Life Jackets

minifish

minifish

New Member
I haven't been on the sailing scene in over 10 years and I remember them being very uncomfortable.

What is everyone wearing and what are the likes/dislikes and even jackets to stay away from?
 
I'd say that "it depends".

If you are on salt water, you could be immersed for some time. On a lake, you could drift ashore in an hour. Mine is a fisherman's style with pockets to carry my "MacGyver Repair Kit". It's relatively thin and has a mesh interior surface, so it doesn't cling like the super-cheap ones made by Kent. The sun has taken a toll on it, so soon I'll be looking for another.

In light air, I bungee it between the bow handle and mast; otherwise, I'm sure to wear it, as I don't float as well as I used to.
 
Life jackets (PFDs) come in many flavors and you should try some on. Marine type stores and paddle boat stores carry many. Look for Type III; most are pretty comfortable.
Prices range from as little as $30 to well over $100. Most, but not all, are US Coast Guard approved. Some have only the approval of a similar European (not sure) organization. This issue is of some importance if you race because some race instructions require you to wear a US Coast Guard approved PFD.

I have a PFD from Extrasport; these are made in a country where some sort of sports activity will take place soon, so I have heard. I always wear it; occasionally the boom will interact with my skull and I don't want to drown because I loose my 'whereabouts'.
 
I just bought a O'Brien Men's Traditional Neo Vest, it was about $75. I had to try on a bunch at the store to get the best fitting one, all the brands fit different and the sizes are not the same from one brand to the other. The one feature I like is the vest has a big velcro internal belt that goes under your belly, then you zip and buckle it up. It doesn't ride up past my shoulders when sitting on the sunfish, which is nice.
 
West Marine has good prices on inflatable vests with a CO2 cartridge. I wear one on my fishing boat and any time I'm on the water alone.

The first rule of a gunfight is...bring a gun.

The first rule of staying alive on the water is...buy something you will WEAR.

The best offshore jacket makes a nice flotsam/jetsam stream for the Coasties to find where you went down if you don't bother to wear the thing!
 
roccaas said:
West Marine has good prices on inflatable vests with a CO2 cartridge. I wear one on my fishing boat and any time I'm on the water alone.

The first rule of a gunfight is...bring a gun.

The first rule of staying alive on the water is...buy something you will WEAR.

The best offshore jacket makes a nice flotsam/jetsam stream for the Coasties to find where you went down if you don't bother to wear the thing!
Click to expand...


I saw those. The reason I'd wear a life jacket is should I get hit in the head with the boom and knocked out, or knocked silly, I need something to keep me afloat. In that type of situation, I won't be lucid enough to blow up the vest.
I wish they could make life jackets that small though. :(
 
The ones with the CO2 cartridge come in two types - manual and automatic. Manual does not mean that you blow it up yourself - what would be the point of the CO2 cartridge? You pull a little rip cord to trigger it. You're totally right, though, that you need to be conscious to take advantage of this. The automatic ones are just that - if they get wet, they trigger, and inflate. The downside is that they will occasionally trigger if you get seriously splashed. Also, once triggered you have to buy a new cartridge, which is a few bucks. And, of course, they cost a lot more to buy in the first place.
 
Another option may be the vest worn by river Kayak paddlers. These generally have little padding in the armpit/over shoulder so they are more comfortable whey your arms are in constant motion. The downside is that these jackets generally do not provide face up/turn over/head out of water like an offshore jacket or even a waterski vest.

Now that they have the auto inflating key ring for your boat keys, perhaps we could engineer one large enough to fit around our necks like a collar and only inflate on immersion. We'd look like a bunch of rubber duckies bobbing in the water. Just a thought....
 
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