Life vest

[Larry D West]

Advise on inflatable life vest for costal sailing.

 

[ggrizzard]

If any crew are under 16, you may be required to provide (And I say they must wear) non-inflatable PFD's. Depends on your state's law. Beyond that, get the ones with a built-in d-ring harness.

 

[inarathree]

I use the manual inflatable from WestMarine. We used them for catarmaran sailing, and the auto inflates would go off too easily. Same on bigger boats when going forward to set an anchor in rough seas. I got mine on sale when they were $79.

I believe that USCG or FL (my area) laws are something to the effect that having an inflatable only counts as PFD when wearing them, as opposed to having non-inflatables where they only have to be on board.

 

[Adam678]

I purchased a Mustang Automatic Hydro-static D-Ring prior to an offshore race at West Marine because it was the only automatic they had available in stock. It was way more money ($290) than I wanted to spend but I figured later that if I went overboard I would not be complaining about price while in the water. One thing to consider is the cost for the Rearm Co2 cartridge, the Mustange is $60.00 but good for 5-years. I also have a WestMarine Manual which is fine for comfort and safety