Safety First ?

[Patrick17430]

Do you wear a float coat ? life jacket ? Sailing vest ? or have the (screw it ! It looks stupid and I know how to swim attitude) ? My son asked me why I make him were one and I don't. I felt real dumb answering him because all I could come up with is, because I'm an adult and I don't legally need to have one on. You do ! I have since began wearing one all the time. Just seems like the right thing to do to be safe and be a good role model for my son. I'm looking for a really cool PFD. What do you like best about yours ? Or what would you change about it ? If your cool enough to wear one.

 

[caguy]

I have the WM inflatable PFD for myself and the WM self inflating PFD for my wife. Hers has a built in harness and very handy D ring, mine does not. we both have the Mustang Ice Rider floatation jackets for when its really cold out. Things I like about it are the reflective piping built sewn in, and the fact that it prevents hypothermia in cold water. Here in So Calif I could probably bob for weeks and still stay nice and warm for the sharks.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Inflatable, all the time except when it's 90 degrees out coming down the estuary. The water is too darned cold to mess around with. Don't fall off.

 

[PaulK]

All sailors and instructors in Junior Sailing Programs on Long Island Sound (several thousand, all told) are required to wear lifejackets while on docks or boats. When they sail with us, I start to feel naked without one, so I put mine on. After a while, even in hot weather, it's not a problem.

 

[sailaway78]

Not usually

I know, famous last words. But I am reasonably sure footed, and don't sail in cold water areas, so most of the time I don't wear one. My preferred dress is a pair of cutoffs, no shirt and no shoes. But I do have a self inflating with harness, and I do wear it if things start to get nasty.

 

[Rick D]

Sometimes

I have four inflatable waist pouch packs and a WM Sospenders. I wear the Sospenders when I singlehand. Otherwise, I have the waist packs out and anyone getting out of the cockpit puts one on. At night, everyone wears an inflatable and has a small waterproof flashlight.

For about the first 30 years of my sailing, I often wore a float coat while singlehanding or on deck, altho it was like a steel vest. Most of the time I just wore a harness offshore. (BTW, that boat I sailed for 19 years had no lifelines or RF.) I wear a waist pack when I'm on watch alone during daylight, like when my wife is napping below. However, I have no confidence she'd ever find me.

As an aside, I went to WM to buy my nephew's small kids some life vests during a recent visit, my old ones having disappeared. I grabbed an XS and S Stearns but went back to check the price. I thought $90 for the pair was a bit steep. I went to Walmart where I had seen some. They had Stearns, looking very similar, for $30 for the two!

 

[rpwillia]

If alone I wear a WM Inflatable vest

It is pretty comfortable. Usually if I am with a group I skip it.

 

[MoonSailer]

I rarely wear one unless it is rough and cold. When I become so afraid of the water that I feel a need to always wear a pfd then I will stop sailing. BTW I have never fallen overboard in 30 years of sailing.

 

[Steve Dion]

Rick D: Don't be a SOB. It is really not a matter if she would find you! It is a matter if she would notice that you were gone and bother to look. I know, I have got one of them too. <g>

 

[Steve Dion]

I am with Stu. Normally we are sailing up in the delta. The water is warm (during the summer) and we seldom were any type of floatation. When we get into the bay we wear something depending on the conditions and the temp. When sailing alone or when the conditions are snotty out there San Pablo or SF Bay we will quite often put on some type of floatation.

 

[Benny]

Don't care about being cool or not.

 

[Manny]

I have a WM inflatable also. If the boat isn't connected to the dock via lines, I have it on. Although it sometimes bothers me around the back of my neck, for the most part it is comfortable enough that I forget I have it on.
I always make sure all guests know where the life jackets are and recommend they wear one, it is mandatory for any children to have one on.

Manny

 

[Stu Jackson]

I always make sure all guests know where the life jackets are and recommend they wear one, it is mandatory for any children to have one on.

I'm sure your guests understand that they are less important than their children.

What is it about adults vs kids -- who sinks faster?

They are your guests and should all have the same amount of "security."

Betcha more kids know how to swim than their parents.

 

[higgs]

The original question dealt with a parent vs. child. Kids notoriously space out and forget where they are and what they are doing. Add this to the fact they do not have the strength of an adult and it is easy to see why they should wear a PFD. If our young son was in the cockpit or below we did not require him to don one. Going overboard while in the cockpit is pretty unlikely.

 

[JimGeddes]

pkdailey4... Its great you are being a good role model to your son.. Telling a kid to wear a life vest and not wear one your self is silly.. Plus if you fall off i bet they might not be able to get the boat back to you .. Just today some guy buzzed by me with a young lad aboard. Of course the kid had a life vest on and he didn't, he didn't slow down either but that's another story..

Higgs, I bet more adults fall of boats than kids.....

I want a life vest so i look like a topless girl, anyone know where to get one ?

 

[Sailm8]

JimGeddes

Inflatable? That's so sad

 

[Sonya]

Safety First

We always choose something, no matter what the weather is doing. Our boat doesn't leave the dock until everyone has shoes on and some sort of PFD. It may be a harness, PFD, Sospenders with D ring and built in harness, but something. I'm too old to worry about tan lines now. My husband is 26 yrs older than I and he says he wears his so that when I can at least get his body back to collect the life insurance.

Sonya

 

[Witzend]

Boom head injurys are always a concern as well, but I don't know anyone that wears a helmet on a sailboat.

 

[higgs]

Jimgeddes : I have no doubt you are correct, but there are many other factors to consider - like adults go out on the water far more than kids.

I think this is an issue of what one considers an acceptable risk. You would be safer wearing a Nomex suit and a helmet every time you drive your car, but most of us consider that overkill. Life is a dangerous thing and we all must weigh the risks. Some of us feel that a PFD in all conditions is not worth the inconvenience compared to the risk.

 

[druid]

I sail 90% of the time singlehanded, and NEVER wear a PFD. Why not? because it just means if I fall overboard it will take longer for me to die. I wear a HARNESS that keeps me on the boat.

We've had this "discussion" many times on the flyfishing forum I belong to. One comment I always hear in favour of inflatables is "you shouldn't go cheap when it comes to your safety". The problem with THAT argument is that the cheaper ones are actually safer. A genuine Lifejacket will turn you over in the water and only costs 1/4 what an inflatable one does. "But I'd never wear it - it's too uncomfortable!" So... you don't scrimp when it comes to spending money for you safety as long as your comfort is not compromised? (same argument as for airbags instead of a good seatbelt).

When fishing in a small boat, I either wear my "fishing vest" that happens to be a PFD, or my floater-coat. Safe, but inexpensive.

druid