Double liferafts on board

One of the items in the class rules survey was the obligation to have double liferafts on board.
A liferaft is a safetydinghy which you board when the ship is about to sink, like for instance in case of a threathning fire.

Why double?

Rules are rules, and we need to comply, but my first thought was, double? Why double? You can only board one.

So I addressed the question to the surveyor, and he said that 10% of the liferafts are not functioning, even if they are tested periodically…

CIC Normandy Channel Race, failing liferafts

The collision in the CIC Normandy Channel race last month proofed that the double raft idea is no nonsense. But in this accident it happend that both rafts were defective. The statistical chance of a double failure should normally be 10% times 10%, so 1 %. These liferafts were of the same brand…. so one could say the manufacturer has a huge problem.

Pro’s and Cons of double liferafts on board

The carriage of two liferafts has pro’s and cons.

Let start with the cons. The cost of a liferaft is about € 1.800,- and they need to be periodically tested every three year. And for Solas ships, which we are, a test is necessary every year.

The weight of the product including, water, food, safety and survival items is about 45 kg. So two of these is an extra weight of about 100 kg.

Than the pro’s. Indeed, if your first liferafts is faulty you have a second chance. And also, you might loose one, or one could get stolen. You can also take more food in two liferafts. So there are benefits of having two on board.

Type approval

Our liferafts meet the ISO 9650-1 standard. Type -1 is applicable for ocean usage. And because of our planned sailing area, our liferafts must be equipped with an internal grab bag for 24+ hours (type B).

In our case, this includes,

1. Sea anchor with rope (1 piece)
2. Life ring with rope (1 piece)
3. Floating paddles (2 pieces)
4. Immediate action (1 piece)
5. Floating knife (1 piece)
6. Canopy support (2 pieces)
7. Bailer (1 piece)
8. Sponge (2 pieces)
9. Whistle (1 piece)
10. Repair kit (1 piece)
11. Manual pump (1 piece)
12. User internal manual (1 piece)
13. Seasickness bag (12 pieces)
14. Torch kit (1 piece)
15. Red hand flares (3 pieces)
16. Red parachute flares (2 pieces)
17. Signaling mirror (1 piece)
18. Anti-seasickness pills (6 per person)
19. LALIZAS Thermal Protective Aid Alusafe-T, LSA Code (2 pieces)
20. LALIZAS Emergency liferaft drinking water (0,5 L/person)
21. First aid kit (1 piece)
23. Waterproof torch/bulb (2 pieces)
24. Red hand flares in accordance SOLAS LSA Code Chapter III, 3.2 (3 pieces)
25. LALIZAS Emergency liferaft drinking water (1L/person)
26. LALIZAS Emergency Liferaft Food Ration 0,5 kg, 2503 kcal (10.000kj/person)
27. LALIZAS CO₂ inflation system, certified according to ISO 15738:2019

Hydrostatic release unit

We are obliged to have hydrostatic relaease units (HRU) for automatic activation.

When a ship sinks the water pressure rises and the increased pressure activates a cutting knife in the HRU. This slices the fixation rope and releases the liferaft from the ship.

Evacuation

Be aware, if there is a fire and you need to evacuate, you don’t wait till the boat sinks, you cut the roap, kick the box in sea and pull the painter line (rope) to inflate it. You send the emergency calls and take all the possible life saving items with you (extra grab bag, food water, SART, Epirb, portofone).

Ester and I have done the RYA Sea Survival & OPST training at the Zeezeilers van Marken and this includes among other things, a practical training of boarding a liferaft in a swimming pool. We learned that the usage of the liferafts should be avoided by taking all possible measures of prevention.

Schieman Rigging Den Helder

These ‘raft dudes’ are heavy and back breaking when you need to dig them up from a deep sealocker. This could be an issue in an emergency situation.

Initially we had one raft mounted on the transom and the other in the stern sealocker. We didn’t see a release-solution for the raft in the sealocker, so we mounted them both on the transom of the JPK.

With this we had good help from rigging company De Schieman from Den Helder. They made a tailormade solution, and we have now a professional and secure mount on our yacht for both liferafts.

Also they helped us out very quickly and the solution was made and finished just before the survey.