I use the Stearns full coat life jacket when I fish. It serves as a great coat and a floatation devise in case I take an un expected dip. I talked with a "Coastie" , Coatsguardsmen and he stated that 90 % of the drowning victims recovered that are male have one thing in common. Yep their fly's are open. Be smart and [B)]Pee smart. More poeple drown on sunny days than on stormy days. Any way I thought I would see what you guys are using. If I could afford it I would use an inflatable like Mustang.
What brand of Life Jacket do you use?
- Thread starter KoneZone
- Start date
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RobTufnail
Guest
We use mustang floater coats, as well as the mustang inflatables when the weather warms up.
i like them, but they wont help you if you're not conscious[xx(]
i like them, but they wont help you if you're not conscious[xx(]
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reel easy
Guest
Don't they have ones that inflate automatically? How comfortable are they to wear, anybody tried them? Nice to have when you fish alone.
K
knucklebuster
Guest
I have a mustang inflateable I wear for everything I do on the boat.(except when docked or at anchor).
I have a full suit I use when on the west side.Keeps ya warm.
I have a full suit I use when on the west side.Keeps ya warm.
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RobTufnail
Guest
the automatic life jackets have a crystal that breaks/dissolves when water hits it and that can happen when a splash of water hits you, or even if it gets wet enough when its raining, and at 20$ to recharge it, thats a hassle. And i know guys that have fallen in the water and not had it inflate. So i prefer the manuals.
and as for a floater coat getting damp, i have not once had that happen to me, mines an old yellow one and its water proof.
I also have a full suit and its great for winter
and as for a floater coat getting damp, i have not once had that happen to me, mines an old yellow one and its water proof.
I also have a full suit and its great for winter
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SIR
Guest
We use the manual pull Mustang inflatables and have guests wear them at ALL times when in the boats. We like the inflatables (other than the price) as the guests forget they have them on. ALL the DOT approved lifejackets get shoved under seats or in the bow due to their bulk and on smaller boats bad things tend to happen fast so we feel that it's better to have a jacket on guests at all times even if it ads the step of having to pull a cord to inflate...
DOT has provided small commercial vessels with an extension to Dec. 2008 to use inflatables pending the availability of new DOT approved affordable lifejacket styles. We keep copies of the notice on the boats as not all of the on-the-water inspectors seem to be aware of this policy. I talked with the BC Mustang rep a few weeks ago and he was confident that an inflatable would be in the DOT approved lineup. The down side is that it will be the hydrostatically auto-inflation type which we are not overly fond of in open boats as they do stand more of a chance of getting wet but such is life. I also shudder to think what the price is going to be but again there aren't any other good commercial options....
DOT has provided small commercial vessels with an extension to Dec. 2008 to use inflatables pending the availability of new DOT approved affordable lifejacket styles. We keep copies of the notice on the boats as not all of the on-the-water inspectors seem to be aware of this policy. I talked with the BC Mustang rep a few weeks ago and he was confident that an inflatable would be in the DOT approved lineup. The down side is that it will be the hydrostatically auto-inflation type which we are not overly fond of in open boats as they do stand more of a chance of getting wet but such is life. I also shudder to think what the price is going to be but again there aren't any other good commercial options....
fishin_magician
Well-Known Member
Actually, the number of people that do end up drowning put themselves into a safety situation that they otherwise shouldn't have.
I know of all kinds of people GPS this, GPS that, Radar this, Radar that, flotation this, flotation that, flares this, flares that, radio this, radio that, my boat this, my boat that...yet they get out on the water, don't heed weather forecasts, single engine craft meant for inshore boating at best, running 35 miles offshore with a single stern drive or single outboard, no other buddy boats, no sailing plans, No EPIRB, and then be so stupid to not recognize when they've taken things way too far.
Case in point. 2 fellas in FULL survival suits died on the East Side of Denman Island a couple of years ago--and at no point were they more than 2 miles from shore.
Example 2:--The moron fishermen and innocent ride along victims they fish out every single summer from the drink.
Rule number 1, know your boating limitations, and stay within them--and your flotation rarely compensates you fully for your stupidity (although it does help)..and I could care less about what boating courses you've taken.
If you're not smart enough to realize when putting yourself at risk that no safety equipment will compensate for your supremely poor judgement and the unforseeable---then you fully deserve to die.
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SIR
Guest
Couldn't agree more. The Resort is right across the bay from Jack's Boat Yard which is where the Coast Guard brings all the boats that have done stupid things in our area. We see 10-20 boats a year hit the lift for non-mechanical failure issues.
Half have hit logs due to a combination of going to fast or not paying enough attention to the water in front of the boat while the other half have hit CHARTED reefs/rocks by just not doing their homework/paying attention.
The majority of the fatalities we've had in the area have been folks out in boats that were not able to handle the weather conditions. The major injuries have been due to either windlass/chain issues or falling overboard/being hit by props.
Bad things happen all the time that could easily be avoided... Some of the toys almost seem to make it worse as folks who aren't familiar with them seem to spend more time looking at them and less time looking at the water in front of them...
Half have hit logs due to a combination of going to fast or not paying enough attention to the water in front of the boat while the other half have hit CHARTED reefs/rocks by just not doing their homework/paying attention.
The majority of the fatalities we've had in the area have been folks out in boats that were not able to handle the weather conditions. The major injuries have been due to either windlass/chain issues or falling overboard/being hit by props.
Bad things happen all the time that could easily be avoided... Some of the toys almost seem to make it worse as folks who aren't familiar with them seem to spend more time looking at them and less time looking at the water in front of them...
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starcraftttom
Guest
SIR, your statemant about hitting charted rocksjust remineded me about what I Saw last summer. The wife and I were running from jones island back to anacortizes wa. As we passed deer harbor (on orcas)we heard a mayday call and position. It was really close and we headed that way. A 40ft searay with full electronic (radar, gps, chartplotter...same unit thats in my boat). long story short the guy ran his boat over a charted and marked reef in the wasp islands. I heard him say that "I cant figure out what happened, I cut between the Island and the bouy?" Well thats where the charted reef is and thats why the bouy is there. He just got it butt backwards. It was a sunny clear warm day. ripped off parts of both out drives. A larger boat towd him to deer harbor and seatow showed up with a pump. We left after that and dont know how it ended up. having toy and understanding them is two different things.
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RobTufnail
Guest
My favourite is a sailboat stuck on a sandbar at the lowest tide of the year, calling a mayday with no damage to the hull or motor. And not having a single clue what to do...[|)]
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SIR
Guest
Here are a few good ones from the last couple of summers.
Guy brings a 42' Bayliner rental into the Travellift across the bay. Says he's not sure what the problem is but he felt a shudder while under way and a little later heard an alarm but was not sure what it was so he thought he should bring the boat in to have it looked at. Turns out he'd holed it on sky pilot rock and the alarms were the high water bilge alarms. He didn't even think to look in the hold to figure out that he was sinking.... renters can be VERY scary.
Last year we had two 40 footers high and dry on the same rock in the entrance to Tenedos Bay in the SAME week. Lucky for them the Coast Guard is very good with fast drying epoxy for emergency patches.
Another good one was Coast Guard cutter side-towed in a 40 footer that had a hit a log so well as to reduce the gear box to pieces. The guy on the CG boat said that something funny was up as the boat was pulling badly to the side while underway. While trying to get the boat into the lift slings they discovered the prop was embedded into the center of a 15' log which was acting as a rudder while they were trying to tow it. Had to use a chainsaw on the log before they could do a full lift.
Favorite one is a sail boat grounds on the sand reef between Savary and Hernando Islands (water there is max 21' on a HIGH tide and only 4 feet on a low so no way a sail boat should have been anywhere near that pass). So what does they guy do, gets out his bottom cleaning tools and makes like he meant to do it. Only had to look at the expression on his wife’s face to figure it out
Those of us who live on islands with only with only four year round neighbors have to take our entertainment where we can find it [8D]
Guy brings a 42' Bayliner rental into the Travellift across the bay. Says he's not sure what the problem is but he felt a shudder while under way and a little later heard an alarm but was not sure what it was so he thought he should bring the boat in to have it looked at. Turns out he'd holed it on sky pilot rock and the alarms were the high water bilge alarms. He didn't even think to look in the hold to figure out that he was sinking.... renters can be VERY scary.
Last year we had two 40 footers high and dry on the same rock in the entrance to Tenedos Bay in the SAME week. Lucky for them the Coast Guard is very good with fast drying epoxy for emergency patches.
Another good one was Coast Guard cutter side-towed in a 40 footer that had a hit a log so well as to reduce the gear box to pieces. The guy on the CG boat said that something funny was up as the boat was pulling badly to the side while underway. While trying to get the boat into the lift slings they discovered the prop was embedded into the center of a 15' log which was acting as a rudder while they were trying to tow it. Had to use a chainsaw on the log before they could do a full lift.
Favorite one is a sail boat grounds on the sand reef between Savary and Hernando Islands (water there is max 21' on a HIGH tide and only 4 feet on a low so no way a sail boat should have been anywhere near that pass). So what does they guy do, gets out his bottom cleaning tools and makes like he meant to do it. Only had to look at the expression on his wife’s face to figure it out
Those of us who live on islands with only with only four year round neighbors have to take our entertainment where we can find it [8D]
G
Gone Fishn
Guest
Beak.... you mentioned the Helly Hansen.... from what I have seen of them I'd stick to mustang.... but thats just my opinion.... They are not as comfortable as they look!! Mustang has a new series out called Integrity HX which is waterproof...worth a look I'd say... and for those worried about an inflataable blowing with a splash of water check out the hydrostatic inflateables from mustang (MD3153).... inflates by water pressure not moisture!