Life raft recertification

Raft

To the original question, I had a Switlik that required annual service. That cost was about $700 if done during the off-season. I currently have a Revere that is vacuum sealed so it requires service every 3 years. I am expecting that to be around $1,000 this winter.

Most important, as stated above they inflate and check the raft and all components which is why I knew the Switlik needed to be replaced.

Means all commercial fishing vessels subject to the rules of 46 CFR 28 which details the requirements for commercial fishing vessels.

They say "all vessels" because there are exemptions inthat chapter for some types of vessels engaged in commercial fishing. All vessels means there are no exemptions for those vessels that are otherwise exempt from some other requirements.

If you look at 46 CFR 25 you will see that the requirement for survival craft does not come into play until >100 tons and "small passenger vessel" which clearly the privately owned yacht referenced by the OP is not.

Take that a bit further and you will find in 46 CFR 25.25-17(b) that there is another way around having to carry an inflatable raft.

As far as this question is concerned, carrying an expired raft is like carrying expired flares, as long as you have current flares you can carry all the expired ones you want. As long as you have the lifesaving equipment required for your boat and your operation you can carry all the extra stuff you like (such as an old raft) regardless of its legality for use on a vessel that requires that stuff to be current. You can make and carry a home made raft for all the CG cares, just make sure you carry the minimum equipment they say you have to.

Thanks guys, they open back up on the 19th, guess they had a little R&R.

Thanks for the clarification ... and I stand corrected.
So to clarify, vessels under 100 ton (the OP and mine) don't require liferafts. But if we DO carry them, they need to be serviced (read: current inspection). However, the vessel may also carry other boats (section b) that will count towards the survival capacity (which doesn't apply to our boats).

I LOVE CFR regs!

So the bottom line question is:
"If one has a vessel under 100 tons uninspected and has an expired life raft, will the CG cite that person?"

Thanks again for pointing us in the right direction. It probably won't be the last time I'm corrected on this site!

Who said that? We are now back at the very beginning of this conversation.

That was the royal "we" since I don't feel like starting all over again. Please refer to my last post or call the USCG Marine Safety Office nearest you.

See, I told you it wouldn't be long before I was corrected!

No royalty here, but I did take some time this morning to read up on more CFR regs than I'd like.

As Marmot accurately stated earlier, there are no regulations requiring uninspected vessels under 100 tons to have life rafts.

46 C.F.R. § 25.25-17 Survival craft requirements for uninspected passenger vessels of at least 100 gross tons.


Thanks for pointing me/us in the right direction.

life rafts from china

i have been looking for a life raft from chineese manafuctures.
there are many different types, they say they are certified etc...
they are between $500 - $2000
the $2000 jobs dont look much better than the $500 ones
would anyone buy these rafts from china... a post here says all types sometimes malfunction.

Hi,

I would not buy one

I probably wouldn't either, but truth be told, probably all of my electronics are made there - and I trust my life to them as well. Computers, monitors, plotters, vhf's, tender outboard, (heck, even the cell phone/pda). Fortunately, the paper charts are made in the USA!

I'm sure someone here will chime in with personal experience...

Hi,

And which of those items mentioned above will you rely on as your last hope of saving your skin in an emergency which may or may not have been brought on by the malfunction of one of the items you listed?

i guess its all a case of when ur times up.... not much will save you

This thread is obviously getting sidetracked, but I would expect my Mustang to save my skin. That said, if all those things fail, it's just not my day (or maybe it IS my day!) and I should have rolled over in bed...

Have you seen any product made in China that was of high quality? I would definately steer clear of any life raft made in china. I'd rather buy a used, certified one from 84 boatworks far before I'd buy a new one from China.

I really don't know....
some things i have brought from china has been good quality, and some things have been rubish...
I think i should ask the question what is the proper rating for certification...
(type) for a life raft?

Hi,

Chinese manufacturing is multi faceted.

It is very much of getting what you pay for.

The experiences I have are that if you want something as cheap as possible that looks like the real one then you can have that no problem, just don't expect it to last as long as the real thing.

If you are prepared to pay a higher price the quality can be as good as any genuine article made elsewhere.

The one big one that is hard to correct is making sure you get what you are actually paying for. The use of Certificates to show a standard is only good and reliable when the article the Certificate refers to is the article you receive not a look alike knockoff.

Most importantly, I believe that ArielMiller is referring to an Italian-made EV - EUROVINIL liferaft. EV's list of official liferaft service agents in USA can found here.

So, I'm assuming that his own yacht is a European-built model (Italian builder) probably, hence the EV liferaft. Or else, that his yacht spent sometime in Italian-waters where this liferaft was originally acquired. Or that EV are far more succesful in selling their liferafts in the USA market-place than I previously imagined.

Whatever, liferaft inspection and certification is a wholly-professional domain (ie. an individual cannot "self-certify" his own liferaft etc.)...! And the compressed air cylinder/s integrated into inflatable liferaft packs usually never require replacing, just a regular inspection for pressure and corrosion, their lives usually exceed those of the useful or reglementary life of the liferaft as given by the manufacturer.

But there are 2 main considerations to take into account:

1) What standards / classifications does the original liferaft comply with? Many smaller Italian yacht builders simply equip their new yachts with liferafts which meet the Italian RINA yacht requirements. The flag state under which the new yacht's owner eventually registers his yacht may require other and usually more stringent requirements. Especially with regard to differentiation between private / commercial use of the yacht.

2) Whereas a 23m Italian-built and registered yacht used for exclusively private-cruising may get away with a basic EV liferaft, the buyer of same yacht, registering their yacht elsewhere, under French or UK flag perhaps, will rapidly find that they're going to have to add supplementary "emergency packs" in addition to the existing liferafts. And that whereas, in Italy, the yacht owner would not be required to have a full inspection / certification of his liferaft/s before the 3rd anniversary, the UK or French owner would have been subjected to either a (French visual 1st year) and (both French / UK MCA etc.) full inspections (requiring unpacking, inflation, leak-tests, refilling of the air cylinder/s, repacking etc.) of liferafts on an annual basis after that. In Europe today, whilst the standards etc. are more or less agreed, their application often depends on the individual inspectors / surveyors "on the ground".

I've no idea how all this works in USA, whether or not US inspectors accept "equivalences" (ie. if the liferaft meets the requirements under EU regulations etc.) then it should be OK for use under USCG rules etc.

But I'm 100% sure. If you don't have a recently (<12 months) "officially-inspected and certified" liferaft aboard, you're probably breaking the regulations and would be heavily-fined if caught out. Having said all that, the technology concerning today's inflatable liferafts is many decades' old. And I'd imagine that most of today's liferaft manufacturers wares' would perform faultlessly even if they had not been "maintained / serviced" as normally required over a 10 year period, provided that they had not sufferred unduly from inadequate storage under the elements...

Hey, liferaft inspections, replacing distress signals every 3 years or so, they're all the most basic expenses for yacht owners from 10ft to 500ft. I could say something else, but welcome to yacht ownership at it's best (worst)...?! Otherwise, why not go back to owning a simple sailing dinghy...?!

"But I'm 100% sure. If you don't have a recently (<12 months) "officially-inspected and certified" liferaft aboard, you're probably breaking the regulations and would be heavily-fined if caught out."

I am 100 percent sure your first statement is the operative one: "I've no idea how all this works ..."

Please don't come along at the end of an overly and unnecessarily complicated discussion just to make it even worse by making statements that are not based on facts that can be confirmed by reference to easily obtained official sources. That sort of post is what makes it so difficult for others to use "information" supplied by people who claim to have specific knowledge.

The OP has a small private boat in the U.S. If you have specific knowledge about the rules concerning his question then please share it, otherwise please don't just add to the noise level.

It wasn't your fault so no need to apologize for asking a good question. If people would read the question then answer that question it would work much better but since this is the internet I guess the old story about posting how to change a lightbulb applies.

Anybody know any place near Sarasota FL where a BF Goodrich Crewsaver Life Raft can be recertified?