Life raft reconditioning

[Minnewaska]

I've yet to see a life raft that isn't past its certification date on a used recreational boat. YMMV. Honestly, I understand it, because recerts cost a fortune.

However, rather than just "take our chances", is there any DIY that can be done to inspect and condition your raft to maximize the odds of functionality without the expense of sending it in?

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[DwayneSpeer]

I won't pretend to be an expert but I believe that the only real things that are done are update the flares, and other perishables and pump the raft up to make sure it still holds air.

I have a raft that is past due for recert and don't plan to to have it done for the above reasons. As long as the raft isn't many years past due I am comfortable with it.

[SoulVoyage]

I think an interesting poll would be: of the number of people who carry life-raft canisters (myself included), and have needed to open them up and work them, either for testing purposes or a "real need" situation....how many of them have found their liferaft in good, working order???

Know this: The ones that have deployed at sea and NOT found their raft in good order are simply not heard from again...ever.

I think we may tend to get complacent about that life-raft canister sitting on our various cabin-tops year after year...sometimes years beyond any testing date. It just being there often lends a case of security.

But does the darn thing WORK??? Is it FALSE SECURITY???

It doesn't help that the life-raft inspection places charge $800 and up for an inspection and re-pack of a 6 person life-raft!! I think this is gross overcharge. I think such industrial overcharge has resulted in deaths at sea because it is SOOO expensive that people haven't taken their canisters in for inspection for years and then upon deployment at sea, they're faced with a disintegrated life-raft that leaks and a sinking boat...if the life-raft even self inflates at ALL. A 4-6 person canister life-raft should take no more than 2-3 hours to deploy, inspect and then repack with a vacuum-packer....yet they often charge a 8 hour minimum!! What's up with that??? I've been to those places. A bunch of life-rafts all deployed on the floor, with maybe 2 technicians between them....life-rafts waiting, yet customer being charged for the FULL amount of time the raft is sitting there deployed on the floor with no work being done to it!!!!

If a sail-loft had the same practices, they would quickly go out of business!

The fact is, life-raft service facilities overcharge because they can. Most of their business is inspecting COMMERCIAL life-rafts and life-boats...these are required to be inspected or the boat or ship doesn't get a Coast Guard approval for service. Captive audience willing to pay big money for service-work.

With that said, however, it is STILL very important to have your life-raft serviced. The auto-inflating pump should be tested(many have failed after a number of years in a hot case!...some corroded beyond recognition), as well as the raft's seams and canopy. You can do the inspection yourself, sure...you can even replace faulty pumps and patch tubes....

But re-packing the thing properly WITHOUT a vacuum-packer? Good luck.

I think the life-raft inspection industry should stop charging commercial inspection rates (basically an industry overcharge) for NON-commercial life-rafts....oddly enough, doing such a simple change MAY save lives of recreational passagemakers.