Mine is a yellowie-orange West Marine "Offshore" jacket with 35lbs buoyancy and manual inflation. It has double "D" rings on the belt that I snap onto a dyneema leash when it gets rough out in the ocean.
I love the sea, but it also frightens me and I want a good shot at survival if "something bad" happens. Given that I usually sail alone, "something bad" in order of likelihood would be 1) getting hit by a fast ferry or other traffic on The Bay 2) falling overboard 3) the boat getting turned over or broken up in nasty conditions in the Gulf of the Farallones.
I looked around for a manual inflater, because lots of people seem to get caught in rigging when their boats turn over. There have been several cases of people trapped under boats after their jackets autoinflated. Of course, if you are knocked unconscious when you go in, its all over with a manual inflater but therein lies some of the risk.
I've had this one for two or three years and found a little hole while testing it the other day. I'm pretty sure it was a manufacturing fault as it doesn't look like it was otherwise damaged. The instructions say to "replace the bladder if there is any wear and tear", but what is better - a repaired and tested bladder, or a new one that may have another manufacturer defect? I repaired it with a small "shelter rite" pvc patch and HH-66 vinyl cement, and also a small crease next to it that looked like it could become a hole. I inflated the jacket and watched it for several days to see if there was a loss in pressure with no problems. I notice that potential wear spots on the bladder seem to form along fold creases, so I'm going to store the jacket open and semi-inflated in future (not folded).
On the front of the jacket I have my 5 watt hand held VHF. It is my first line of defense and I keep it charged up so that it will work when needed. The last line of defense is a McMurdo PLB in the pocket of the vest. If I'm in the water and can't raise anyone on the VHF, then the PLB will be turned on. Also inside the vest is a manual strobe light and a whistle.
Nothing can guarantee your survival at sea when thing go bad. But my "parachute" will give me a good shot at it if that moment comes. Just have to remember to put it on - right?
Update: the glue didn't work well on the urethane (?) bladder, so I cleaned it off and used Dacron sticky sail repair fabric. This is working well, but I would like something more permanent and will try the ShelterRite with silicon glue next.
Further Update: while the Dacron sticky seems OK for a temporary repair it is not permanent. I finally used some 3M 5200 on ShelterRite patches and this gives a bulletproof repair. It is a fiddly job as the 5200 glue needs 7 days to fully cure. Note well that I am not advocating that anyone should repair their life vest bladders in this way - this is my own solution that I will use at my own risk.
Further Further Update (2018): The 3M 5200 failed!!!!! It gradually weakened and then could be peeled off. I have now used West GFlex Epoxy on the Shelterite PVC patch, and it seems flexible and strong with no leaks. I will no longer use the term "bullet proof" and will see if this repair is permanent (we are already talking a year or so, and it is looking good).
I love the sea, but it also frightens me and I want a good shot at survival if "something bad" happens. Given that I usually sail alone, "something bad" in order of likelihood would be 1) getting hit by a fast ferry or other traffic on The Bay 2) falling overboard 3) the boat getting turned over or broken up in nasty conditions in the Gulf of the Farallones.
I looked around for a manual inflater, because lots of people seem to get caught in rigging when their boats turn over. There have been several cases of people trapped under boats after their jackets autoinflated. Of course, if you are knocked unconscious when you go in, its all over with a manual inflater but therein lies some of the risk.
I've had this one for two or three years and found a little hole while testing it the other day. I'm pretty sure it was a manufacturing fault as it doesn't look like it was otherwise damaged. The instructions say to "replace the bladder if there is any wear and tear", but what is better - a repaired and tested bladder, or a new one that may have another manufacturer defect? I repaired it with a small "shelter rite" pvc patch and HH-66 vinyl cement, and also a small crease next to it that looked like it could become a hole. I inflated the jacket and watched it for several days to see if there was a loss in pressure with no problems. I notice that potential wear spots on the bladder seem to form along fold creases, so I'm going to store the jacket open and semi-inflated in future (not folded).
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| PLB, strobe, whistle and backup oral inflater |
On the front of the jacket I have my 5 watt hand held VHF. It is my first line of defense and I keep it charged up so that it will work when needed. The last line of defense is a McMurdo PLB in the pocket of the vest. If I'm in the water and can't raise anyone on the VHF, then the PLB will be turned on. Also inside the vest is a manual strobe light and a whistle.
Nothing can guarantee your survival at sea when thing go bad. But my "parachute" will give me a good shot at it if that moment comes. Just have to remember to put it on - right?
Update: the glue didn't work well on the urethane (?) bladder, so I cleaned it off and used Dacron sticky sail repair fabric. This is working well, but I would like something more permanent and will try the ShelterRite with silicon glue next.
Further Update: while the Dacron sticky seems OK for a temporary repair it is not permanent. I finally used some 3M 5200 on ShelterRite patches and this gives a bulletproof repair. It is a fiddly job as the 5200 glue needs 7 days to fully cure. Note well that I am not advocating that anyone should repair their life vest bladders in this way - this is my own solution that I will use at my own risk.
Further Further Update (2018): The 3M 5200 failed!!!!! It gradually weakened and then could be peeled off. I have now used West GFlex Epoxy on the Shelterite PVC patch, and it seems flexible and strong with no leaks. I will no longer use the term "bullet proof" and will see if this repair is permanent (we are already talking a year or so, and it is looking good).
My parachute is a kayaking life jacket. It has pockets for my spot and I lash my vhf and signal whistle to it. My sailing grounds are a good bit different from yours, and that jacket is the same I use on my kayak and SUP as well as my Ulua outrigger and day sailer. Great post. Got me thinking about how I want to change my setup.
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