Using Inflatable Boats for Surviving
No one who purchases an inflatable life raft really believes that they will actually
have occasion to use the inflatable life raft for its intended purpose and it is true that the majority of inflatable life rafts live out the entirety of their lives in storage, never actually being used as a tool for surviving a disaster. This does not mean that no one ever has occasion to actually use a life raft, however. Many thousands of fishermen, travelers, sailors and pilots are only alive today because they had the foresight to purchase an inflatable life raft before embarking on their voyage into the skies or out to sea.In the case of small airplanes and boats, especially those that journey into latitudes where the temperature is low enough for hypothermia to be a serious threat to survival in the event of a disaster where someone ends up in the water, one-person inflatable life rafts are probably the most apt tools for surviving in such a situation. The smallest inflatable boats typically weight under 10 pounds and, before you inflate them, are about the same size as a standard flotation cushion. Despite their light weight and small size, that package inflates to become a full life raft, constructed from rubberized fabric, featuring automatic inflation, a sea anchor, a canopy to provide shelter from the weather, and water ballast to ensure stability when the seas are rough.
In the case of larger planes and boats that are built to accommodate more passengers, however, larger life rafts are necessary in order to provide for all of those passengers and crew members. There are larger versions of the one-man life raft that comes in sizes accommodating four or six people, and also include other survival necessities such as flares, boarding ladders, and storage space for rations.
The largest inflatable life rafts that are meant for use by private individuals are generally the eight-person inflatable life rafts. Life rafts that have a capacity over eight people are generally meant for use by commercial organizations such as ferry boats and commercial planes. Even for an inflatable, a life raft that has a carrying capacity of more than eight people would be too large and heavy for a regular yacht crew to handle properly. If you require a life raft with a carrying capacity of more than eight people, then the better solution would probably be for you to simply purchase two smaller life rafts. This would ensure that you have no trouble handling and setting up the life rafts in the event that you need to use them, although the overall cost of purchasing two smaller life rafts will be higher than the cost of purchasing a single large one.
One thing to keep in mind when deciding what sort of capacity you will require with your life raft is to think beyond mere numbers to physical space. The US Coast Guard, Offshore Racing Council, and US Sailing have unanimously agreed that the minimum amount of space required for each occupant of a life raft is 4 square feet per occupant. Thus, technically, a life raft meant to hold 4 people need only have a total of 16 square feet of space. Before purchasing a life raft based on this minimum standard, however, you should think very carefully about what it might mean to have four people crammed into a 16 square foot space on rough seas and possibly for a very long period of time. For this reason many sailors and boating enthusiasts will recommend that you purchase a life raft one size larger than your minimum requirement. You should also be wary of purchasing a life raft that is too large, however, as a life raft that is under-loaded is more prone to capsizing in rough seas than a properly loaded one.
The Standard Inflatable As A Life Raft
Many boat owners find that life rafts are a bothersome type of water craft to carry, even though they come neatly packed in plastic containers when you first purchase them. The boats that emerge from those plastic containers, however, are expensive, ugly and cumbersome. Many boat owners would much prefer to simply use a regular inflatable boat such as a soft tail or sport boat as a life raft.
If, however, you carry passengers in any form of commercial capacity whatsoever, then you can forget about using a regular inflatable boat in place of a proper life raft. This is because the Coast Guard has strict regulations about the suitability of life rafts for use with paying passengers, and they regularly inspect boats to check that they conform to those regulations. Another problem is that, in order for a regular inflatable boat to properly take the place of a life raft in an emergency situation, then the inflatable boat will have to be carried inflated. This is something that most planes and boats simply do not have enough space to do.
Using Inflatable Boats for Surviving
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