Canvas Cover for Life Raft Canister

have you checked when the life raft was manufactured and when it was serviced last? That would be a priority for me over the enclosure.

Hi,

Very sound advice, the colour of the cannister should be an indication of the rafts age.

Rafts require regular inspection and servicing and do have a life cycle.

I understand that in the US while you might not be required to have one in some instances that of you do have one it must be in test.

If these auto-deploy, could such a canvas cover prevent it from deploying?

Hi,

Only if it is tied to the cradle or other part of the vessel.

Everything to do with the liferaft and it's ability to float free following hydrostatic release must under rules and should if it is your own private boat be able to be freed by release of the Hydrostatic release unit.

BTW, I ask because I've never worked a boat with one. So I'm learning here. It wouldn't surprise me to see it tied to the frame so the cover doesn't blow off. I've seen dumber moves where safety took a back seat to appearance. I also wonder though if, even if it didn't hinder release, could a cover keep it from opening? Again I'd have to imagine many would secure the cover so it won't blow off. Many people today seem to get all sorts of fancy equipement, I think so they can brag that they have it, without giving a thought to maintaining it or even learning about how it works.

Hi,

It would in my opinion need to be some pretty substantial cover to hinder the cannister opening.

The Painter ( cord hanging out of the case) should be secured to a strong point on the vessel with a weak link to allow it to release fully if it isn't cut by someone. The straps that hold the cannister down should be secured through one end of a Hydrostatic release, the other end is secured to the vessel.

The cover if secured by cord should be attached to the securing straps in such a way that once released the whole lot can get away.

The cannister floats towards the surface pulling out the painter as it goes, when it reaches it's end it pulls the CO2 Release mechanism on the bottle in the cannister, this releases the gas and the raft inflates blowing the cannister open in the process.

Thanks for that education K1W1. I'm sure many will benefit from it. Think I'd want to make sure that any cover I put on it was equipped with a weak point. Probably better still just paint it.

And chances are if you bought it on EBay it's annual inspection has expired. Take the raft to an authorized service facility for inspection and service. While they have the raft out of the container have the container painted nice and shiny new.
Return nice shiny container to the service facility and they will repackage the life raft if it was in good enough condition to pass inspection.

My boat has a 8 person Avon on it; big heavy sucker. It has a Stamoid cover on it which I used to take off when heading into open water. Ask the life raft servicer what they think.

If a life raft is installed on a boat that does not require one. Under USCG law it has to be certified when it's required to be.

I would not cover it with a canvas cover, it can trap humidity underneath the cover and cause the raft to rot. You can paint the fiberglass/plastic shell the raft is in, if so desired.....prep it right and use that spray paint designed for plastic.

Cheaping out on a piece of life safety equipment ... Always a smart move.

Cheaping out on what? If the liferaft manufacturer thought that a stamoid or vinyl cover was such a good idea, don't you think that they'd sell them for their liferafts?

I would recommend service and repacking as necessary to keep it up to date.

I would not cover a self deploying life raft with anything.

I would not want to be treading water waiting and waiting for the life raft to deploy if it got hung up on a canvass cover.

Any canvas shop would be easily able to make you one. The way I have seen them done was with Velcro on the corners that would hold it in a box shape.

I was referencing the part of your post in which you said that if the coast guard did not require there to be a life raft aboard, then there is no requirement for it to be certified.

Back to the original poster: you bought this thing on EBay. If it does not have a recent inspection it would behoove you to take it to an authorized service center to be inspected and serviced. What you have right now is a fiberglass box with no real way of knowing what you have on the inside.
I also highly recommend that when having rafts serviced you go to the service center and have a look at the features and design of your raft while it is inflated.

No. My post reads that if you have a liferaft then it must be certified even if there is NO USCG requirement that you have one.

Ahh, thanks for the clarification, I must have somehow misread your earlier posting.