Safety at Sea

Cruising World / US Sailing Safety at Sea Seminars

Personal Flotation Devices -- West Advisor:

If we really want to do something positive to make sailing safer and reduce boating fatalities, we should wear life jackets or inflatable buoyancy aids as a normal part of being on the water. Even sailors who are strong swimmers can tire quickly in the water and drown due to exhaustion, hypothermia, or both. Having 15 pounds of buoyancy, or better yet 35 pounds, will allow most tired crew overboard victims to remain afloat with far less effort and heat loss, extending survival time and allowing rescuers the time needed to effect a rescue. The Regulations PFDs, or Personal Flotation Devices (life jackets), are divided into five categories, Type I through Type V. The U.S. Coast Guard regulations regarding life jackets on pleasure boats are pretty simple: If you operate a boat between 16' and 65', you must have a Type I, II, III or V for each person on board, and a Type IV throwable device. If you have a boat or tender under 16', you need to have a Type I, II, III, or V for each person on board. According to the Coast Guard, the Type I, II and III PFDs must be readily accessible and wearable by the intended user, while Type IV PFDs must be immediately available. Type V hybrid PFDs must be worn to be counted in the vessel's PFD inventory. The Different Types of PFDs This is our analysis of the Coast Guard approved and non-approved PFD types. Words in quotes are taken from official USCG documentation. Type I -- Offshore Life Jacket: "…offers the most buoyancy and is also the most effective type in rough water." Has a minimum of 22 lbs. of buoyancy. Will turn most wearers face up even if they are unconscious. Bulky size makes it clumsy to wear all the time. Of the USCG approved types, this is the one that you want to wear when abandoning ship into cold or rough water. Either a Type I or a 35 lb. inflatable is required when sailboat racing in all but Category 4 "local" races. Type II -- Near Shore Life Vest: "Best suited for general boating activities in calm water." Least expensive approved PFD. 15.5 lbs. of buoyancy. When you have guests on board, Type II PFDs are the cheap way to meet Coast Guard regulations, but we find them uncomfortable, unattractive, and lacking in performance (poor in-water characteristics). We recommend Type III devices as a much better alternative. Type III - Flotation Aid: "The comfort, style and wearability of the Type IIIs is a trade-off for safety and buoyance compared to Type I and Type Iis." Comfortable vest-style designs with an emphasis on "wearability" and moderate cost. 15.5 lbs. of buoyancy. Poor righting ability and head support. Recommended for inland waters and active boaters who can swim. Type III - Water Sport Vests: Due to the inevitable crashing and tumbling that accompany water sports like water-skiing, water-ski vests must have three devices to "close" the vest around your chest, two of which must be belts that encircle the chest. The "impact class" of a PFD describes its ability to withstand the impact of hitting the water at high speed. You should use a device with a 50 MPH or greater impact for water-skiing. Type III Float Coats: These offer some important advantages when boating in colder climates. First, they are more likely to be worn because they look like jackets, not like safety gear. Second, they provide extra warmth on deck and reduce the threat of hypothermia. Depending on design, they can also greatly reduce heat loss in cold water and extend survival time. Type III -- Inflatable Vests: These are really a subset of normal Type III PFDs, but they have some important advantages. We recommend them for sailing in cool climates for the following reasons: First, they are more likely to be worn because they look like jackets, not like safety gear. Second, in cold weather, they provide lots of warmth on deck and reduce hypothermia. Third, depending on the design, they can greatly reduce your heat loss when immersed in cold water. Even better are the one-piece suits. They can greatly increase your survival time in chilly water.

Type IV -- Throwable Devices: Designed to be thrown to a person in the water up to 40' away. Can be a cushion (18 lb. of buoyancy), ring (16.5 lb. of buoyancy) or horseshoe buoy (20 lb. of buoyancy). Nonswimmers must wear one of the other types and not depend on a Type IV. We do not recommend "life rings" except for pools, because the swimmer cannot wear or attach himself to the ring and they are tiring to hold onto it. We like horseshoe-style devices the best because they are the easiest to grasp and provide the most buoyancy. Important note: boats under 16' must carry wearable PFDs for every person on board, and Type IV devices do not meet this criteria. Type V -- Special Use Device, Hybrid: Have soft foam flotation which provides 7.5 lbs. of buoyancy, and an inflatable bladder that increases the buoyancy to a minimum of 22 lbs. - the same as the bulky Type I. Medium to high performance with good righting force and head support. Meets Coast Guard carriage requirements only while being worn. Type V - Special Use Device, White Water Vest: These are a more buoyant Type III vest, with 22 lbs. of buoyancy. They are specifically designed for commercial white water rafting and must be worn to be counted as inventory. They are approved for white water rafting. Inflatable Life Vests: We are strong supporters of inflatable vests, because of their high buoyancy and the freedom of movement they allow when deflated. In most cases, inflatable vests float you higher and with less effort than other types of vests. At press time, inflatable life vests did not meet USCG requirements; they were expected to meet Coast Guard approval by mid-1996. You must carry the required number of approved devices in addition to the inflatable vests on board. Nonswimmers, or children, must wear an automatically inflating version when on the water, or a USCG-approved PFD that is inherently buoyant. Inflatable Belt-worn Flotation: Products like Waist Pack vests are not worn over your shoulders, but rather are worn on a belt around your waist. They are inflated, either automatically or manually, into a PFD that looks like a vest. While available in a variety of inflated shapes, we like the vest shape best due to its head support in the water. These products are the least obtrusive of all PFDs, and effectively eliminate any resistance to the bulkiness of a PFD. We like wearing them with a personal gear pouch, which can hold a strobe, mirror, flares and a knife. Like regular inflatable vests, they do not meet USCG requirements. Inflatable Jackets: These products combine comfortable jackets with inflatable bladders similar to those in inflatable vests. The result is a jacket that is desirable to wear, with enough buoyancy to float you effectively in rough, cold water. The Stormy Seas jackets have a bladder that inflates to 20 lbs. of buoyancy with CO2, and can be topped off by mouth to 35 lbs. This product category is not Coast Guard approved, but we think they are highly effective and recommend them. NOTE: All inflatable buoyant products must be maintained by the user to insure they will work as designed when needed. This means checking the CO2 cartridge and air-holding ability of the bladder each season, and replacing the auto-inflate bobbin annually if so equipped. Impact Rating In addition to the Type of PFD, there is also the Impact Rating, which applies primarily to Type III vests. This is a measure of strength, expressed in miles per hour. A vest which has an impact rating of 100 MPH means that it should survive the stress of contacting the water (with a person inside) at that speed. It does not guarantee that the person inside will survive the ordeal, however. The Impact Ratings are 35, 50, 75 and 100 MPH.

This sidebar is a "West Advisor" prepared by and featured in catalogs and safety materials from West Marine.

Click on the links below if you'd like to know more.

 Last modified: 27 October 2000; C. Monaghan