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Thread: Advice needed on liferafts

  1. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
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    Discovery Bay, CA
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    496

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    Quote Originally Posted by GBR3068 View Post
    I said I'd report back on the liferaft. Here's what I learned. Not everything was obvious.

    1. Sal from at Sal's Inflatables and Chris at Svendsen's says by far the most popular rafts are the Vikings. Sal said the RescYou Pro is worth the extra.
    2. Sal was a real help through everything. He loaned us different models and empty containers for us to try different options.
    3. The RescYou Pro is heavy with or without canister. Nearly 88 lb for container and 75 lb for valise and the container seems heavier when you try and lift it because there's nothing to grab on to. No way to get this model in container or valise out of the cabin in 15 seconds.
    4. Sal would not let me mount it on the pushpit. Not nearly strong enough in bad conditions that you will need it. Facing outward you cant get to it, you risk losing it when you need it most and its really hard to mount even at the dock. Facing in you lose enormous amount of room in the cockpit. I couldn't mount it inside the cockpit because it would be in the way of the emergency tiller.
    5. Chris wouldn't mount it anywhere but on deck, on the hatch garage. He took the garage off, built supports and a bolting plate scheme to take the cradle off without tearing the garage off again.
    6. I'm not sure I trust the single seat belt around the canister. Might have to add some cargo tie downs with more quick-release.
    7. I went back and forward so many times on canister or valise. One thing to note is that the Viking dimensions are off for the RescYou Pro valise. The RescYou Pro valise is bigger than the RescYou Ocean, but they just copied and pasted the dimensions from the RescYou Ocean to the RescYou Pro literature. Sal has told them about this after making a custom case that didn't fit, but the error is still there. I figured it out when I tried to fit a valise I borrowed from Sal into a cooler, thinking I could keep that on deck.
    8. Be aware that the RescYou Pro canister is bigger than the RescYou Ocean canister for the same four-person size raft.
    9. I signed up for Safety at Sea live course and I'll report back on what happens when you try and launch a raft. By all accounts its not easy.
    10. I might still get an ISPLR for just in case.

    Attachment 8125

    Re item six. Once you are comfortable with the strap down system I would purchase a $5 ceramic knife+sheath to strap down right next to the strap downs. Cheap insurance. While the knives are inexpensive, they cut through strap downs like butter and don't corrode. I have had one strapped to my helm post since the 2015 Longpac and it is still bloody sharp, no pun intended. As a matter of fact, buy two and satisfy the cockpit knife requirement while you are at it.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Berkeley
    Posts
    112

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    Cal Maritime just posted a class here is a link to the Pac Cup page with info. https://admin.pacificcup.org/course/sas

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
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    3,485

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    That looks like Randall Reeves teaching the class. "Experienced lifelong sailors" as instructors, indeed!

  4. #14
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Berkeley
    Posts
    112

    Default Randall Reeves

    Quote Originally Posted by Philpott View Post
    That looks like Randall Reeves teaching the class. "Experienced lifelong sailors" as instructors, indeed!
    it is indeed Randall. He taught the damage control section when I took the class last year. Great teacher.

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Palo Alto
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    Mike: Good idea. I use these for cockpit and general emergency around the boat for use on line, these seem just right (the others are too small or too big):
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    and these to carry everywhere else:
    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1
    but the little pin will eventually corrode on those if soaked in salt water

    I just looked for the parrot shaped colored ones which were great and very cheap when I bought them but they dont seem to sell these any more for $4 but still cheap for what they can do:
    https://www.amazon.com/Ceramic-Kitch...n%2C159&sr=1-2

    Now&Zen: thanks for that link. I signed up for the March 25, 2023 PCYC class with Randall. I got a note that said order number 36, so I guess that means 36 people signed up so far. I also signed up for Ashley's class and will do that on April 22-23. Overkill maybe but seems worth it to me to get the benefit of knowledge and advice from experienced people. I already did my online Part 1 and Part 2 courses but I have no problem doing multiple practical and live courses.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Palo Alto
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    Carliane mentioned that Guy Waites lost his liferaft and here's two pictures of how it was fitted:

    From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jw49oITZHxg


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    From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePl7Nz3jAY4

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  7. #17
    Join Date
    Jun 2021
    Location
    Palo Alto
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    I got an email with this report on the liferaft loss. I'm not sure if it is generally available, but posting as I'll lose track of things otherwise…

    “I was strapped in and only thought about the mast, which thankfully was okay,” said Waites. “In the morning, the liferaft was gone, vanished. The stainless-steel cradle was bent and the painter had snapped, so the whole thing was gone. If I continue now without a liferaft, I don’t think anyone in my family will be happy with me for a long time!”

    This is/was a Viking cradle. Very similar to the one I have, if not the same.

    Most of the GGR has a Plastimo liferaft: here https://www.nautisports.com/en/raft-...-plastimo.html with a Kannad PLB that they say is GGR specific but I think would be similar to https://www.aviationsurvival.com/Kan...PLB_p_873.html or https://www.aviationsurvival.com/Kan...olo_p_872.html

    Now GGR requires "406 GPS EPIRB or 406 GPS PLB " in the liferaft so I'd think you might have to crack the Viking plastic straps securing the clamshell that separate on deployment. I can't tell if the clamshell was tied back up and how, but it did catch my eye when I was looking at how secure the canister and cradle was. I think I see the straps in the second picture, but not in the first. The other thing I noticed, and which you can see in the above pictures, is that the cradle is pretty beefy at the ends but the hooks or tabs on the sides are lower and not as wide. Have to think about that.
    Last edited by GBR3068; 02-07-2023 at 06:57 PM.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    Berkeley
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    112

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    This is the knife I keep in the cockpit. https://a.co/d/iQqQjBo I keep one of these in my sail repair/splicing box https://a.co/d/7gi76Jo . I have a few other knives around (in my pocket and in the nav station as well as in the galley) but in general my rule is either a fixed blade knife or a locking blade knife. I have seen to many accidents from folding knives with no lock.

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