PFD's, which, when, and why?

[Norman]

The fishing boat that was run down caused me a bit of thought on PFD theory.

I have two, each worn under different conditions.

The inflatable one is manual only.  Bought for hot weather, and I stay on deck for rain, so auto could be a problem.  Very comfortable.  Now, the need to dive down to get under the props of the boat running over you makes manual inflation doubly important.

Disadvantages are no pockets for emergency signaling devices, sound or visible.  If hit in the head and dumped in the water, tough, you drown.  I wear it daytime only.

My other PFD is an orange Stearns zip front with 4 large gear pockets.
Whistle
Small water resistant LED flash light
4 pencil areil flares

I wear this one in poor light and full darkness.
Also if there are rough seas
And whenever the air is cool enough that I will not sweat in it

I take both on other peoples boats, and wear them by the same rules.

There is an orange throwable cushion in the cockpit at all times, and sitting on it is forbidden.  There are other cushions for seats.

What do YOU carry on board, and when do YOU wear them, with the reasons for your choices?

Prior to considering how important it could be to swim efficiently a few yards to save your life, I thought the jacket style the safest in all conditions, and inflatables purely second rate trade off for comfort.

I hope that some of the non posting members toss in either their thoughts or a vote on some one else's ideas.

Norman

[Craigie]

I have never tried out PFDs, other than the basic square foam type while doing STCW training. As a diver, I've used different buoyancy compensators and have noted how much they vary in the position they put you in on the surface.  I doubt many sailors get in the water to see how well their PDFs perform, so most will probably use what came with the boat, or what they can afford, or what they can tolerate. Not sure many will be thinking " if I go into the water, this is what I want to be wearing".

I seldom even wore a life vest and thought of them as ditch gear. Until several years back, I was alone on deck at night, on a catamaran delivery across the Atlantic, while the other two on board were asleep. A wave broke over the starboard side and washed me off the helm seat onto the cockpit floor. Fortunately the extra fuel and water drums lashed across the stern stopped me from being flushed off the deck. What a wake up call the was.

I still hate wearing the darn things, but now have a self inflating type (they're not supposed to inflate in the rain), with pockets and a built-in harness.
I've never tested it and wonder if it will work when needed. Don't these need to be serviced like a life raft?
Has anyone been in the water with the inflatable type?

[w00dy]

For the auto inflatable vests, unzip/unfold them and look for the manual inflation tube (should be up near the neck area). You can use this to perform a pressure test and make sure your seams / seals are still good without blowing your air cartridge. Check the date on your air cartridge and look for signs of corrosion at the interface. Replace regularly.

[Norman]

Craigie, at sea, and far from all aid, a vest is not much use, unless there is an electronic link back to your crewmates.

For swimming in the water, I have had experience with 3 different types, none particularly good.

WW 2 airman yellow rubberized fabric, a lot of fun for a non swimmer to paddle around.  Could not come near to keeping up with the swimmers.  Floatation strongest in front, backstroke most effective.

Square cushion, you either swim and pull it along, or you hang on and float.  Not much use for a non swimmer if he needs to go somewhere distant.

Vest, water ski, closed cell foam, smooth plastic exterior, twice as much foam in the front, backstroke is the most efficient swimming.


Current vest with pockets, expect similar to waterski vest, never been in the water.

Current inflatable should be comparable to the WW 2, except the floatation is more concentrated in front, so backstroke is probably the only way to move.  Also never been in the water.

What is your current thinking for the best match for you activities?

Norman

[Craigie]

Yeah, a life vest is no substitute for being harnessed to the boat.  I wear my life vest primarily as a harness. I'm interested to see how my inflatable vest will perform in the water.(how it positions the user / can I swim with it on) Gonna have to wait for spring before I get in the water, though. I'm glad you raised this issue as I would not have checked the bladder for leaks. - another item to add to the already to long list of maintenance tasks.

[w00dy]

Regarding inflatable PFD's and harnesses, give this video a watch:

https://youtu.be/uUx6oZTCQc8

This may have been posted here before, but it's a series of tests by Practical Boat Owner, dragging a dummy through the water to simulate a MOB scenario. Next best thing to tethering yourself to your boat while sailing 6 kts.

Hope this gives you a little insight into how your vest might perform in the water.

[rorik]

I opted for no lifelines on my CD28. Did jack lines running down each side of the coach roof starting in a padeye at the companionway, through a padeye near the mast and down to a folding padeye in the center of the foredeck where the deck cleats used to be.
Vest is an auto Spinlock deckvest with built in harness.
Tethers are Kong snap carabiners and barely three feet long.
If the lee rail is touching the water, I am still on board from the waist up if I fall.
There's a spare vest/tether for a companion.
The jack line is always set up before leaving the dock and if there's more than a 5k breeze the vest goes on.
At 10k breeze the tether gets attached to the vest.

[Norman]

Rorik, there is another poster on this board with a similar approach, but uses 2 tethers, one longer. He used the two to get past obstructions such as your mast with out being temporarily unsnapped.

I don't remember the reason the second one was longer, possibly to allow going below deck while still snapped in.

I definitely find your choices logical.

Lack of lifelines does improve sail trim and wear on the lower edges, a couple of the boats that I have raced on removed them for that reason.

I am surprised that there has not been more input on this subject, given the number of "right" answers, depending on the type of vessel, age of the crew, and waters being sailed.

[rorik]

Clarification on the tether:
It's two three foot legs, not one.

[Phantom Jim]

I have seen tethers recommended that have different length legs, say a three foot one and a six foot one.  This would allow for the person to use the length better suited to his need.

[rorik]

A three foot leg keeps me at least 50% on board.
A six foot leg puts me 100% in the water.
Because I laid everything out before I did anything else, I can reach everything from the base of the forestay to the base of the backstay with my setup.

[Godot]

I have several PFDs on board. Mostly the jacket PFDs are there to keep me legal when I'm not wearing my inflatable PFD/harness (I have two) and for guests.

I feel uneasy with autoinflate PFDs. Every few years when I figure it is time to change the cartridges anyhow (probably this year, come to think of it), I will jump in the water and test the PFD by pulling the cord. It works. It keeps me floating. But it does restrict movement and is not that great to swim with. Since I single hand a lot, I figure I'll probably need to self rescue. I don't see any chance of getting back on the boat under my own power with an inflated PFD. If I have to cut loose from the boat because it is pulling me under, or I simply can't get onto it on my own (sadly, getting back aboard unassisted is not likely to be easy), then I can inflate it and figure out what to do next. If single handing offshore a harness is probably the best bet as it is unlikely the boat is going to come back, and just floating around doesn't seem productive. Although Webb Chiles once swam for 24 hours after he lost a boat, so I guess it isn't out of the question.

I have two tether "sets" on Seeker. One is the 6'/3' combination. The other is just a 6', I think.

I don't like the combination tether. The unused leg always seems to be getting in the way. I'd rather carefully unsnap then resnap the single tether. Even though it is a few seconds of unprotection, I feel safer as I'm less likely to get tangled up in the unused leg. It's long enough that I can move around the entire cockpit with it attached to the hardpoint, and I can clip on while still in the cabin if that is desireable. If I'm working at the mast for awhile, I'll also wrap it all the way around the mast and clip again to my harness/pfd.  I don't have centerline jacklines, and 6' is long enough that I can go swimming with it. It gives me a chance, at least. If things are really rough I just deal with the double tether and its' three foot leg.

I DO have lifelines. I don't necessarily trust them to keep me aboard; but at the very least being able to feel them as I go forward and back gives me a point of reference to help keep my balance, and discourage me from taking a casual step too far outboard.

When I took my trip a few years ago I rigged a line on either side of the boat that went from the bow pulpit, up to a point on the outer stay maybe four feet up, and then back down to the stern pulpit. This higher "life line" gave me much security. I did use it as a jackline, even though it was well outboard. I'm not certain if the pulpits would be strong enough to handle a shock load if I fell; but being much higher I figure the load would be less. Someday when I do some real offshore passages I will probably beef the concept up some with more solid deck fastenings. And maybe figure out a centerline solution, at least from the mast to a hardpoint near the bow. The dodger gets in the way aft for a long run, and the forehatch and anchor locker gets in the way forward, so this is not necessarily easy.