Article by Pat Schrawder
SAFETY AT SEA
Every item of electronics on your boat is important and each has its purpose. Whether your focus is on catching fish, avoiding collisions, finding the quickest way back home or just enjoying a day out on the water away from telephones and chores, there is one thing that should be paramount in your mind and that is safety. Many of today’s electronic items are designed with that as one of its goals, but there is one item whose sole purpose is keeping you safe and yet it is often overlooked. That item is a life raft. They come in a lot of sizes, configurations and prices. What is new varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
One of the things that made the average boater shy away from the purchase of a life raft was its cost, but raft manufacturers have added models in an attempt to lower prices and cater more to the smaller, pleasure craft market. Viking certainly has done that with the introduction of their RescYou™ series. For simplicity’s sake, I will talk about some of the features in the Viking rafts although you can research on the Internet and compare these to rafts from other companies such as: Switlik, Plastimo, Revere, and Zodiac.
If the worst happens and you have to abandon ship due to a fire or the vessel sinking, you’ll hope to have more than just a life jacket to depend upon. A platform will work but a life raft is ideal. The platform is designed to give you a surface on which to sit while you are waiting for a rescue. Life rafts such as the Viking’s RescYou™ series have a cover with zippered openings to not only provide for entrance and exit but to also be able to close to protect you from the elements.
Life rafts come in a variety of models even within the same brand name. Generally speaking, the higher the cost of the raft, the more features it has but that just means some additional items over the standard ones that all the rafts have. Let’s take a look at Viking’s RescYou™ Pro model which is their most deluxe of that line.
One of the big features of this raft is that it is self-righting. No matter how it gets deployed into the water, it brings itself into the proper upright position. Their rafts are also made in fluorescent yellow to enhance visibility from a distance. However, the inside is blue as that has proven to calm and reduce seasickness while providing extra protection from hypothermia. There are two oversized entrances, an inflatable boarding ramp with a ladder, five separate air chambers, weighted ballast bags to provide stability, double flooring to protect against hypothermia and generous headroom under the canopy as well as a trap channel to collect rainwater for drinking if needed. A very important feature is the exterior strobe light and interior light.
As you can see, life rafts are much more than just floating platforms. Here is a list of some of the other things that can be found included in your RescYou™ Pro: paddles, sea anchor w/line, bailer, sponge, pump, water bags, leak stoppers, rescue quoit and line, safety knife, drinking cup, tin opener, sunscreen, fishing kit, repair kit, scissors, first aid kit, flares, mirror, parachute rockets, flashlight, etc.
Life rafts come in two choices of housing; a hard pack fiberglas container to mount on a rail or the deck or a soft pack valise that can be stored below. Your life raft will need to be inspected and that is where many rafts lose their advantage. Only certain certified locations have the ability to do these inspections. One of the reasons we prefer Viking is that we have the ability to take them in ourselves, have them delivered to the inspection center and returned to us. For the average boater, unless you can hand deliver your raft to one of these centers, the cost will go up considerably once you factor in the total for carrier freight both ways. So, if you are in the market for a raft, check first to see how and where you will be able to get it serviced.
One note of caution, the life raft is a valuable safety item but it does not replace the EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) or PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) as the device that directs the Coast Guard to your location. For more information on Viking rafts and to see an excellent video presentation, go to: www.VIKING-life.com.
Pat and her husband, Larry are owners of L&L Marine Electronics on Golf Course Road in West Ocean City, MD.
