Life Vest Recommendations

andyatos

Well-Known Member
I'm looking to get a life vest that has a low, contour fitting upper back area that will allow me to pass under the boom during tacks when I have a lot of vang on and my boom is very low and not get hung up on the boom... as is the case when you are wearing a standard kayaking or other life vest.

Any of you regular racers have a recommendation? I'm 5' 11", 180 pounds.

Thanks!

- Andy
 
I'll be interested in hearing recommendations, too. My old kayak vest is starting to fray. But I have to say, having the high back on it has forced me to duck real low, which is a good practice in high wind gybes - protects the noggin'!
 
Given the posture of the Swedish Standard-class winner in Roses, I don't think that your weight and length should cause a problem. He is about your size and perhaps even a little taller.
More and more sailors are sailing with a vest that makes them look like a muscled character from a Marvel cartoon... Zhik sells them as the 'P2 PFD'. Other brands have'm as well. The vest is a little longer, making it possible to spread the technical floating material around the body. As a result, the vest is thinner and sits higher on the back. Check it out.
 
... what also helps is wearing a so-called 'bib' or 'overtop' worn over your pfd. It sits higher in the neck, like a collar and that way you can slide under the boom without being catched.
 
And make sure you have a boom with a strap and not with an eyelet.
The bib works well. It covers all the seams of the PFD and is made of very slippery material.
 
And make sure you have a boom with a strap and not with an eyelet.
Yes indeed... all it took when I first got the boat was one grazing tap on the head with that eyelet and that thing was gone. Replaced it with a loop of webbing.

Cheers,

- Andy
 
I would agree I have a Zhik II Pfd and it works amazing. Quite frustrating though at most of the US events they make you wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket, they are all huge catch on the boom.
 
I just discussed the 'In-house Laser specialist' (my son) the matter of going under the boom. He told me that it shouldn't be a problem for long people as well (naming a young man we both know who's shy of 2m / 5ft 6 and who's capable of going under the boom without problems).

So he approached your problem from a more technical pov: how do you handle your sheet before you tack? And how do you 'cross'?

Look at Marit's technique (0'32'' and further). Look at the mainsheet and her movement from one side to the other (Specifically not mentioning 'crossing'). Her movement under the boom is also forward, making it easier to create room for her to go under the boom

 
Quite frustrating though at most of the US events they make you wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket, they are all huge catch on the boom.

I didn't know that. Especially when I know that those dinghy PDF's as we use, are real life-savers. I don't want to go into details, but one of my son's mates in his previous sailing team has survived a shipwreck at sea (yacht's keel broke off) because he was wearing a dinghy PFD and not an inflatable vest!
 
How do you handle your sheet before you tack? And how do you 'cross'?
Watching Marit's tacking technique I would say that mine, when I have a lot of vang on, is quite similar.

If anything, I stretch my body out fore and aft more and lower than Marit because I'm bigger than she is. As I pass under the boom, the main sheet block is right in front of my face.

I handle the sheet and the tiller exactly like Marit. Steering behind my back as I exit then switching hands with the sheet and tiller.

Perhaps in my original post, I should have said, "... looking to get a life vest that has a low, contour fitting upper back area so that I don't have to duck quite so low than if I was wearing a bulky, non sailing designed vest." ;)

- Andy
 
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... which sounds as technically a proper tack! So it's not something in your movements you have to change! In that case, it's the clothing!
 
I would agree I have a Zhik II Pfd and it works amazing. Quite frustrating though at most of the US events they make you wear a Coast Guard approved life jacket, they are all huge catch on the boom.

I don't see that 'rule' observed consistently in the USA. I think that a sailor can protest another sailor who is not wearing the 'proper' life vest. But who wants to do that?
 
It is funny how no sailor ever complains about the vest. Not even in hot weather. My son attended the Sneekweek (Europe's largest in-land regatta) two years ago and on one morning he took off, heading for the start and realised that he had no vest on. First time ever! Luckily a guy on a RIB gave him one; a red one. I was on the water too, but couldn't find him (800+ boats on the water at the same time...) simply because I was looking for a black Zhik vest and not a red Magic Marine. He finished 2nd that day.

On returning the PFD, he had no idea who had given it to him, so I called the phone# that was on a label inside. The guy said: "Just drop it off at the finish tower, I'll find it there!" Upon this day, we have no idea who gave him the vest!

The Sneekweek: as said: Europe's biggest in-land sailing event on the first week of August. Always between 700 - 800 boats sailing one course/day. The course takes about 2hrs. The fixed buoys are numbered and depending on the wind direction, a certain 'route' is appointed every day using a letter code. (Course A to M). Centre of the Universe(...) is the so-called Start Island in the Sneekermeer.
Tons of Dutch design boats like the Regenboog (= Rainbow), Schakel (= Link), Locally built G2 (= Modern interpretation of a Dragon). And off course the international classes like Laser, Optimist, etc


Winners of the Sneekweek receive a Delft Blue Plate, every year another design. 'Sneekweek Winner' has a certain 'aureole' for non-sailors when they hear it. In short: try to get a glimp or participate next year! You'll love it.

 
Coast Guard approved
After first encountering this phenomenon many decades ago, I can't believe that the Coast Guard in the USA continues to have anything to do with dinghy sailors' personal flotation. What's the history of this? Obviously there are some national rules or regulations, what do they say? Why isn't ISO 12402-5:2006 good enough?

-
 
When it comes to recreational boating in the US, some of the policing of the waters is done by the Coast Guard. However, most of it is done by state-level parks and wildlife officers. Having the Coast Guard set national standard was probably seen as a better alternative than having fifty different state standards. As to why they don't conform to the international ISO standard, I don't know.
 
... which amazes me when I see the pics of last Summer's Youth Sailing Championship in Corpus Christi. The Dutch sailors like Emma (2nd Radial girls) and Laila and Bjarne (4th Nacra 15) wear their own vests. To be sure, I'll ask them just to be sure this weekend when the whole Youth TeamNL is at Scheveningen as part of the Autumn training.

Menno
 
I believe that whenever an international regatta is held in the United States, the Coast Guard looks the other way...

And thinking about my US collegiate sailing days, I always wore my Rukka vest and no one ever complained about it, although it definitely wasn't approved by anyone but the Scandinavian consumer authorities.

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_
 
... if those Rukka items are on par with recommended items from Salora/Nokia/Saab/Volvo and a few other Scandinavian producers, I wouldn't hesitate and wear it without a problem.

Menno
 
In my 25+ years of sailing small sailboats in multiple states, I have had no dealing on the water with law enforcement. Not checking equipment, and certainly not looking for CG approval in the small print on a life jacket.

They are mostly concerned with two things - drunks on the water, and people with no life jacket at all. They see some guy on a small sailboat with no motor who is wearing a PFD and minding his own business, they figure they have bigger problems to deal with.
 
Sounds like our law enforcement people! Speeding where it's not allowed is one other item here. (We don't have endless lakes or shores like the US; it's all more or less cramped).
 
In my 25+ years of sailing small sailboats in multiple states, I have had no dealing on the water with law enforcement. Not checking equipment, and certainly not looking for CG approval in the small print on a life jacket.
I meant by "looking the other way" that the organizers of international events in the US don't enforce national regulations; it would of course be smart to say that in the Notice Of Race and the Sailing Instructions.

They are mostly concerned with two things - drunks on the water, and people with no life jacket at all. They see some guy on a small sailboat with no motor who is wearing a PFD and minding his own business, they figure they have bigger problems to deal with.
Some 15 years ago I was actually stopped sailing my Laser about 100 m from my club by a police boat. The officer tested me if I was sailing intoxicated (I wasn't)... The funny thing was that he had a reporter from a local paper on board, so the whole thing got well documented, although I believe those pictures were never published.

_
 
I meant by "looking the other way" that the organizers of international events in the US don't enforce national regulations; it would of course be smart to say that in the Notice Of Race and the Sailing Instructions.

I think some international regattas use wording in the NOR like "must have a PFD approved for use in their home country" which allows sailors to avoid having to travel with multiple PFDs or buy one just for a single regatta. Seems lawyers could have fun with that if something bad happened.

Some 15 years ago I was actually stopped sailing my Laser about 100 m from my club by a police boat. The officer tested me if I was sailing intoxicated (I wasn't)... The funny thing was that he had a reporter from a local paper on board, so the whole thing got well documented, although I believe those pictures were never published.

_

They would generally need probably cause. Had you capsized just before he stopped you?
 
They would generally need probably cause. Had you capsized just before he stopped you?
No, it was just a routine check, as if on a roadside. It was a quiet day and I guess he wanted to show the media how it's done :D

_
 
So, based on the sizing chart from Zhik, I ordered a Zhik P2 PFD Large. I'm 5' 11", 180 lbs. Their chart is pretty detailed and even if I was taller and weighed more, I would still fit within their Large recommendation.

Well, I just got my P2 PDF in a Large and tried it on. It wasn't even close to the right size. I could barely get the zipper closed. I don't have a gut and my chest and upper back is wider than my middle. That is where it was the tightest, in the chest area. I'm 42.5 inches around my chest when I'm not breathing and 45 when I take a big breath and hold it.

So, I'll be sending my Large back and getting an Extra Large. Just an FYI for anyone who thinks about ordering a Zhik P2 PFD.

- Andy
 
Dang, Andy.... I should've warned you. I'm about exactly your size and I also couldn't zip up my XL that I got week before last! Just a few minutes ago I received the replacement XXL, and now I can get it zipped. If you haven't already sent it back, I'd recommend the XXL!
 
Hi Dennis!

No... I haven't sent it back yet. Wow... even an XL didn't fit you?!

Hey, I'm going to be seeing you on Sunday at Drake's, right? If so, can I try on your XXL? That would be a good test.

- Andy
 
Yes, I don't know my chest measurements but my shoulders and upper chest was where it was tight. You're welcome to try my XXL, but the Drakes days aren't until Sat/Sun Nov 24-25.
 
Let me guess... the 11th was the day you were going to be able to start sailing again due to your impressive visiting-with-friends schedule, not a Drake's day?
 
So, I got an XL and XXL Zhik P2 PFD in the mail to replace my Large. Tried the XXL on and it fit. It wasn't even loose. Tried on the XL too. No way... too small.

So there you have it. Aside from the sizing issue, the Zhik P2 is a very nice PFD. Well thought out, well made.

- Andy
 
So, I got an XL and XXL Zhik P2 PFD in the mail to replace my Large. Tried the XXL on and it fit. It wasn't even loose. Tried on the XL too. No way... too small.

So there you have it. Aside from the sizing issue, the Zhik P2 is a very nice PFD. Well thought out, well made.

- Andy
Good to hear it, Andy! Yes, don't we come across as very large men to the Zhik folks?
 

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