Recently, a
club member asked for opinions about the best life jacket to buy for keelboat sailing. Since this
issue comes up not infrequently, I’ve compiled many club members’ opinions in
an effort to simplify the decision-making process for future members. Let’s start with Brent’s overview of the considerations involved:
First, do you need/want a Type II vest? The deciding
factor here are whether you want a vest that will likely keep your head out of
the water if you are unconscious. If this is a concern, then you should
look to Type II, which narrows your choices quite a bit.
Next, on a keelboat, I wouldn't want to use a non-inflatable vest.
Too bulky. Yet, on a dinghy, you don't really want
an inflatable. To my mind, one should really have two different
vests - one for dinghy sailing and one for keelboats. If you can't have
two, then you'll have to do with a non-inflatable while keelboat sailing.
If you want/need a Type II inflatable, there aren't very many
options. Mustang makes one with a built-in harness. This is what I
use. I'm quite happy with it.
If you don't want/need a Type II non-inflatable, then you'll be looking at Type
III devices, and it really comes down to personal preference, but there are a
few big considerations. First is bulk, but that's not the most important
consideration in my opinion, though it's the one that gets the most
attention. Way more important is that it doesn't restrict motion of your
arms across the front of your body, and that there are no edges, corners,
buckles, etc. that are likely to catch lines.
I would much rather take a bulky vest with a smooth profile than a sleek one
with bits and pieces that would catch a line. In fact, high floatation is
a big deal for me. Most people just go for the lowest-profile vest they
can find, but it is important to remember what the vest is for. More
floatation is better.
For a vest to do a good job, it should keep you as high out of the water as
possible. It is there to save your life and not look good. However,
if you won't wear it, it won't do you any good. So, know thyself.
I use a Type II/V hydrostatic inflatable with built-in harness by
Mustang Survival when I don't plan on getting wet (i.e. keelboats). On
dinghies, I wear a Type II by Extrasport (I think). I require a Type II
vest, but as I tend to sail away from the immediate shore, I would probably use
a Type II device anyway.
The topic of wakeboarding vests has come up, and while
attractive in limited circumstances they should be relied upon only with
caution:
Keep in mind, wakeboard vests will generally not save your
life. They will only improve you comfort for a short time. Many
(most?) do not meet the minimum floatation requirements to even meet Type III
standards, and those that do are pretty minimal. These are adequate only
to provide a bit of insulation and reduce fatigue somewhat. Use a
neoprene vest only if you are sure you won't go into the water unconscious, or
become unconscious or semi-conscious, and rescue is guaranteed within a few
minutes. Otherwise, this is just false security.
These vests are not adequate for keelboat sailing, except perhaps puttering
around the lake with a competent crew. Also, they are not advisable for
single-handing except under supervision. If you don't believe how quickly
hypothermia sets in and how important every pound of buoyancy is, come talk to
me and I'll tell you tales from the ER.
Of course, each person needs to weigh risks and make their own decision about
what precautions to take, but most (all?) neoprene vests only lend a false
sense of protection when it comes to sailing. They are not designed for
this purpose. They are designed for situations where the water is
relatively warm and rescue imminent.
The reason there are so many different kinds of PFDs is because there are
different levels of exposure to different sorts of risks. Each requires
different measures to mitigate. If you want to buy just one PFD to suit
any sailing you might do, then buy the device for the worst exposure
possible. Then, if you can afford a second device, consider something
less capable and possibly less obtrusive for sailing that is less exposed to
risk.
However, all things being equal, an inflatable, in addition to being more
comfortable than a foam vest, provides more buoyancy and has a better righting
capability than an equivalently rated foam vest. Still, as discussed,
they are not really suitable for dinghy sailing because of the high chance of
going into the water in a non-emergent situation. Though, if I didn't
need an auto-inflating Type II, I would consider a manually-inflating Type III
over a neoprene vest for dinghy sailing. This way I would have some
floatation and insulation, plus the ability to inflate if I had to.
Still, for keelboat sailing, I wouldn't consider using anything other than a
Type II except perhaps in conditions where I didn't feel like I needed a PFD at
all.
My advice: Just plan on getting two vests - an inflatable for
keelboats and a foam vest for dinghies. Get whichever you need first, and
get a vest with the buoyancy appropriate to the level of risk you want to
mitigate. If you don't think you'll do much keelboat sailing, then just
use your dingy vest. If you're going to race on a keelboat, get
an inflatable or go without - unless you're going to do any
distances at all, in which case you'll want an inflatable with a
harness.
Dennis suggests using a floater jacket:
I'm normally a KB sailor, but I do sail dingys. On the dingy, I always use the clubs PFD's or similar. They are cheap, quick and don't get easily damaged.
For years, I tried to use a very nice offshore inflatable PFD on the KB's. But I seldom really wore it --> not good. Among other issues was the fact that it had to be worn outside any coat or especially rain coat, so to get the coat off, the PFD had to come off and again seldom went back on.
I sail KB's frequently in the winter - so it is chilly. Ultimately I purchased a type III Mustang Integrity Class floater Jacket. It is thick, having 1/2" flotation all around inside. It is very warm and having a nylon shell is reasonably dry. Now, I do look forward to wearing my life jacket when it is cold out, so always have it on when I should. It is comfortable on most all cool days. When the weather really does get warm (shirt sleeve), I do go back to the inflatable. Downside is price.
Of course the floater jacket has no maintenance other than keeping it clean. I've waterproofed it once and that helped.
As if that wasn’t enough food for thought, John adds the
following links to tests of different styles of life vests. Do consider how they will perform in waves,
since you’re most likely to fall in the drink on a heavy day:
I found this interesting when I was
researching inflatable PFDs.
Testing inflatables against traditional PFDs in a wave pool
with waves up to 4 feet high:
In fact, the type III inherently buoyant vest-style life
jacket proved the real eye-opener for our test crew who had to work hard
treading water to keep their faces clear of the waves when using this
device. When another test was conducted simulating an unconscious victim,
those wearing the Type III inherently buoyant devices repeatedly sank well
beneath the surface as the waves rolled over them.
Above from:
More life jacket tests:
Complete list of BoatUS tests:
USSailing Safety at Sea studies (no life jacket tests):
Adrian’s experience with on european pfds should also be
considered. Some members have even
discussed adding leg straps to their pfds:
I have a Mustang MD3084, which I bought maybe 4 years ago.
Here's a couple thoughts:
-Get something with automatic inflation. When I fell
overboard, it brought me up to the surface immediately, almost in time to catch
the stern of the boat, and close enough to grab the life ring. If it hadn't
been automatic, the boat would've had to circle around for me. I tuck the
release handle into the PFD when I sail so it won't accidentally get caught on something.
-Get something with an integrated harness. I wear mine all
the time, and with the harness already on the lifejacket, clipping in is like a
second thought.
-Don't get a Mustang. They use a proprietary plastic ring on the cartridges.
When I went sailing in Europe, TSA confiscated my cartridge and you can't find
any with the plastic ring outside the U.S. The 33g CO2 cartridges are
universal, but the plastic ring isn't, and it's glued on to the cartridges
Mustang sells. This is so you will buy only Mustang cartridges, which aren't
sold outside the U.S. If it weren't for this, I would heartily recommend
Mustang. Go to fisheries and look at all the PFD recharge kits they sell. Buy
the PFD with the most "standard generic" recharge kit you can find.
If you don't ever plan on leaving the U.S., then a Mustang PFD is a great
choice.
-When I was in sailing school in France, we had inflatable PFDs that
were super tough, with an integrated harness with a crotch strap. It is
slightly less comfy, but a crotch strap is way more secure, and will allow
someone to pull you back onboard by the harness. I doubt I'll ever find any
harnesses with crotch straps for sale in the U.S., but if I did I'd buy it in a
heartbeat.
Here's one close to the one I used:
http://www.certec.eu.com/fr/produit.php?famille=nautisme&lang=fr&id=69
Here's an example of one with leg straps:
http://www.certec.eu.com/fr/produit.php?famille=nautisme&lang=fr&id=45
Keep in mind that the more complicated it is to put on, the less likely you are
to use it...
-Other features: if it doesn't have a whistle, put one on it. I also wish mine
had a pocket to put a strobe. I have to clip the strobe to the PFD, but it's
not very secure.
This takes us to the matter of strobes. Finding a crew overboard in the dark is
nearly impossible. Brandon tells us that
“after doing some ‘toss crap in the water at night and see if you can find it’
drills with Dan in the KB Skipper class, I would NEVER sail at night without it
or a PFD.” So make sure everyone has a
light on them if you’re sailing at night.
If you don’t find a pfd with an integrated strobe, consider
Raz’s words:
A great strobe to have is the C-Strobe made by ACR. It runs
about 30 bucks at fisheries and runs on 2 AA batteries. This is a strobe that
NOAA uses and is excellent, proven technology. When Brandon and I
taught a keelboat class last year that did a lot of night sailing, we made all
our students get a strobe and I think they all chose to get this one. Practice
turning it on a few times so that the muscle memory is there if you ever find
yourself in the drink.
For a very worthwhile five dollars, you can get a little
clip that attaches the C-Strobe to the oral-inflate hose on your PFD. This is
nice because the strobe stays safely on the inside when the PFD is packed, but
is really easy to access if the thing inflates.
And just so you don’t forget to do everything possible to
avoid falling off a boat in the first place, skip forward to about 4:30 on this
video John found:
Use jack lines at night or when things get rough.
