Liferaft

Manuals

5Modifications5 3Prev Next4

This item of emergency equipment hasn't yet been acquired, as I am satisfied with using my dinghy (and a fully stuffed grab-bag) while still in the Caribbean. Zanshin has a liferaft compartment perfectly sized for the Plastimo offshore liferaft but that volume is currently filled with assorted stuff and all of my cleaning compounds/chemicals. As with all emergency equipment, liferafts have a limited life span and require inspections every couple of years in order to certify that they will work when called upon. These inspections need to be carried out by factory-certified personnel, which are few and far between and the inspection is also rather pricey so I am waiting until the last moment before going through the Panama in order to complete Zanshin with this item of a last resort.
The pictures below are from a ISAF offshore class that I was in, we had to deploy and then enter a liferaft (in a heated pool) and despite the benign conditions it was quite difficult to do and I hope never to have to use one in anger!

A 4 person liferaft deployed. They just said that 4 would fit, not how comfortable they would be.

Entry into the liferaft while people are pushing and tugging at you and the liferaft (not to mentioned capsizing it), is difficult in the pool and certainly much more so in open waters during a storm.

Inside the 4 person liferaft during the ISAF offshore course in Düsseldorf. We are wet and not comfy.