Life raft recertification

[Jim Walsh]

I have a four man Zodiac life raft which was due for its first recertification after three seasons use. I contacted Life Raft and Survival Equipment in Rhode Island to make the arrangements and stated that I'd like to be present when my raft is inflated. They were happy to make an appointment (the following morning) with the technician who would be servicing my raft to ensure there was ample time to spend familiarizing me with the raft and its components. I had thought there might be a little push back at my request but they were very accommodating.
I thought the process was very interesting and well worth the time. I was shown every feature of the raft and lots of helpful little tips such as the easiest way to flip the raft should it flip over after launching before the ballast bags are able to fill with water to stabilize the raft. Another interesting thing was that the inflation tank only takes one minute to fully inflate the raft. It is surprisingly easy to trigger the inflation tank. The trigger pull is only four or five pounds. I'd always thought it would be less sensitive. Because it is so fast it's not unusual for the safety valves to pop loudly so the chambers aren't over inflated. That's good to know because the last thing you want to think is that your means of survival may have been inadvertently punctured during inflation. It was also noted that my inflation tank is good for 10 years before it has to be pressure tested and is good for five years intervals subsequently.
We went over the use of the rain catcher, the location of the knife, the operation of the flashlight (the spare batteries had leaked but luckily it is housed in a hard plastic case), the use of the flares, and so on.
My raft is in a valise as opposed to a canister since I did not care to permanently mount it topside. Before the raft is placed in the valise it is hermetically sealed in a plastic membrane. I check the membrane a couple times each season to ensure there is no moisture present. It was stressed that any moisture will lead to mildew which may not be harmful in and of itself, but it would eventually lead to your raft smelling like old gym socks. I will continue checking for moisture infiltration regularly.

The whole process was very informative and it's very reassuring being familiar with your safety equipment.

[John Stone]

That's really neat Jim. It has to be a comfort to see it work and learn what to be aware of if you every have to use it.

[Keith]

They did the repair on my WM/Zodiac inflatable when it sprung a leak in the first year. It was covered under warranty by Zodiac and Life raft and Survival took care of everything with Zodiac. They were great to deal with.

Keith

[Jim Walsh]

They did the repair on my WM/Zodiac inflatable when it sprung a leak in the first year. It was covered under warranty by Zodiac and Life raft and Survival took care of everything with Zodiac. They were great to deal with.

Keith

That's great to hear. This is my first dealing with them and I'm very satisfied with their response and professionalism.

[Lisa G.]

I love to hear stories like this. I wish everyone that had a life raft would do this. At the very least you should know exactly what safety gear comes with your particular life raft. The ones made today come with all kinds of safety goodies like a knive, sea sickness meds, fishing gear, flares, drinking water, etc. Gear will vary depending on manufacturer , amount of people and rescue time the life raft is certified for. Knowing what is in your raft, can usually eliminate duplicates, in an always too heavy ditch bag.

If you want further hands on training, I suggest you take the sea survival portion of the STCW basic safety. You do a lot of pool work with life rafts and wearing survivals suits ( the orange gumby ones ). It is really fun and you learn a lot. The rest of the STCW 5 day class is 2 days of hands on fire fighting and 1 day of 1st aid /CPR. You can take the modules separately or take the whole class in one week.

This past December I went down to Ft Lauderdale for further training, and completed my 5 day Life Boatsman and Advanced Sea Survival Class.

Amazing, how the more I learn, the more I realize how little I know

Lisa
CD 30c Pochade

[Jim Walsh]

Update.
LRSE had promised to complete the recertification in four weeks and they did. The repacked raft is not quite the same dimensions as it was. The height and length are the same but it's an inch or two thicker. The cost was about 1/3 the cost of the raft when new. I have no complaints about the entire process and would not hesitate to reccommend this service provider.