Liferaft reliability concerns!
Posted: Wed Nov 17, 2010 11:57 pmI had a problem
in Portobello Panama last year, my life raft which came with the boat
had not been inspected since the dark ages (mmm maybe I should have looked at it the first time I trusted it to cross the atlantic)
further investigation revealed it was made by Dunlop in the UK in 1966
(a great year for british soccer but not for liferafts!)
So I dragged this great big hulk of a barrel cannister thing to shore and removes the gas bottle an proceeded to pump it up by foot pump 45 minutes later with no avail (now with an audience of 6 kids) ,
I thought F@#K it I will screw the gas bottle back on, which I did,
so I pulled the cord and bang it inflated for 3 seconds then CO2 blew all the plastic coating off the cloath and a huge cloud of gass spewed through the cloth.
So I immediately cranked the dingy and dragged it away fromthe kids on the beach.
IT sank in under a minute dragged down by the heavy gas bottle.
(stupid f@~&%$G gringo I think was the response)
Anyway I went back to boat at anchor with empty cannister my lady callin was it ok! to which I return yes fine dear.
So it got mounted with its bracket and filled with 15lb cqr a 25lb cqr and lots of chain an rope.
so we havent had a liferaft for over 14000 miles these last 3 years i guess
but as a man in a bar in Jamaica told me
dont worry mon!
anyways we are back in the old world now anchored off Ibiza!
thinking of going back to west indies in jan /feb time
run out of rum an jerk
all the best
fair winds
tom
in Portobello Panama last year, my life raft which came with the boat
had not been inspected since the dark ages (mmm maybe I should have looked at it the first time I trusted it to cross the atlantic)
further investigation revealed it was made by Dunlop in the UK in 1966
(a great year for british soccer but not for liferafts!)
So I dragged this great big hulk of a barrel cannister thing to shore and removes the gas bottle an proceeded to pump it up by foot pump 45 minutes later with no avail (now with an audience of 6 kids) ,
I thought F@#K it I will screw the gas bottle back on, which I did,
so I pulled the cord and bang it inflated for 3 seconds then CO2 blew all the plastic coating off the cloath and a huge cloud of gass spewed through the cloth.
So I immediately cranked the dingy and dragged it away fromthe kids on the beach.
IT sank in under a minute dragged down by the heavy gas bottle.
(stupid f@~&%$G gringo I think was the response)
Anyway I went back to boat at anchor with empty cannister my lady callin was it ok! to which I return yes fine dear.
So it got mounted with its bracket and filled with 15lb cqr a 25lb cqr and lots of chain an rope.
so we havent had a liferaft for over 14000 miles these last 3 years i guess
but as a man in a bar in Jamaica told me
dont worry mon!
anyways we are back in the old world now anchored off Ibiza!
thinking of going back to west indies in jan /feb time
run out of rum an jerk
all the best
fair winds
tom