Life Raft

[stephen Penny]

I am scoping out a life raft for the Pacific coast. I am leaning towards a Zodiac 6 person DZN01006. What do the forum members recommend?

 

[Alex Dare]

Not sure if it's still ,true but many considered Switlik, Avon and Viking to be the better of the bunch.

 

[Ron McCoy]

I'd stay away from any liferaft (and dinghy for that matter) made with PVC. After a few years the glue on PVC fails. The better choice of materials is Hapalon material, which can be properly repaired and has a much longer shelve life than PVC.

 

[DianaOfBurlington]

To my knowledge Hypalon is a proprietary material of Avon. Avon would have been my choice for a life raft anyway. I have a 1978 Avon Redcrest 8-ft dinghy that still holds air and still works great. I would swear by them and yes, stake my life on them.

(I do not care for Zodiac for a number of reasons even though the US gov't supposedly uses them. Avon is Royal-Navy spec.-- in fact, they were made FOR the Royal Navy before they became available to the public.)

You might to some research into what kinds of LRs have been involved in some of the longest-term and worst-case scenarios at sea. I believe the family who accidentally rammed a whale in the 1980s, whose boat went down in about 90 seconds, causing them to stay in liferafts and dinghies for 119 days, had Avons. Look and see.

 

[stephen Penny]

Thank-you for the feedback and recommendations.

I opted out of a liferaft purchase and instead purchased a hypalon Achilles LEX dinghy and davits from Garhaurer. In the event I need a liferaft, Sals in Alameda (who rents and does liferaft certification) will rent one to me one for a reasonable price.