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Life Jackets

GreyLady

By GreyLady
in Boat Equipment

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Loafer Veteran

Loafer

Posted
Posted

 

A Leander class frigate. 320 feet long, 40 foot beam, 17 foot draught and a mere 30,000 shp.

Proper fun.

 

Tim

 

Ha haaaaaaaaaaa! Nice one Mr Smelly!

 

Hmm. I was 6 tons, 36' LOA, 12' beam and 2.1m draught and made of tupperware! And often a bit scared!

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mrsmelly Veteran II

mrsmellyDonate to Canal World

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Ha haaaaaaaaaaa! Nice one Mr Smelly!

 

Hmm. I was 6 tons, 36' LOA, 12' beam and 2.1m draught and made of tupperware! And often a bit scared!

 

We were too terrified to be scared laugh.png

 

Tim

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Loafer Veteran

Loafer

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We were too terrified to be scared laugh.png

 

Tim

 

Are you still in the South Oxford? You might be another one to add to my hit list for drinking wine with. The Loafers are heading that way soon. ETA June-ish, around 5pm.

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TheBiscuits Veteran II

TheBiscuits

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Mind you, I was retired. No rush across the Channel in dodgy conditions to get to work on Monday!

That's the dangerous bit - working on Mondays. Or Tuesdays. Or any other day with a Y in it.

 

Work is the curse of the drinking classes, or so I have been told.

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Loafer Veteran

Loafer

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I firmly believe that lack of retirement is the single biggest cause of yachting accidents. The rush to get back to work, and the weather isn't great.

 

Get the plane, guys! You can go back and get the yacht later.

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FadeToScarlet Veteran

FadeToScarlet

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I fear that a lifejacket might catch on something on a narrowboat and CAUSE me to fall in.

Or, more likely, catch on something on a lock gate when crossing over, like a gate paddle or the end of a handrail.

 

I don't normally wear one when on the cut, unless it's icy and slippery. I tend to wear one on the Ouse, like Scholar Gypsy, when single handing or in bad conditions on the lockside, like one ice or snow.

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GreyLady Rising Star

GreyLady

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  • Author
Posted (edited)

I was thinking about putting the crotch strap under my clothes, I can see what people mean about them getting caught on locks though.

 

I wonder if anyone has ever worn a jumper over a life jacket by accident and it's gone off. - it would be like the incredible hulk changing. Lol

Edited by GreyLady
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mrsmelly Veteran II

mrsmellyDonate to Canal World

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Are you still in the South Oxford? You might be another one to add to my hit list for drinking wine with. The Loafers are heading that way soon. ETA June-ish, around 5pm.

 

Absolutely!! Be great to see you for a bevvy biggrin.png I will be busy in June but evening drinkies will go down a treat. I have a mooring at Oxfordshire narrowboats and can give you some localised advice re where to moor when you visit. pm me a few days b4 hand.

 

cheers

 

Tim

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mrsmelly Veteran II

mrsmellyDonate to Canal World

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After having one of the volunteer lock keepers at Foxton fall in to the centre pound (8' 6" deep) off our hire boat last September and effectively be saved by his life jacket, we wear them all the time when the boat is cruising.

 

Funnily enough even though I know I should I am stupid enough to not wear one except on tidal rivers blush.png The top profesionals always wear one if there is any chance of going overboard The Royal navy often wear one as do the RNLI often but not under all circumstances though.

 

Tim

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Chewbacka Veteran

Chewbacka

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I always wear a lifejacket if single handed and the water is more than waist deep or very cold.

I would say that even on the River Severn most boaters don't wear one, but I do as it is very wide and deep. It also helps other boaters see you in the water.

My life jacket doesn't have a crotch strap and I don't see the need for one on a canal, but then I'm lucky as my waist is not the biggest part of me :-)

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Loafer Veteran

Loafer

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Absolutely!! Be great to see you for a bevvy biggrin.png I will be busy in June but evening drinkies will go down a treat. I have a mooring at Oxfordshire narrowboats and can give you some localised advice re where to moor when you visit. pm me a few days b4 hand.

 

cheers

 

Tim

 

Aye will do.

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cuthound Veteran II

cuthoundDonate to Canal World

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Posted (edited)

IIRC from my seafaring days, the crotch straps are to stop you dropping a few inches into the water while your life jacket remains buoyant above you.

 

That is quite likely to happen with a slightly pear-shaped Dad, but mostly he just has to stand up and he'll be waist deep at worst.

Unless he falls into a full lock.

 

That said I don't wear a life jacket on the canals unless it is icy.

 

It really is a question of how risk averse you are.

 

Edited for spiilung

Edited by cuthound
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ditchcrawler Veteran II

ditchcrawlerDonate to Canal World

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I was thinking about putting the crotch strap under my clothes, I can see what people mean about them getting caught on locks though.

 

I wonder if anyone has ever worn a jumper over a life jacket by accident and it's gone off. - it would be like the incredible hulk changing. Lol

Well all members of CRT and volunteers wear them when near water and they don't have a problem. When I worked Offshore everyone working outside the handrail wore them without problem this included scaffolders who were building hanging scaffolds from the deck to water level . We did get the odd manual inflation but when you put that against hours use and climbing about it was very small.

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Rickent Experienced

Rickent

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F6 is known as a 'yachtsman's gale', but really it is ok in the 'right boat'. There'll be many ex-semen who'll agree with that!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surely you mean seamen and not semen, that's a whole different story.....

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Scholar Gypsy Veteran

Scholar Gypsy

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Youse lot will get this thread locked k3002.png

 

Here's a photo of me in the shower, testing my lifejacket. After a minute, I undid the velcro so the water could get to the mechanism, and it went bang.

 

post-13477-0-21462000-1458159906_thumb.jpg

 

Photo of crotch strap not available, as that might get the thread locked.

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