I am getting ready to do some night cruising. I wanted to have strobe lights attached to our life-vests. My inflatable does not have any way to attach flares or lights. My thought is that I would ware a little fanny pack that had the survival gear in it. How do others deal with this problem? If one went overboard how would you use a strobe? If I were to hold it up in my hand my arm would tire in a matter of ten or fifteen minutes. In less than an hour I would not be able to close my hand over it. I sail in Puget Sound where the water is about 45 to 50 degrees. The inflatable has some loupes and pegs the help close the front. It could be clipped there. My non inflatable has pockets and a patch to strap things on. Perhaps I should ware that instead. Of coarse I do not plan to have anyone fall in. I would not even go out if the weather were not favorable. This is just a theoretical discussion. Has anyone else worked on this issue?
- Status
Attach
Walt, I managed to work an attachment of my strobe to the inflatable. I took the thing apart and sewed a pocket onto the cover. I tried to put it in a place that would not interfere with the inflation and also would not interfere with my face if it inflated. I then attached the strobe to one of the straps with a clip and expandable wire (same thing I use for my dive light). I also put a small piece of velcro at the back of the pocket and the strobe. So the strobe is right in the pocket if I go over, or at worst, at the end of the tether. I can let it go if I need to and it will not get lost. The tether is long enough to allow me to extend the strobe as far as my arm will reach. Becasue it is so convenient, I just leave it on the inflatable all the time, although I initially conceived the project for off shore work. Dan Jonas
Walt, I managed to work an attachment of my strobe to the inflatable. I took the thing apart and sewed a pocket onto the cover. I tried to put it in a place that would not interfere with the inflation and also would not interfere with my face if it inflated. I then attached the strobe to one of the straps with a clip and expandable wire (same thing I use for my dive light). I also put a small piece of velcro at the back of the pocket and the strobe. So the strobe is right in the pocket if I go over, or at worst, at the end of the tether. I can let it go if I need to and it will not get lost. The tether is long enough to allow me to extend the strobe as far as my arm will reach. Becasue it is so convenient, I just leave it on the inflatable all the time, although I initially conceived the project for off shore work. Dan Jonas
Good waterproof glue
Boatlife Life Seal is supposed to be waterproof and remain flexible and is very strong... use it to attach pockets and mounting gadgetry including velcro. Good luck and good sailing: Jim Why Knot!
Boatlife Life Seal is supposed to be waterproof and remain flexible and is very strong... use it to attach pockets and mounting gadgetry including velcro. Good luck and good sailing: Jim Why Knot!
Suggest asking the makers
Walt, All these retrofit lights must have the same problem when the lifejacket is not equipped to receive them. The manufacturers must have come across this many times and surely will have developed a solution for each type of lifejacket made. Why not try asking them, either via e-mail or by telephone?
Walt, All these retrofit lights must have the same problem when the lifejacket is not equipped to receive them. The manufacturers must have come across this many times and surely will have developed a solution for each type of lifejacket made. Why not try asking them, either via e-mail or by telephone?
Attaching gear to inflatables
Thanks for the posts. Daniel I like your suggestion of an expandable leash. That way I could anchor it anywhere on my body. The strobe I got for Christmas only has a eight inch wrist loop. Jim’s idea of using fabric glue to attach a pocket seems easier and less threatening to the tubes then sewing. I believe there are some glues that are stronger than thread. Don’s suggestion to contact the maker is too reasonable. I have not done that because of a presentation I went to some years ago when I was doing more kayaking than sailing. The kayak club invited a representative of the coastguard auxiliary (?) to speak on life jackets. The requirements for qualifying the life jackets to the standards are very specific and if a manufacture added pockets or other means of adding weight they had to prove the vest worked with maximum load designed for that pocket or loupe. It is a lot harder to qualify with the added pockets and loupes so they tend to do the basic floatation. This presentation is years old so Don still has a good point. I just remembered there was a kayaking guy that sewed a hard (non inflatable) vest inside of a fishing vest with all the pockets. If he got separated from his kayak he had quite an assortment of survival gear inside of the fishing vest he could call on.
Thanks for the posts. Daniel I like your suggestion of an expandable leash. That way I could anchor it anywhere on my body. The strobe I got for Christmas only has a eight inch wrist loop. Jim’s idea of using fabric glue to attach a pocket seems easier and less threatening to the tubes then sewing. I believe there are some glues that are stronger than thread. Don’s suggestion to contact the maker is too reasonable. I have not done that because of a presentation I went to some years ago when I was doing more kayaking than sailing. The kayak club invited a representative of the coastguard auxiliary (?) to speak on life jackets. The requirements for qualifying the life jackets to the standards are very specific and if a manufacture added pockets or other means of adding weight they had to prove the vest worked with maximum load designed for that pocket or loupe. It is a lot harder to qualify with the added pockets and loupes so they tend to do the basic floatation. This presentation is years old so Don still has a good point. I just remembered there was a kayaking guy that sewed a hard (non inflatable) vest inside of a fishing vest with all the pockets. If he got separated from his kayak he had quite an assortment of survival gear inside of the fishing vest he could call on.
Tubes
Walt, I took the inflatable out of the cover for the sewing. No danger at all. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije)
Walt, I took the inflatable out of the cover for the sewing. No danger at all. Dan Jonas (S/V Feije)
Life Vest Gear
Going into the water up here is no laughing matter and I've thought about adding additional items to my gear too. I've had a strobe for a few years now (be sure to take the batteries out when not in use, or at least over the winter! otherwise they can corrode the strobe). My Henri Lloyd has arm pockets where I carry a small pack of flares. In addition I carry a whistle and a knife. I also have a small Icom pocket VHF radio but it's not waterproof but has a waterproof bag but I have to admit that I don't carry the radio like I should. One thing that would be nice to have is a small collapsable radar reflector one can deploy on a telescoping mast. Around Puget Sound there are a lot of lights which can make it more difficult to spot another light. A small radar reflector would provide some redundancy for spotting someone. Reflectorized tape is really useful for spoting someone in the dark with a light. We found this out on a moonless light when I had to work on the fordeck and my wife could see me working based on the reflector tape but coudn't see me. The man-overboard pole is another item that could be fixed up, also with a strobe or small radar reflector.
Going into the water up here is no laughing matter and I've thought about adding additional items to my gear too. I've had a strobe for a few years now (be sure to take the batteries out when not in use, or at least over the winter! otherwise they can corrode the strobe). My Henri Lloyd has arm pockets where I carry a small pack of flares. In addition I carry a whistle and a knife. I also have a small Icom pocket VHF radio but it's not waterproof but has a waterproof bag but I have to admit that I don't carry the radio like I should. One thing that would be nice to have is a small collapsable radar reflector one can deploy on a telescoping mast. Around Puget Sound there are a lot of lights which can make it more difficult to spot another light. A small radar reflector would provide some redundancy for spotting someone. Reflectorized tape is really useful for spoting someone in the dark with a light. We found this out on a moonless light when I had to work on the fordeck and my wife could see me working based on the reflector tape but coudn't see me. The man-overboard pole is another item that could be fixed up, also with a strobe or small radar reflector.
- Status