by talbot » Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:29 pm
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.