Kujo, do you have the valise or cannister pack?