A good reason NOT to wear a life jacket in a C Dory

To quote Bill;
Every choice is a trade-off.
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My inflatable vest is not auto/water activated. I wanted that for dependability, less maintenance etc. Meredith's is an auto-inflate model. My thinking, although possibly chauvenistic, was this: I could probably survive a fall overboard and inflate it myself; I'm MUCH better in the water than she is and have more confidence/experience. She's not, so I wanted it auto inflate for her. I also do pretty much all the lines/fenders etc, so I'm the one walking outside the safe confines of the cabin/cockpit. (She usually handles the boat better in tight spots)

Is either a perfect system? Nope...but nothing is.

As far as getting out of a capsized boat: I hope I never have to! But perhaps a small knife in each LV pocket is not such a bad idea. I don't think we can escape ALL risk; life is full of it and there's an entire industry dedicated to attempting to mitigate it, but... All we can do is plan for it, try like hell to avoid it when possible and be ready to REACT if the worst does occur.
 
Hi Fred, Even if you don't trip the cartridge, it's a good idea to inflate the bladder by mouth once in a while, then leave it overnight to see that it holds firm. Especially if you don't wear it all the time -- it might end up where the dog naps, or your son whets his sailor's knife, or your wife chops garlic -- it could develop pesky little holes you don't know about, so a test is in order. When the inflatable PFDs are not being worn I try to hang ours by the buckles so that they drape without wrinkles, and have minimal contact with stuff. :cigar :cake :idea :tux :cocktail :hot
Rod
 
Before I get underway

I get a life jacket out of the bow for everyone. If they are kids they are on. If they are adults the jackets are placed out on my overhead rack system off the rod holders very accessible from the cockpit. My thowable is also on the rack. Never hurts to show a little color.

It is too tight in the cabin for three men with lifejackets on. Most of my crew leaves the jacket on the rack.

If I am alone on the boat the jacket is on while underway.

In a situation of concern all lifejackets go on. But for the normal surprise mishap the jackets are within reach. Never got to the mishap problem on my vessel but I have seen enough mishap's to know that you don't have time to waste looking for gear.

Also attached to my lifejackets is a whistle. My ditch bag has most of the good stuff.
 
As well as the whistles on our life jackets we have the small strobe lights. These are in-expensive, and far better than a flash light (although we keep a combo flashlight/strobe light in the ditch bag, and by the cabin door).
 
Hi Folks,

An answer to Ron and Jane. I check my inflatable all the time. I have not pulled the tab to see if the inflatable part works.

When we do VE's, and a owner has an inflatable, he has to wear it and inflate it by mouth.

One point if you have ever read FASINET 10, one thing that came out of that race and storms was that the inflatables life vests were very reliable. However the inflatable life rafts were not.

I will continue to wear my inflatable when cruising. I even wear it when lecturing on equiptment on the Safe Boating Course. Reason is to try and sell the idea that a comfortable life vest is worn. A uncomfortable life vest isn't worn.

Fred
 
After doing underwater escape training from helicopters MANY times over the past 30 years - I always questioned wearing survival suits for the same reasoning - they float and would make it nearly impossible to get out of a submerged chopper (boat). In the early days we wore thick (.5" maybe) and auto inflate jackets - I guess they wanted the wreck to float !

I figured the best I could do was pull the toggles on the other guys jacket to get them out of the way - then I might stand a chance.
 
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