Spring cleaning is not just about baseboards and ceiling fans. In boating, there are critical steps that need to be taken to ensure a good boating season. One critical step is to ensure you inspect all of your life jackets. Look for mildew, straps that are fraying and any damage from critters. It is important to have one for every person who will be onboard, and ensure they are the proper fit.
Paul Barnard from U.S. Coast Guard Heartland Safe Boating wrote the following: What’s the best life jacket?
The best life jacket is one that you will wear. Often, this means boaters are going to select an inflatable device. They are great, but they do take routine maintenance and inspection. Your owner’s manual, available online if you can’t find the printed one, will detail how to service and maintain your device. Let’s go over some basics.
There are manual only devices, and there are automatic inflating devices. Manual devices have a manual “jerk” tab and an oral inflation tube. Automatic devices have an auto inflation mechanism, a “jerk” tab and an oral inflation tube.
Automatic devices are activated in two ways. One is a hydrostatic (water pressure) mechanism, and the other is a bobbin or dissolving “pill” type mechanism. Both the hydrostatic and the bobbin mechanisms have to be replaced according to the manufacturers guidelines as part of your routine inspection and maintenance.
The CO2 cylinder should also be removed and screwed back in snugly. Once a year, life jackets should be inflated with the oral inflation device and left to stand for 12-24 hours to test for leaks.
Accident investigations sometimes reveal that automatic inflatable life jackets did not auto inflate as designed. I most cases it has been because maintenance has been neglected. In some cases it is because the CO2 cylinder never was installed.
Have you ever read your life jacket label? It spells out some important information such as whether or not it has to be worn to count toward the carriage requirements. Inflatable devices are not approved for people under 16 years old, nor are they approved for towed water sports. They are not recommended for weak or non-swimmers.
Please take a moment to conduct maintenance and inspection of your device and to read the label.
Thanks to Sherrie, we will always remember safe boating is no accident! Pre-planning before even making it to the water’s edge can help you have a great day on the water.
If you would like to learn more about vessel safety checks, please contact Steve Hults, Staff Officer for Vessel Examinations at steve.hults@uscgaux.net.
Please contact us for more information about our safe boating classes or learning more about getting involved in the Auxiliary, check out our website at www.uscgaux.net follow us on FaceBook @ Apalachee Bay Flotilla 12 or contact our Flotilla Commander Phil Hill at pnkkhill2000@yahoo.com.
The Coast Guard Auxiliary is the uniformed civilian volunteer component of the U.S. Coast Guard and supports the Coast Guard in nearly all mission areas. The Auxiliary was created by Congress in 1939. For more information, please visit www.cgaux.org.
