A Plastimo offshore 4 man life raft with canister is available for around $300. Last certified in 2015 with pressure check and all... Is it worth it considering re certification is a whopping $1,500+/-. Should I just hold off and buy new when ready to really need one in a few years.
Thanks
Greg
We had an 8 man, 21 year old (English) Avon Offshore raft that was recertified almost every year. It was always under a cover in a hard canister. They finally couldn't get to hold pressure. There were no valve parts available (in the US, England, or Europe) for that old raft. So we had to get a replacement this year. Vane Brothers in Baltomre didn't charge for the certification attempt, even though the warned me, because I've been a long term customer. We got a Viking Offshore ISO rated model. The reason for the Viking: it's a good raft, it fit in front of the sea hood like the Avon, and it was reasonably priced.
Its service cycle isn't every year! That saves $600/recertification.
You don't want to strap on a problematic parachute if you ever jump out of a plane. Why mess with a raft that you can't trust?
The Plastimo raft beyond any conceivable service time limit! You have to pay to have them try to certify it You would be crazy to mess with that Pladtimo .
My advice is get a raft with 2 persons extra capacity (e.g., if you have four crew on board, get a six person raft) The space inside the rafts are way too small If you are in wet gear with life jackets it's even worse. If you are in anything but tropical waters, get an insulated floor. You need one that has a decent ballast system; and, can be re-righted, if need be. Get a canister to protect it, and put where you can deploy it of you have to "step up" to get in it.
Then sail so you never have to use it. ;^)))
