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During the special on the Bounty (Weather Channel) there was a scene where one of the crew had just come out of the chopper and was walking on the tarmac, still in an immersion suit, with two people helping him (or her) walk. It's kind of hard to see in the picture below, but the feet of the suit were blown up like balloons, filled with water. Then you hear a crew member say they had to cut the feet off his suit to let all the water out.
I can only imagine how debilitating it had to be for anyone wearing their immersion suit with it filled with water. Everyone who survived had to jump from the life raft into the water then, with the help of the rescue swimmer, swim over to the basket to be lifted to the chopper. (Only one survivor never made it to a life raft.) How could you move with gallons of water in the feet of your immersion suit? It seems the suit would be more apt to drown you than save your life.
I've never worn an immersion suit but after seeing that I think I'd rather be in a wet suit if I know the ship is going down.
They're not easy to swim in, however, they are essentially nothing more than a heavy-duty wet suit that is a one-size-fits-all design. Standard wet suits are form fitting, thereby allowing very little water to enter the suit. The person's body heat warms the water within the suit, and the insulating quality of the foam neoprene rubber maintains the inside water temperature. Eventually, the inside temperature will slowly begin to fall, thus limiting the overall survival time. This, of course, depends upon the outside water temperature.
They are indeed hard to swim in. When used correctly, very little water makes it past the head covering/neck seal, even in disturbed seas. I've had one on (in training), gone under the water several times and swam around to a liferaft and not that much water was in the suit later - but if one were to open the top and not wear the hood quite a bit of water could collect.
I've worn them before. One things for sure, once you put the suit on, your not going to be doing anything else. The hand are thick mitten style so picking anything up and using it is impossible ( like a hand held VHF). I doubt you could even activate an EPIRB.
I can only imagine how debilitating it had to be for anyone wearing their immersion suit with it filled with water.
I've never worn an immersion suit but after seeing that I think I'd rather be in a wet suit if I know the ship is going down.
I have used this type of survival suit (immersion suit), in training only.
The suit will never drag you down even filled with water as the suit is made of closed cell foam so it will also be flotation device.
You can get water inside if you get hole in it or the suit is the wrong size.
I don't think that water inside the suit would be so debilitating in the water, but on dry land yes.
If worn properly (and correct size) it is watertight and far better in cold water than any wet suit.
During my training we had to let out air from suit to reduce the buoyancy of the suit. You do this to make it easier to move and be able to get under water if you are trapped inside the boat or wreckage.
The procedure used to let out air is to stand (float) vertically and open up a little bit at the neck to let the water press the air out.
The best way to swim in this type of suit is on the back.
I saw an immersion suit in the sailors exchange the other day for $200 I thought it looked huge and no way would it be easy to swim or get into a life raft.
Also working inside the liferaft would be difficult. Eg if it tips and you need to invert it, get the water out etc.
I have a wet suit in the grab bad, only a shorty as I am in the tropics.
It also depends on where you are. Cold water sailing maybe an immersion suit is important. In the tropics not. And a full wetsuit may be too hot in the tropics.
One of the good things about a wetsuit is they will perfected wet skin from bumps, cuts etc.
They are not speedos for sure but I would much rather be in one than in my 1/4" wetsuit. We have two on the boat. I am not sure how that sorts out if there are a couple of passengers along.
When I was an instructor at the Marine Trades Center in Eastport, Maine we trained our fisheries students in their use. Jumping into the Gulf of Maine in February is almost fun in training at least. You do float high and maneuverability is not good. Getting to and into a life raft is a challenge without help. They do require practice if you are going to rely on them. Donned properly there will be very little water.
Our introduction to them was done in street clothes, with a stopwatch at the end of the pier at the MTC. There were times when I didn't need to change into dry clothes after jumping in and making it to the life raft.
We do not have a life raft on our boat. Our cruising is coastal and I feel we can expect help well within the time they can protect us from the cold.
I've worn them - had to be able to put them on within 3 minutes, which is not easy and takes practice.
They aren't really one size fits all, they are some sizes fit most. The do seal up quiet nicely when put on correctly and sealed at face, neck and wrist. I had to jump into a pool and navigate 50 yards from one end to the other (on your back is the only way to really do so) - When I got out my uniform coveralls were still mostly dry (collar got wet). I was in the pool for about 20 minutes.
That's certainly not the same as a wind blown big wave environment.
I'd wear one to save my life, but not to lounge on deck.
I have a shorty wet suit with 2+2 (float and insulation). I don't wear that for fun either.
The one and only time I wore one was when I was a 17-year-old kid in the U.S. Navy. Had to put the suit on in three minutes or less, jump (fall) into an ice-cold pool, stay there for an hour, then try to climb out. I tipped the scales at 140-pounds back then and was 6-feet tall - nothing on the suit sealed when a kid that skinny wears it. I got pretty wet, damned cold, and had a lot of trouble climbing out of the pool using the steps at the end. It was a training exercise that I wasn't sure I would survive. Damned, I'm gettin' cold just thinking about it.
Skin tight wet suit will not proetct you for long in 50 degree temp water. Immersion suits are for cold water. In this case function before form ( beauty and maneuverability) will keep you alive.
I got in one once and it took almost 10 minutes. Practice would help.
A guy friend of mine worked the CFD boats and often had to dive in Lake Michigan and the Chicago River in the winter. He told me when it was really cold he would put Vaseline on his face before going in to protect his skin from freezing when he got out. I don't remember if he said what kind of suit he wore (wet, dry, etc.) but he did say one time he had on three tanks and was underwater long enough to use up all the air. He talked about the freezing water and protecting facial skin but I don't recall him saying anything about him being cold, as in hypothermic-type cold.
This is not to challenge what's been said about immersion suits. It's just something I remembered when reading the comments here. Anyone knowledgeable about SCUBA may be able to comment about how long he might have been in the water and what kind of suit would allow him to remain in the water that long.
But if anyone here saw the Bounty show, do you remember if the crew with the "balloon feet" were wearing their suits properly? I think I remember at least one of the three interviewed for the show saying the captain ordered them into the immersion suits and they all scrambled. So they probably didn't have a lot of time before they went into the water.
......Anyone knowledgeable about SCUBA may be able to comment about how long he might have been in the water and what kind of suit would allow him to remain in the water that long...
Very cold water diving is done in a dry suit, which has seals around the wrists and neck that prevent water from entering at all. Well, it may get damp.
Typically, these suits are made of a thin material and one wears insulation beneath. They do make crushed neoprene versions, but the insulation just gets lighter.
Water will conduct heat off your body at an incredible rate, so just staying dry has a huge impact. However, for any length of time, one needs insulation as well.
They do make immersion suits with these same dry seals, but they must be trimmed to fit your specific neck and/or wrist size or they will either choke you or leak. That's why you don't find them as generic suits.
They are large so that they are relatively quick and easy to get into with your clothes on (emergency). They will keep you afloat, and prevent hypothermia for quite a long time. We carry them on both boats, and I also have a 7mm wet suit and scuba gear on the sailboat in case I need to dive. Our water never gets much above 50F so you are only going to live about 30 long, miserable minutes if you go in without a gumby suit on. They've never won any fashion shows.
When I was young, which I realize is about the same time John Paul Jones joined the Navy, I frequently dover under the ice at Beaver Dam Quarry, which is now Beaver Dam Swim Club. The only protection we had back then was a 3/16-inch thick wet suit. We were good for about 30 minutes, then the cold set in. I later went to a 1/4-inch wet suit, which added about 15 minutes to the time. Of course, I was young and dumb at that stage of life, but the suit did a great job. A few years later I tried the same dive with a dry suit over the wet suit, added another 15 minutes, taking the total dive time to an hour. Ironically, the water was warmer once we got below 25 feet, but only a few degrees. The thermocline essentially reverses during the winter months.
The coldest dive I took was while stationed aboard ship in the North Atlantic near Oslow, Norway. After just 15 minutes in the water wearing a Mark5 rig and full suit I thought I would freeze to death. Checking the zincs on the ship is a routine job that I did monthly, and beieve me, it could be a nasty, dangerous job.
We used to do a lot of early spring whitewater kayaking/canoeing, Even a full 1/4" wetsuit only keeps you warm for a short time in 30+ degree water. I've had to pull people out of the river who literally could not move anymore with wetsuits on. Drysuits are a much better option nowadays. If contemplating getting into the liferaft in cold water, I would certainly opt for the drysuit with plenty of fleece underneath. They probably would not keep you alive for as long as a survival suit in cold water but would allow complete movement which is probably very important in the case of being in a liferaft. They are also not bulky and are easily stowed, unlike survival suits which are pretty bulky. I have an older version of the Kokatat dry suit which I bought originally for sea kayaking and now goes in my ditch bag.
The only thing I don't particularly like about the drysuits is that, as mentioned above, they do have tight openings. The neck opening particularly, if cut so it's really watertight, is very uncomfortable. It's like having a rubber band around your neck. Every time I've worn mine, it's a relief to get it off. They come with very small diameter openings. Unless you have a very small neck, wrists and ankles, they require careful cutting (directions come with the suit). They are certainly NOT one size fits all. The neck and sleeve rubber can be renovated when it wears out. Keeping them from drying out is the same as for any wetsuit or rubber product. The prices on these things has really skyrocketed as has any Goretex product.
No experience with an immersion suit but used to dive for abalones off the Northern California coast with water temps in the low 50's. I wore a 1/4" full wet suit with a good hood and gloves. After fighting the surge and getting bashed on the rocks I got tired before I got cold. I could do a little over an hour and then had to rest. I also dove in Lake Tahoe in the winter time, water in the low 40's, and could stay in for an hour or so before my hands started to get numb. The wet suit may take a little longer to get into? I guess immersion suit are on the market for a reason?
I'm pretty cheap guy, I don't make much, and what I make I prefer to spend sailing. However, I have very expensive dry suit. It is my only piece of nasty weather protection. It is so universal. I can it wear it in about any condition. I use it to clear a bottom. I'm going to clear my boat's bottom tomorrow, and I'm in New York City. I use it while sailing. I used it while delivering Oceanis 43 to St Marteen last year through the storm Sean, I wearied it through storm Irene while sitting on my boat, I sailed many of the tough small boat races in one. the only annoying point is that the gaskets need replacement every two years.
Quality dry suits can be found for reasonable prices at the end of summer kayaking season around here. I was an active kayaker (and still enjoy it) so I have two dry suits. One was $600 used from a local outfitter (Kayak Academy), the other was about $300 in the return pile at Seattle REI and required a single patch. Both are Kokatat Goretex suits and I'm comfortable wearing them all day for multiple days in a row (and would do that while kayak touring). Retail on these are around $1000-$1400 depending on the options. Kokatat has the best warranty in the business and will service them for a long time, making it easy to get a decade out of one suit that has regular use.
This is a good time of year to try out your immersion gear and see how it works, at least in the northern hemisphere. With wool long underwear and a drysuit I'm good for about an hour in 40 degree water (colder than our local salt water) and PNW winter air. I've also used a two-part 7mm wetsuit (so 14mm of neoprene over my torso) in similar conditions while scuba diving and I was a lot colder. With the drysuit I had a lot more dexterity than I did with the wetsuit.
As mentioned earlier in the thread, the full survival suits allow survival, but not too much else. They are quite bouyant and those gloves are almost like baseball mitts and there is no way one could press single buttons on any device. Here's a picture of me floating in freshwater in my suit (a Helly Hanson offshore coldweather suit, which I almost overheated in since the water I was in was warm)
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