Givens ocean survival raft for sale

C

C-Pup16 in Los Angeles

New member
Hello C-Brats with big CDs you take to sea.... When I bought my 16 ft C-Dory ("C-Pup16 in Los Angeles") in 2003, I wanted a survival raft to save my wife and me from a sinking/capsize crisis at sea. Being a newbie, I ordered a Givens off-shore survival raft in the photo linked below. It is in a valise and has been re-certified in 2011. Although this is an expired certification for commercial vessels, it is still probably good for use. I paid $3200 for it new. I will sell it for $1000 plus shipping costs.

My Givens proved to be a real life saver. It is so big for my 16 ft CD that I had to remove the passenger seat and use that space for it, forcing my wife to say at home (which she prefers). That gave me the solitude and quiet at sea that I seek. Use it for this purpose or its conventional use. I have replaced it with a smaller, lighter briefcase size small raft that will do for a tiny boat.

My cell # in Los Angeles is 213-700-0080. Call or text me. ~ Keith Dager

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _photo.php

also

http://www.c-brats.com/modules.php?set_ ... _photo.php
 
I lowered the price to $950 and here's the eBay ad. I know only a large C-Dory traveling long distances down the coast would be interested. At the Catalina gathering, one boat came down (by sea) from Seattle, handling the big swells and unpredictable weather. That's my prospective buyer, not a Sunday harbor cruise C-Dory owner. There's 1 1984 27' diesel C-Dory for sale (saw on C-Brats) that I wish I could own and take to the outer islands... where I sure as heck would want a Givens raft in the cockpit.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121607695497?ss ... 1555.l2649
 
C-Pup16 in Los Angeles":9lt02t20 said:
At the Catalina gathering, one boat came down (by sea) from Seattle, handling the big swells and unpredictable weather.
Click to expand...

I would be very impressed by a C Dory which came from Seattle to Caalina--but I wonder if you are not referring to the Venture/Cape Cruiser 26 which has come several times from San Francisco--impressive in itself!
 
Best of luck with the sale. Having some 10,000'plus offshore miles I would still choose a good dinghy over the mis named life raft if my boat was to depart. A dinghy can be rowed, motored or sailed under jury rig toward land and a raft just drifts passively awaiting a potential rescue. Stories of rafts drifting past islands are out there. See Steve Callahans story, a good dinghy would have had him ashore much sooner. I wouldn't get aboard a life raft if a dinghy was nearby.
Make sure you list it with Craig list and Blue water cruising sites. They may provide a sale
The c dory while not impossible to sink, is likely able to withstand almost any impact due to it's lightweight strong construction. I would not like to have to carry a raft around for a "just in case".
George
 
Keith, You never fail to crack me up.... you lighten my load...

I bet you never let your wife read that....

Yer Pal
Joel
SEA3PO
 
ghone":f59m8wb5 said:
Best of luck with the sale. Having some 10,000'plus offshore miles I would still choose a good dinghy over the mis named life raft if my boat was to depart. A dinghy can be rowed, motored or sailed under jury rig toward land and a raft just drifts passively awaiting a potential rescue.
Click to expand...

I have carried life rafts when ocean racing, including Transpacs, and various Mexican races, because they are required. However, I agree with George about the use of a life raft on a cruising boat. We had a 10' hard dinghy which was "unsinkable"would fit inside of our 13 foot Achillies inflatable, which had C02 bottles for rapid inflation fitted to it, and was packed with survival gear, as well as 2 EPRIBs aboard.

But the Givens offshore raft is a very good life raft!
Here is a photo of Keith's boat--certainly the best equipped C Dory 16!



DSC01170.jpg

DSC01167.jpg
 
I reduced my ask price to $849 plus shipping cost. UPS priced shipping it from Los Angeles to New York City at $123 which includes insurance for $1,000. The cost by USPS is below $100. Shipping to shorter routes should be cheaper. Available for pick up a in Los Angeles or at Catalina Island during C-Dory week in August.

Again, this is intended mainly for the 25 foot boat which does long coastal trips by sea or in cold water where they could get caught in a storm or swamped by a rouge wave. There is no comparison to using a dingy for a survival raft in those circumstances. Your enemy is cold water and wind. Just see the video at
https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/pl ... aaplw&tt=b
 
Kushtaka is asking about a survival suit for an infant--your raft would be ideal for him--and would be a great use of the raft! Send him a PM.
 
Thanks Bob for the pictures and for the suggestion. Most people think they'll make do with a dingy. Bad idea. You don't get swamped on a calm day.

As to C-Pup's equipment, I added underwater squid lights to net or snag bait at night, and a WIFI antenna to pick up free WIFI on shore so I can use my boat while on the Catalina sting line as a remote office.

The next thing I want to get is an underwater camera to attach to the downrigger, to watch for fish following my fishing rig.

Now that I replaced the Givens with a light weight donut life raft I can tie to the roof, I'll have room to install a Lazy Boy massage chair in the cockpit!

Be well,
Keith
 
One of the things I like about this raft is that it is built expressly for helicopter rescue. The Jay Hawk and Dolphin helos the USCG boys use around here are bigger than most helos and make a heckuva wash. They generally have to put divers in farther away, but with this one they could winch someone right out of the raft. That means less chance of a swim, which is a pretty big deal.

I've asked the Admiral/CFO to approve, but she's pretty tight with the war chest these days. However she wants the kid on the boat more than I do (because she knows she's going to get left behind too!) so we shall see...
 
Someone says he's mailed me a certified check for my ask price. If so, (remains to be seen), then it's sold when the check can be cashed at the bank it's drawn on. Remains to be seen... but just saying.
 
Keith

I have one of those underwater cameras up north that I bought for my diving business....it is pretty good in clear water but sometimes when I am in murky water it is like looking at a blank page.... also it is really hard to aim ...if you are moving it might help but in calm water the camera moves around so much it is almost worthless.... I think that I will use the camera and build a small ROV using bilge pump motors and PVC pipe... also if you do buy one, make sure it comes with at least 50' of connecting cord...lots of them only have 25'..... and that is just not enough..

One of the neatest things I bought for the tug is a Hummingbird Sonar unit....works really well... I am still learning how to adjust it, but it gives a tremendous view of what is on the bottom... (takes two transducers)

Joel
 
Thanks Joel for your comments. The Hummingbird is 3-D right? I see these advertised on the Internet but can't see how it works. You'll have to meet me at Catalina this August to demonstrate it!

Maybe I should just train a dolphin to point where the fish are.
 
It is a true sonar by Hummingbird and just over $3k.... but works well for what I need it to do....makes really good color pictures of the bottom ...easy to see the outline of a boat or anything no supposed to be on the bottom....
Hummingbird has a Sonar forum that is really good...they discuss modifications and different brands.... there are lots of screen captures that are neat....mainly old WW2 ships and airplanes on the bottom....good and clear. http://forums.sideimagingsoft.com/index.php

I use the Sonar on my Tug boat that I use at Lake Almanor...it never travels very far....to and from winter storage is about it...even with a two axle trailer I would not like to tow it down the road far....pretty heavy.

Joel
 
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