VIDEO – The life raft, what’s in it

The life raft, is the star of the 11th video-episode of SAIL School, in which we discover how to perform a perfect maneuver on a cruising boat.

Life raft, within what limits it must be on board

As we saw in the recent article on safety equipment 2023, the life raft is mandatory for sailing beyond 6 miles, but having it on board, in the hope of never having to use it, is not enough. It is important to be aware of the contents of the raft and to know how to choose the right model for our needs and for the maximum number of people our boat can accommodate. If we sail under the Italian flag, there are these obligations:

• 1 – 6 NM: no raft requirement on board
• 6 – 12 NM: coastal-type raft requirement, according to ISO 9650-2
• >12NM: ocean raft requirement, according to ISO 9650-1

In today’s video episode, we take a good look at how a life raft is constructed for navigation beyond 12 miles, and what its equipment is.

The mandatory review of the life raft

When you buy a new raft, you will be issued a certificate with all the raft’s characteristics, and its next overhaul date. Every two years (three for the coastal one) you will have to have the raft serviced by the manufacturer. Overhaul costs, vary depending on the type of raft, the state of wear and tear of the components, and the contents of the lifesaving kits built into the raft.

What’s inside

As illustrated in the video, here is what is inside the life raft :

• Seasickness bags and pills against seasickness nausea, and Thermal blankets
• Raft repair kit, so you can plug any leaks in the inflatable tubes, a manual inflator for the raft tubes.
• Sassola and sponges, so that the raft can be emptied of any water that may enter it
• A flashlight or light with associated batteries
• Food and water rations for each person the raft can accommodate, A graduated tumbler for rationing water, Emergency fishing kit
• Signaling: Heliograph, a mirror for daytime signaling by taking advantage of sunlight and a whistle, A signaling kit with flares and smoke grenades
• A pair of oars and a rope ring to retrieve a possible man overboard
• Eleventh video episode of SAIL School.

Below is today’s video, our expert Umberto Verna from Safety World talks about the life raft. All previous video episodes of SAIL School, are available on the SAIL Journal youtube channel there are both beginner and expert ones!