![]() So when you’re shopping for a life raft, what may begin as a hunt for a good bargain might quickly evolve into a sky-is-the-limit search for the best life raft money can buy. When you abandon ship, lives are at stake. ![]() Their life rafts need to be capable of performing in more significant seas and lower temperatures. However, those cruising offshore (20 miles or more from the coast) and/or transiting colder waters, face shorter survival times. Consequently, a lighter-duty, less-expensive life raft may suit the needs of your crew. In warm, inshore and coastal waters, hypothermia and the risk of being caught out in a heavy gale are less likely. Picking the right life raft for your own needs starts with an evaluation of the risks and the exposure you may encounter. However, through our weeklong evaluation process, we were able to come up with recommendations to help clarify the differences among offshore/ocean-capable life rafts and allow you to better decide which features are most relevant to your circumstances. ![]() There is no one life raft that will suit every person or budget. Next month, we’ll take an in-depth look at the results of those tests, but before delving into the details of our findings, we present here a discussion no less important of the considerations that every sailor must weigh when choosing a life raft. We also wanted to see how Elliot, a life raft we did not test last time, would do. This time around, we were curious to see how life rafts built or upgraded to the new standards compared to the ones we tested. 15, 2003) the Winslow Ocean Pro was our favorite, and the Viking RescYou Pro earned Best Buy honors. In our last life raft test (“ Life Rafts Revisited,” Jan. Whenever an industry reviews its own standards, Practical Sailor re-examines its own testing procedures and criteria.Īgainst the backdrop of this new regulatory landscape (see “ Life Raft Standards,”), we carried out an in-depth test of eight life rafts: DSB ISAF raft, Elliot SOLAS raft, Switlik MD-3 raft, Switlik SAR-MKII raft, Viking RescYou (UKL), Viking RescYou Pro (USKL), Winslow Ocean Rescue, and the Zodiac Class Ocean ISAF raft. Since our last extensive test of life rafts in 2002, both the International Standards Organization (ISO) and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF) formal guidelines for building recreational small-craft life rafts have taken shape, and the major players are scrambling for certification under these standards. ![]()
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