PFDs

[kokko]

I have a couple of rules for PFDs, in addition to what the regs require. I always wear one when I am alone, when the wind is above about 10 knots, or when I am on Superior. I have a couple of regular type IIIs, and a pair of manual inflatable. After sailing Truelove last weekend, the type III interfered quite a bit and I did not have my collar-type inflatables. I just bought a pair of belt-type inflatables that my wife and I could wear constantly. I think they would be useful for our guets, whom I am reluctant to strap into a type III. I think they would like the new belt type.

[jeadstx]

I always wear a PFD while sailing. On the first day of the 2012 Tx200, my crew and I both got knocked overboard. I was glad I had a PFD on. My crew had removed his before he fell overboard. Fortunately, one of the other boats in the fleet saw him and was able to rescue him. He (more or less) had a PFD on for the rest of the week. I would not have wanted to be out in that 2 -3 foot chop without a PFD.

John

[Alan]

My crew and I always wear PFDs (mostly in canoes and kayaks). We're both good swimmers, but there are plenty of situations where that wouldn't be enough.

[GreenLake]

PFDs for everyone - all the time.

The one time I had a MOB it was at the dock. Fellow fell between dock and boat while docking. Since we were at the ramp, he didn't face having to get into the boat or up on the dock...but it goes to show you: you can't second guess when someone will end up in the water.

I'm a fan of foam floatation. I think inflatable PFDs have no place on a dinghy - not least because once they inflate they are useless for continued use unless you have a re-arming kit. Just something that works better on the "big" boats. Occasional crew or passengers are fine with a ski vest, but for anyone sailing actively, I prefer something with a little bit less restrictive design, like the Kayak style.

Kids vests with the foam collar and grab handle as well as crotch strap.

Crotch strap really belongs on all PFDs, but apparently they are rarely sold that way. Without, they can ride up and be worse than useless.

[K.C. Walker]

I just started looking for a new PFD for kayaking. My sailing vest, which I find pretty comfortable, chafes too much for kayaking. I do think having comfortable PFD's is the key to getting people to wear them. Maybe I will look for one more additional lifejacket so I don't have to subject people to the dorky orange ones.

[Breakin Wind]

KC, I smiled when I read your reference to the dorky orange PFD's.

It made me remember the first time we took the kids on a cruise (as in cruse ship cruise) which was way before they've all kind of gone sideways in the past few years,
but I digress...

The first thing the ship does (or did) when leaving Port of Miami was to have a Muster Station drill, and for anyone that's been on a cruise and experienced this, you'll remember that the ship PFD's are made from something like rigid flotation material, and effectively, no size fits anybody! They function better as a cervical collar than anything else as it's nearly impossible to turn your head without rotating your upper body. For the next year when we'd go out on our pontoon or speed boat, the kids would hold a fake "mustard" station call and pretend they were wearing those dreadful ship pdf's.

Nothing what-so-ever to do with sailing other than +1 on the dorky orange PDF's and how much better received (and worn) a comfortable PDF can be for guests.
Unfortunately the dorky orange PDF's are dirt cheap and when you're just stocking up to have enough on a boat to remain legal, it's hard not to go that way.

Thanks - Scott

[talbot]

Everyone on my boat wears PFD's all the time, unless we're becalmed and drifting (i.e., the boat is basically a swimming raft). Me especially, because I'm often the only one who knows how to operate the boat, so if I fall off, I'm likely to be in the water a while. But guests, too. If they don't want to wear a PFD, they don't have to go sailing on my boat. There are so many slim-fit PFD's now, I don't buy the argument that flotation devices are too bulky for people to tolerate.

PFD's are more about immersion hypothermia than they are about swimming. There's a great article on the 'net (which of course I can't find now) by a former Coast Guard rescue swimmer who points out that you can float for hours, but your time to do anything useful--like right a capsized boat--in cold water is very brief. An old fisherman I met told me he spent a lifetime scoffing at PFD's until his boat was knocked over by a wave off the Oregon coast. He said he was amazed to find that in a few minutes he was effectively paralyzed, and could barely hang on until a CG lifeboat arrived.

The risk is reduced in warm water, but I've had to rescue guys in our local tepid lake who went swimming and had their boat blow away from them. They were a couple of cool cats by the time they got on board. Me, I get chilled to the bone snorkeling in Hawaii, if I stay out long enough. On a tippy boat like a Laser, I can take three capsizes, even in a wet suit, and then I need to head in.

If price is a problem, Stearns makes a universal PFD that I often see as a loss leader in sporting goods stores. About $12.99. We use those for guests. Our local city sailing program uses Extrasport universals, which are as comfortable as my fancy kayaking PFD. Expensive ($90+), but very nice.

[GreenLake]

I use an extrasport Riptide - something that unfortunately is no longer produced and seems to not have had an equivalent follow on product. Newer vests have fewer places to tie lanyards and hats to, and don't have the nice hand-warmer pockets that are great when frostbiting. Easy to adjust snug but comfortably and definitely a vest that will be worn because it's not a hassle.

[K.C. Walker]

Green lake, I noticed that Amazon has only one XXL Riptide for sale. That does look like a more comfortable vest than my Extrasport Eddy which I find comfortable for sailing but a little too inhibiting for kayaking.

Does anybody have experience with Stohlquist vests?

[TIM WEBB]

Always had a pfd onboard. Nothing fancy, just a Stearns wakeboarding vest. Used to only wear it when I got skeert. Got married and had a daughter. Now I wear it all the time, always, no matter what the conditions, and mom and daughter wear theirs as well when they are aboard. Just trying to set a good example. Weird how your perspective changes, huh? Yeah, it's hot, but I don't find it particularly restrictive. Ella's has the crotch strap, and I agree that they should all have them, but I guess that's too "uncool" for the marketing dept. ... ?