Lift Raft

[Dunham]

Life Raft

We want to buy a life raft from our Hunter 33. Most people say get a dingy, but we don't have the room for it. Any suggestions on what is a good lift raft for a good price?

Thanks,

 

[Benny17441]

First of all you need to define the intended use for the life raft. Are you taking a one time trip or embracing the fulltime cruising life? Life rafts have to be periodically tested and recertified. Most sailors rent them when taking offshore trips and leave the initial investment cost and maintenance to others. Obviously for the fulltime cruiser it is more economically viable to own and maintain one.

 

[centerline]

in addition to what Benny17441 said, "define the intended use for the life raft", are you wanting to be able to use it as a dingy at times?....or do you just want to stow it and have the security of knowing you have a life raft available just in case? an inflatable boat may be a better choice as it would serve double duty if you could air it up quick enough....

 

[Dunham]

It would be a just "in case".

 

[Jack]

rubber ducky

Having a life raft on board is a great feeling of security, especially when leaving sight of land. But they really are for emergency use only. There may be times when you will want to hop into the dingy and visit an island beach or get to the dingy dock from a mooring. You can easily tow an 8' dingy behind your boat, which is what we do most of the time. It comes in handy quite often. Add a small HP motor and you can cruise around rivers and shallow waters and do a little exploring when you arrive at your destination. If the weather turns bad you can tie down an 8' inflatable on your foredeck.

J&R

 

[robertsapp]

Re: rubber ducky

Some thoughts:

Dinghies are invaluable tools that greatly enhance the boating experience. Being able to easily travel from boat to shore is essential unless you only plan day sails around the local waters.

A 33 footer has plenty of room on the foredeck for a small inflatable. If you need something even smaller, you can get a nesting dinghy that doesn't take up much more room than a liferaft.

Liferafts are insurance. You buy them hoping you'll never need to use them. If you decide to buy one, get a small one, unless you intend to travel with a large crew. Reports from those who have used theirs say that having two people in a six or eight man liferaft is uncomfortable and dangerous, as the occupants get thrown around considerably in survival situations.

Dinghies do not make good liferafts. They do not typically self-inflate, are very difficult to board from the water, and are not generally provided with a canopy to protect you from the sun. Exposure is second only to drowning in cause of death for those adrift. Those who say "my dinghy is my liferaft" either don't sail offshore or haven't really thought about trying to launch and board a small boat in 20 ft seas and 50 knot winds.

If you don't actually believe you could have to spend several days to a week surviving in your life raft, then you don't need one. Invest in a good pair of inflatable life jackets instead, and equip them with rescue lasers and PLB's. You'll be talking about hundreds of dollars instead of thousands.

And finally, many world cruisers travel without liferafts. They're most useful in cases where you've struck something, the boat is sinking, and the conditions allow you to safely swim to the deployed raft. Even a liferaft is a crap shoot if you've been rolled in a storm and you're dealing with those aforementioned winds and seas. You don't just placidly sit in the raft and wait for the boat to sink from under you, after all. You have to deploy it, jump in the water, and swim to it. Some have reported that upon inflation, their raft promptly snapped its painter and blew away in high winds and seas.