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Catalina/Capri 25/250 Sailor's Forums

General Sailing Forum

PFD Harness and Tether

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existentialsailor
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1180 Posts

Initially Posted - 12/30/2005 : 08:11:26

Hard to believe this hasn't been discussed but search turns up no matches.

What's the current thinking on this from those of you who sail on the ocean or great lakes?

Manual or automatic inflation? Any experience with specific brands?

Edited to clarify that I'm in need of equipment adequate for offshore sailing and to say to Dennis, I truly hope you never do fall off your boat. We just lost a very experienced sailor off the coast last month.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Rick

Edited by - existentialsailor on 12/30/2005 15:28:25

djn
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1561 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2005 : 09:32:50

Hi Rick, we do not fall off our boats in the Great Lakes. LOL. I just bought my boat and it came with six cheap-O cheap-O oragne vest. Have not figured out what to replace them with. Cheers.

Edited by - on

dlucier
Master Marine Consultant

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Virgin Islands (United Kingdom)
7583 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2005 : 12:46:18

Rick,

Choice of PFD/tether style is almost as varied as teak finishes. Most choose a style or setup that suits their personal preference or sailing conditions. I chose the inshore inflatable belt pack over the offshore suspender style because virtually all of my sailing is recreational daysailing on reasonably good days.

Additionally, I do a lot of sailing wearing just my swimming trunks (swimsuits are the uniform of the day on my boat) and I've found the belt back to be so comfortable I forget that it is even there. Because of this, I'm more likely to wear it over a less comfortable PFD.

Edited by - on

tinob
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1883 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2005 : 12:56:38

Dennis,
Don't discard the cheapos you never know when you'll entertain an unexpected party of six

as for the personal flotation device I prefer a vest type, nothing fancy. Thankfully I've never had ocassion to use it.

Val on the hard DAGNABIT # 3936 Patchogue

Edited by - on

Leon Sisson
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1893 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2005 : 13:35:53

I keep a few of the cheap orange vests around to meet legal requirements for large numbers of guests. I encourage regular guests to bring their own PFD. For myself, I have a West Marine/SOS auto/manual inflatable vest w/harness and a dual 3'&6' tether with the newer safety caribiners at the boat ends, and a snapshackle that can be released under load at the harness end. I find the inflatable vest very comfortable to wear, sometimes forgetting I have it on.

-- Leon Sisson

Edited by - on

ClamBeach
Master Marine Consultant

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3072 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2005 : 16:00:29

Let's see.. I have...

(4) 'bulky' PFD's (mostly carried for CG compliance).

(2) 'Stormy Seas' manual-inflate vests for regular sailing wear (self and spouse).
Note: These are 'wear em around' vests, they look like a regular garment and are so comfortable that you can wear them everywhere. They (Stormy Seas) also make a jacket for colder conditions. Not cheap but are (IMHO) the best. My philosophy is that if you aren't wearing a PFD... it can't do you any good.

(2) 'water ski' PFD's for other 'actively sailing' guests.
(1) 'kids water ski style' vest for visitors.

(1) belt type Stearns manual-inflate... that I haven't really tried yet.

(1) Full Harness and 6' tether. (1) Heavy padeye in cockpit and (1) on foredeck. Reserved for really nasty conditions and/or solo offshore use.

(1) Throwable cushion with 50' of 1/4" floating line tied off to one handle.

All the PFD's have strips of 3M SOLAS reflective tape. Ditto my 'safety box' with the flares, the VHF radio and the throwable cushion. The SOLAS tape makes important stuff REAL easy to find in the dark. I can't recommend it highly enough if you ever sail after dark.

Other safety related gear.

(1) Waterproof ICOM handheld VHF.
(1) ACR strobe light
(2) Waterproof flashlights
(1) Rechargable 1 million CP searchlight.
(6) Self-launching 'Skyblazer' meteor flares. 3 currrent, 3 last batch expired.
(3) Hand-held 15 minute flares.
(1) Blaze Orange signal flag (about 2'x 2') Can be hoisted on the boat pole or halyard.
(1) 2-1/2 gallon bailing bucket (useful for lots of other stuff too)

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2005 : 16:27:19

The safety harness made by SOS that contains a tether and auto inflatible PFD is of good quality. A while back the coast guard wouldn't give approval to a unit that didn't have a manual trigger. That has changed, but along with it, almost all inflatibles have a manual trigger now along with the auto inflatible.

Here is what your dealing with - your not supposed to wear the PFD under your jacket, however if its raining pretty hard, it will blow. (by the way, those do not count as PFD's by the coast guard unless they are properly worn i.e clasped and current on the co2 and the pin/cap thing) If you don't get the auto inflatible, and you hit your head while falling in, you might as well be wearing a bra because that's about all it will be good for.

I carry both - however I rarely if ever use the SOSpenders harness anymore. While racing, I almost always wear a canoeing Life Jacket which gives me great arm mobility. If I need a harness I use a harness, not the Life Jacket harness combo.

dw

Edited by - on

Alan Clark
Captain

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406 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2005 : 21:39:01

I am Like Clam, after a couple of boats, one accumulates Life jackets, We have Orange ones,Blue ones that I put SOLAS tape on,Throw cushions Etc. But when Eileen and I race,sail at night or reef down, either on our lake, the great lakes or the ocean, our auto inflateables come out with tether. You must try them on and make sure they feel comfortable with your body shape. I also have the strobe light attached to mine as I sail/race the great lake Erie at night occaisionally. My life and My wifes are worth the money..They are also very comfortable in the heat of the summer.. Best wishes.. With "Leprechaun" on the hard...

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 12/30/2005 : 23:20:48

Alan,

I didn't get a response from you regarding the nationals mailer. Will you be attending (Cleveland in June???)

Duane

Edited by - on

johnsonp
Admiral

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USA
606 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2005 : 00:44:05

I have an auto inflate SOS Suspenders vest and wear it all the time while sailing and aroud the dock. Had it 5 years or so. It has been inflated once so it works.
My suggestion is try on different brands of vests and buy the one that fits you best and the most comfortable because you have to wear it a long time.
paulj C250 wk #719

Edited by - on

aeckhart
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
1709 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2005 : 09:56:02

Rick,

I think most agree that the bulky orange-type vests are good for guests and to meet CG requirements. I have an auto-inflator for myself and a manual inflator for my race crew, both with 6 foot tethers. I have installed two padeye attachment points in the cockpit, one in the bow, and jack lines.

I like my inflatable vests. They are comfortable and allow ease of movemnent. Even so, they are sometimes warm on hot days though not an irritant and certainly far betrter than the full vest alternative. Perhaps the belt type would be better but I have not had any practicle experience with them. The auto-inflation model is from West Marine and the other from Sterns.

Edited by - on

Champipple
Master Marine Consultant

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USA
6855 Posts

Response Posted - 12/31/2005 : 14:53:02

Everyone - please make sure to replace the co2 and the disolvable disk gizmos that keep the pin from firing. They should be replaced at a minimum every other year and probably be inspected once or twice throughout the season.

Just because if fired off before it doesn't correleate to firing again. This is another area where proper maintenance is needed and is imperative.

dw

Edited by - on

Andy_334
Navigator

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USA
206 Posts

Response Posted - 01/02/2006 : 17:20:52

Lightweight SOS Suspenders style vest, with manual inflation, for day racing around the bouys.

Plan to upgrade to Auto-inflation with tether for use on Lake Superior this year.

Edited by - on

Ben - FL
Admiral

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880 Posts

Response Posted - 01/03/2006 : 21:06:00

This was Christmas '04 present from my brother Dave. It is the SOSpenders offshore and has the D ring for a tether. I wear it almost always when sailing. Even in the river it is a two mile swim to shore. The instructions say to try it out. So I did just that. Don't wait until you need it to find it has a flaw. And it was not difficlult to repack. Also, if you use a lanyard it must have the quick release even under a load. Snap shackles work good.

Edited by - on

Greg Jackson
1st Mate

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84 Posts

Response Posted - 01/04/2006 : 15:06:49

In open water, especially in cold water, tethers are best used in combination with jacklines.

There's actually not too much concern about the jackets not opening. When the little cartridges get too old they fail by opening the jacket. They will not fail to open.

We tested one by jumping off the boat once. The most impressive thing was the speed of action. I jumped off and the jacket was inflated while I was underwater and still moving down from the inertia of the jump. It popped me up to the surface pretty quick.

Life raft makers very strongly suggest that you do not test by autoinflation. Apparently the inflation does some significant wear and tear to the fabric near the inflation point. They suggest that test inflations are done by blowing up with your lungs. I don't know if the same applies to jackets, it's what the raft guys say.

The test that is more important than inflation is a leak test. I blow up all of ours every spring. They should hold pressure for 24 hours.

I use the autoinflation ones from SOSpenders. I got them quite a while back, before they were USGC approved.

I use the jacket, tether, and jacklines 100% when sailing alone. Passengers & crew are required to use put them on whenever they go on deck if the water temperature is below 65 degrees or the wind is above 12 knots. It's my boat, I get to set the rules.

In the GLSS races (www.solosailor.org) anyone seen without a tether is immediately disqualified from the race.

Edited by - on

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