life rafts - NE what should I consider?

[ktm_2000]

Folks,

I am in a smaller rig and plan on being offshore more this season. I have an epirb already but no raft. I am out of MA and can trailer so I can go North of the cape, east or south where I have range to the shipping lanes. any of the options put me in cold water.

I have been doing some research but was hoping there is a lot of wisdom here that could direct me in the right place.

I tend to fish offshore with one or 2 additional guys - I hear the rafts are small, is a 4 person good enough or do I need a 6?

Also costal vs offshore - seems like the offshore are heavier and have an insulated floor, how cold does the costal get?

Valise vs container - I would like to leave it inside my doghouse on the floor, am I better off getting the container to prevent something damaging it?

repack schedule / cost - seems like some have longer repack schedules, I would assume longer = better Question how much is a repack?

What else am I not considering?

thanks in advance for your advice

[Yannis]

In a small rig the valise type is much better because it can fit where the container type cannot. It is also lighter. Some caution however must be given to not wash/rinse the boat with caustic/chlorine based chemicals that might reach the area where it sits.

A friend who has a 8 person container type, paid around 360€ plus shipping for its annual inspection; annual because it is a professional boat, for recreational boats the inspection period is longer but I don't know how much.
He also paid 50€ for the EPIRB inspection.

The 4 person size for 2-3 persons is largely sufficient.
I cannot answer the coastal vs offshore question because I don't know the differences.

[Tony Meola]

Given the range of our boats, and if you can get the EPIRB fired off, you should be rescued in a matter of hours and probably no longer than 24 hours so you could get away with a Coastal model.

I would go with a valise. I have heard of issues of the life raft deploying automatically when the boat goes down getting hung up in rigging and becoming useless.

Plus, do you want to go up forward in 8-foot seas if something goes wrong and you have to get to the raft. On a larger boat I would definitely go cannister.

There are a couple of new names out there. Not sure how good they are. Winslow has always gotten the best reviews, but they are not cheap. Can not be used for chartering because they are not Coast Guard certified, but they are used by all of the airlines and private planes. Winslow will also vacuum pack them which extends the service life of them.

I would say going with any of the name brands is fine for what we are going and the weather we are usually in. So Switlik, Viking, etc. are all good choices.

I would also say that the bigger the better. I would probably go with a 6 man, just to give yourself a little more room should you ever need to take a swim.

[bob lico]

i am going to agree on what Yannis said . a four man raft for two normal people and 6 man for four five foot 9 men at 180 pounds ,trust me i have actually sat in one and have a vacuumed packed Viking raft in a valise,i also have a spare 6 man viking self righting vacuumed pack valise that never saw the sun always in the cabin perfect condition but over do for packing mostly because flares are outdated.two hundred donated to this site (bruce will notify me) and i will meet you at port jefferson ferry dock

[ktm_2000]

Hi Bob,

I appreciate the offer, I am in MA and in finishing stages of reno on my house, I have been working non-stop and need to get that done to free up this summer for fishing. With that I would not have an opportunity to head down your way for a couple months.

[Yannis]

For heavy/voluminous items that we want to ship within the mainland, we go to the central bus station and ask to put it in the bus’s loading bay, for a small fee. The recipient awaits for it at the other side.
As a matter of fact we do the same with ferries, if it is an island destination. For a small tip to the garage supervisor.
In this way we avoid exorbitant costs of UPS or other courier.

During my days in PA this bus service was Greyhound, I don’t know if they still exist, or if they provide such “friendly” service.