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Hi Guys-

Interested in the group's thoughts on best location for a life raft. We currently have a valaise setup that we keep under the bench on the bridge, but I'm considering a hardtop and have wondered about swapping the valaise out for a hard capsule and installing it up there. I have mixed thoughts... on one hand it seems access would be limited in the event we need to use it; on the other, I see a lot of commercial/downeast boats running around with the capsule installed on top of the house.

Share your thoughts, please!

The best place is under the seat or under the fly bridge ladder on the engine box. Think about trying to grab it in 8 foot seas. Auto release is fine until the raft gets hung up in the outriggers or something else.

Valise grab it over the side and you are off to the races.

Tony is right. If you cannot grab and deploy it IMMEDIATELY, there is almost no point in having it.
I could add that if you have a swim platform, that’s a yet better place.
Have a sharp knife close-by.
As for those who put it up on the...roof, well, I really wish them not to ever be in need to use it.
Valise or hard shell is irrelevant, only a matter of space and perhaps money.

Looking forward to hearing responses on this.
When you need it, you may not even have time to manually deploy it.
Look at this guy in Jupiter Inlet. Not much time to manually deploy a raft, and he seems like he's in slow motion.
The video is good reminder to wear a pfd while running offshore or in an inlet.
When the shit his the fan you may need that raft to auto deploy.
I've been considering adding that feature to mine.

https://youtu.be/OHqmpM8Wnio

Steve,
Thanks for sharing the video to remind us that things can go south in a hurry and that raft placement is important. That is the narrowest trough I’ve ever seen; his stern was sucked up the face of the following sea while his bow stuffed the back of the leading wave.

When I talked with Winslow, they seemed big on the valise over the auto deploy.

As I stated above their issue is getting to that raft in rough seas or being in the water hoping it pops up.

On a 31 foot boat, I think the valise is the best way to go. Just make sure it is not stuffed up in the bow. To what I said above, the 3rd place to stick it is on the seat right next to the cabin door. Again reach in and go.

Tommy

I looked at that video 3 times. Inlet does not look bad but it must have had some big swells coming into it. The guys mistake was not slowing down and riding in on the back of a wave he allowed himself to surf down the wave and that boat has less flair than out 31.s.

Heck I buried the bow once coming in the inlet, the dam water came up to the front windshield but luckily those old big blocks never skipped a beat and the bow popped up and the boat took off like nothing happened.

Problem I had, I was on the back coming in, then the wave shifted quickly and broke under me. It felt like I dropped off a cliff as the boat actually launched off the wave and the bow dropped into the front wave and buried itself.

I would say if I was in center console like that one it would have been all over.

I think that boat was already full of water.

mike ohlstein wrote:I think that boat was already full of water.

Tough call, 1st second or 2 of video the boat looks like it was running fine then it looked as if it was running heavy.


Any thoughts that maybe center of boat lost its lift (buoyancy) as it was sitting "above" the trough...making bow and stern sit deeper in the water.

I've studied that video a half dozen times.
Here's what I've heard from people that know the guy.
1. The boat was water logged.
2. He lost power and could not control the boat.

From my observations it appears that the seas are not that big, and his boat was destined to nose dive with the water weight he was carrying.
Jupiter Inlet is bad and contributed to the results he had.

Apparently he is a seasoned fishing captain.
Another friend of mine mentioned the lack of fishing rods, and empty coolers being questionable/odd. That's for the insurance guys to figure out.

But, it sure shows how fast shit can happen.
If I'm on the flybridge and we have a situation, my instinct would be A) to look for each family member first. B) Hope they all have PFD's on., then C) Look for the life raft and jump kit.

This guy was in a center console (no ladder) with no crew to look after and even he didn't have time to launch a raft. That boat disappeared fast.