Life rafts

Katamarino

Katamarino

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Katamarino
Does anyone have any recommendations of a life raft to carry in a C182? Ideally one that's suitable for a round-the-world via the Pacific, as well as more general use such as the Bahamas! Must have a canopy, ideally sea anchors, and be robust.

Recommendations on life vests also gratefully received...
 
My advice is to land at airports instead of the middle of the ocean. All you have to do is keep flying until you aren’t over the ocean anymore. If you’d like, I can go with you and help you out by reminding you that you’re not supposed to land in the ocean. Free of charge.

About life vests, I bought a pair of Revere Comfortmax inflatable vests from Marc Golden. They had the best price on the vest that is manual inflate only. You don’t want an automatic inflation because it could be triggered by water inside the plane and an inflated life vest is not going to help you get out of the plane and (hopefully) into your raft.

I haven’t tried inflating the vests yet. I didn’t even make the pedestrian flight over Lake Michigan that I bought them for, much less take them for a swim. But the reviews were positive and I deemed them a good value.
 
I had an EAM 4 person and it was stout. I consider it top quality. Problem I had was it was heavy and really cut into my cargo needs. It was$3500 new. Buddy has a Survivial! brand and it’s decent. Perfect for the Bahamas. With a good PLB, you won’t be in the water a long time unless you ditched into the pacific or mid Atlantic oceans.

If you can swallow 35 pounds for a raft, I would go EAM all day though.
 
Katamarino said:
Does anyone have any recommendations of a life raft to carry in a C182? Ideally one that's suitable for a round-the-world via the Pacific, as well as more general use such as the Bahamas! Must have a canopy, ideally sea anchors, and be robust.
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Will this be for use on a specific trip or will they be used on a more frequent use? If the former, there are a number of companies that rent/lease rafts and vests. They could also assist in selection. If prefer to purchase, there are repetitive inspection requirements on the vests/rafts from 1 to 18 months schedule depending on type and brand. And don't forget about a survival kit and a EPIRB for raft/vest.
 
Bell206 said:
Will this be for use on a specific trip or will they be used on a more frequent use? If the former, there are a number of companies that rent/lease rafts and vests. They could also assist in selection. If prefer to purchase, there are repetitive inspection requirements on the vests/rafts from 1 to 18 months schedule depending on type and brand. And don't forget about a survival kit and a EPIRB for raft/vest.
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This would be for a one-year+ round-the-world, as well as other adventurous trips in future, so I'll definitely be looking to purchase. Thanks for the suggestions so far all!
 
The only thing I can add is to make sure you understand the raft capacities...if the raft says 4-6 people, it has enough room for each of 6 people to have about 1.5 square feet. :eek:
 
I reckon on the vest front I shall go for one of these bad boys:

molle.jpg


Expensive, but well reviewed and I like that you can add pockets etc to hold the PLB and other emergency gear so it's on your person.
 
All I know is a life vest can keep you from drowning, but it won't prevent hypothermia or shelter you from exposure. Any large body of water below body temp will eventually induce hypothermia.
 
bnt83 said:
All I know is a life vest can keep you from drowning, but it won't prevent hypothermia or shelter you from exposure. Any large body of water below body temp will eventually induce hypothermia.
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Actually, your body can "keep up" with water over 80°F, and if you have a PFD, you can starve to death in relative comfort whilst waiting for rescue; when the water gets near body temperature, you are in danger of overheating!
 
Yes. When I was in the Corps, they were part of my gear. You got one if you survived the repeated hazing...er.. training in the helo-dunker.

Katamarino said:
Does anyone have experience with an emergency air bottle for egress in water? Something like this:

HEED3-Main-Photo_9767e4f2-e24c-4924-afc2-17a29c30e166_1024x1024.jpg


https://store.switlik.com/collectio...products/x-back-accessories?variant=718390857

I can imagine it would be a very nice thing to have in the very rare situation you needed it. I plan to take ditching training in order to have the best chance of making use of this gear if it's needed, too.
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