Inflatable PFD's

[Salty19]

Considering an inflatable PFD for the upcoming season.  I don't wear a PFD regularly, only when conditions are iffy.  This is 90% due to the uncomfrotable nature of them, 10% captain stubborness and the nature of the 19 is so stable you hardly feel in any danger to speak of (which will get you in trouble).   With that said, under ideal conditions one can still slip, fall off the stern rail seats, be hit by a rogue wave, or otherwise be unlucky or temporarily stupid.  Would like to avoid being a statistic. c I single hand a lot and the water is always cold. Am a strong swimmer--well in my youth I was anyway.  For that reason I really want to wear one this year at all times and thought the inflatable ones would be less bulky and more likely to be unobjectionable.

Any reviews, good or bad, of the inflatable types?  Brands? Models?  Comfort?  Useful life?  Dependability?   I would add a strobe, whistle and SOLAS reflectors if it does not come with them.   Like to sail at night too.  Both captain and admiral are "normal" shaped, ie no beer guts or excessively large chests.

Thanks

[CaptRon28]

You can write a book on inflatible pfd's. I'll try to keep it short. I've got several, but normally use a 3 or 4 year old Mustang with automatic inflation and a built in harness. It would be considered "offshore" in todays terminology. Coastal and inshore usually means less than 35 pounds of buoyancy. Manual inflation means that you've got to pull a rip cord to inflate, automatic means that it will automatically inlflate when it gets wet.

They will all keep you afloat, but it may be a better choice to stay either on board or in the water near the boat, so the built-in harness option (assuming the boat is rigged with jack lines) will normally keep you out of the water (a much better choice, especially if you're single-handed or no one sees you go over the side). You can wear a separate harness, but the built in one takes the choice away and is safer because of that. Buy jack lines too, especially if you go offshore or sail at night.

Prices go up as the equipment gets better, so an offshore Mustang or eqivalent with automatic inflation and harness will cost you close to $300 probably. You can knock about $100 of of that with a store brand (like West Marine), but I'm not all that sure that they are as good. Drop the offshore bouyancy, the automatic feature and harness and the price goes down too. You can get a West Marine manual coastal inflatible for about $100 I think (on sale?).

Keep the automatic gizmo dry if it has one, especially when the pfd is stored in your gear bag. Mine once got damp somehow and it inflated in the gear bag. Took a while to get it out.

One other note - the Coast Guard will not count an inflatilbe as one of the required number of PFD's UNLESS it is being worn at the time of the inspection. Doesn't really make sense, but that's the rule. One of the old versions down below in the cabin is as unsafe as an inflatible sitting next to it.

[curtisv]

I bought each of my kids an inflatable PFD for kayaking.  By law during the winter months you have to wear a PFD in CT and MA (but the dates differ state to state and I have no idea what they are anymore).  I figured that the inflatables were better for that.  They've never worn them.

I also only wear a PFD on my CP23 in bad conditions.  It has never got that bad so I've never worn them.  Been in steady 25 knots of more many times, in gusts up to 35 knots and in 6-8 foot waves (separate occasions) so far.  But when conditions do get bad, I know I have them on board.  I have worn a makeshift harness though, when going on the foredeck at night in 4-6 foot waves.

Offshore in cold water a survival suit is about the only thing that will keep you alive long enough for anyone to find you.  A PFD just delays death.  I'm not ready to spend $500 a peice on survival suits.

Merry Christmas to all and please don't fall in this time of year.

Curtis

[nkjohnson]

I have a Mustang auto-inflatable. Very comfortable to wear, and I wear it whenever I am on the water.

I can swim, but so could a friend of mine. He went boating 30 years ago with his wife and another couple. His buddy was driving the powerboat. He was sitting on the gunwale and his friend made a quick turn. He went over the side. The three in the boat laughed and turned around to pick him up. He wasn't there. The sheriff said he probably hit his head as he went over and was knocked unconscious. His body was recovered later.

Made for a strange Monday morning when he didn't show up for work.

I've worn a PFD ever since.

Neal 

[Bob23]

   Youch! Neal, that was a sobering tale. I've never worn a pfd being mostly a bay sailor but water is water. In the early spring and late fall, the water is cold and the people are scarce. If I fell off my 23, she'd keep right on going, which, given the high level of care and pampering I bestow upon her, is downright rude.
   Curtis's advice about jacklines is right on. Not that I have 'em but I bet they are the most inexpensive insurance one can buy.
Bob23

[curtisv]

Sorry to hear about the powerboat accident.  Yes, PFDs do save lives and in that case one might have.

I also read of a Navy Seal that fell overboard single handing a sailboat off Nantucket and floated with PFD to Hyannis (maybe 30-40 miles) where a fisherman picked him up alive the next day.  In that case the PFD helped keep him alive (along with his training and outstanding physical conditions in cold waters with estimated survival time of a few hours).

On occasion, I single hand on very open water, sometimes at night, and oftern when I don't see another boat for many hours  I've been 5-10 miles from any land or other boat many times and 30 miles from land a few times and that is out of VHF range (maybe a USCG tower could pick up a signal from a mast antenna, but unlikely from a handheld in the water at that range).  The water is cold.  I've always said that "if you fall over you die".  Period.  No, "unless you are wearing a PFD" in those circumstances.  So the only answer for that seems to be "don't fall over".  [Or get Navy Seal training, wear a PFD, and hope to drift in a favorable direction.]

[And try not to hit any refrigerators either - in reference to a different thread.]

Curtis

[Salty19]

Thanks, gents.  I did make up a short (6 1/2') tether last month out of 1" nylon webbing. Will probably make two since I got the webbing for about $.20 per foot and got 25 feet of it.

I don't go offshore, well except for perhaps a Lake Erie cruise every few years, so I'll look into the cheaper Mustang units.  I just need the auto inflate, something comfortable to wear and a D ring for the tether. Was going to connect it to a cleat near the mast base.

Bob, sounds like you need to treat Koinonia a little better   However that doesn't seem possible!

[Bob23]

   I do treat her pretty good and maybe she'd turn around for me. Hope I never have to find out.
On the pfd subject, I'd like to find a non inflatable suitable for rowing. If I ever get to complete one of my life goals of rowing the Blackburn Challenge, I'll need one for that event.
   Here in NJ, I tend to row further into the year when the water gets cooler. My od Alden Ocean Shell would probably sink if flooded (guess I should stuff some noodles into the hull) and it would be impossible to board if I went over board. I haven't yet but when you catch a crab while sliding seat rowing, it is possible to launch yourself right out of the boat!
   If for no other reason, my wife would feel better about it. When I announced I was gonna row on New Years Day, I heard "No your'e not!" which I translate to "No your'e not!". But I've never been one to listen too well so yes I will if it warms up a bit which it's supposed to here in NJ.
Cheers!
Bob

[SpeakEasy]

Slightly off-topic, but not too far....

My mom is 84 years old, and loves to fish. She has a little rowboat, and she'll sit for hours with her fishing pole and minnows pulling in dozens of little perch. She anchors pretty close to shore, but still in water that is deeper than her 5' 1" height. She NEVER wears a pfd of any sort. She has one in the boat with her. She's been fairly active all her life, but still - 84 is 84. If she capsized she'd be toast.

Last year for her birthday my sisters and I bought her an inflatable pfd and told her how concerned we are about her safety. She seemed to go along with the idea, but somehow or other she found out that there are different inflatable pfd's for men and women. She wanted a woman's model (which is not what we bought her). So, we got ready to return it and shop for something she'd wear. Then she decided to get difficult. She told us to forget about it. She wasn't going to wear one regardless.

Grrr.

She's told us that when she's gone she wants us to scatter her ashes over the lake.  Not much you can do with an attitude like that.

-Speak

[brackish]

Good idea if you can go someplace where multiple brands and models are available and try them on.  Comfort is a big factor in being motivated to wear them. 

I have a Stearns autoinflate with harness and D-Rings for a tether.  Don't know the model number.  I bought because it was on sale at Blue Water Marine, in Port St. Joe.   I single hand a lot and wear it almost all the time.  The only time I don't wear it is if there is an experienced crew aboard with me.   In rough weather I normally will use a tether with it. 

[Bob23]

   Good for your Mom. I guess when your'e 84, you get to call some of the shots. My father in law was 91 when he died. Stubborn as heck. Never wore a pfd but he did use the seatbelts in his truck.
   Down here in NJ, by law to operate any boat you have to have taken a safe boating course (and pay the accompanying fee). He refused, stating that he had been sailing before any of the coasties had been born and had forgotten more than they'd ever learned.
   I hope I'm that cranky when I get old although the Admiral says I'm already there!
   And now back to our thread of pfd's.
Bob23

[esterhazyinoz]

Re Auto-Inflate PFD's, I was told that the less expensive ones will inflate if they get just a bit wet when you don't need them to (e.g. you are still in the boat).  After my next inheritance I would look at getting one of the Spinlock models.  They look very well constructed.
Cheers

[Salty19]

Thanks for the tip, esterhazy.