New rule in my boat

[adam_p]

The inflatables are not failsafe, just remember that. A buddy of mine found a drowning victim with his side imager graph when they first came out. The guy was wearing an inflatable vest. The vest deployed, then deflated.

That said, I wear an inflatable any time I'm getting on plane.

[TXHUNT3R]

Just added an auto inflate to my cart on amazon!

My guests will just have to wear the bulky ones I currently have... lol

[K-Train]

My dad always wore a self inflating until this last year he came in off the lake in a rain storm and it went off. He said it scared 5 years off his life. He now wares a self inflating that you have to pull a cord to activate. If you are knocked out of the boat unconscious I don't think this will be much help. Is there a water activated self inflating life vest that won't go off in a rain storm?

Many of the inflatable life jackets now have the option for automatic/manual inflation. I Think this is the way to go. You could leave it on automatic or flip it to manual when fishing/running in the rain. I have always been worried about the manual ones because they do no good if you are unconscious. This would be a solution.

[Mike]

I've seen them deploy about 10 times and never seen one fail. I hear people saying they are not guaranteed to work but I've never seen it and looked for evidence of a failure and can't find one. Founds lots of article about having them in craft and not worn. Anyone ever had one fail?

Thanks for the info. I have seen only one not inflate. It was early last year in a FL Collegiate event when a steering failure occurred and the passenger was tossed over and his didn't auto inflate. I'll try and find the video as they had a GoPro running.

One other note, I get the whole camo concept but camo is the last thing you want when someone is trying to find you in the water. We had a traditional black life jacket fly off the seat once while fishing and took a while to notice it was gone. We looked for 45 minutes and finally found it floating. I know the inflatables are yellow when deployed.

I wear a mustard yellow or sky blue rainsuit for that very reason now.

[Quackerbox]

As I read this, i couldnt help but come to a determination and feeling that maybe , just maybe, you are kinda bad luck to be around......








just jokes..
nothing wrong with minimizing risk on your equipment

No kidding. Been in, around and owned boats (air, tiller johns, metal and glass) for 40 years and hooks have been the only cause of injury

Good Topic. I have inflatables but I do worry if they will activate. Also, Inflatables are not CG approved on kids under 13 years old, no matter how big they are in stature. Secondly, an inflatable is only counted as a PFD in the boat if it's worn. I know it's a grey area but by the letter of the law, if you're not wearing it, you need to have a traditional life vest in the boat for each person.

Anytime the big motor is running, we have them on unless we are idling from one spot to another across a cove in broad daylight.

I was going to mention that. I only have inflatables in the kayaks. I should also wear them or at least have them out more. Junior is the only one who wears one.

[wal1809]

Just added an auto inflate to my cart on amazon!

My guests will just have to wear the bulky ones I currently have... lol

[Bdub25]

This has been my dad's rule for years. Once you step foot on his boat, you have a PFD on, and it stays on until you get off the boat.

[wal1809]

Only one of these accidents was in my boat. I was there for the other three. The one in my boat is a long long story but in short, my now wife got hung up in a rope, detached her upper jaw from her skull behind the k9 teeth, yanked her out of the boat, rendered her unconscious and under the water. I jumped into the prop wash to trail back to where I thought she was at. I knew I had seconds and one shot to find her. AS I got close to where I thought she was at she popped up. She was in absolute shock. We drove her to Brownsville to the hospital (Ambulance would have had to come from Brownsville and then back so it was way faster) and the doctor said she was clueless as to how to put her back together. They took her by ambulance to Harlingen where by the grace of God was a reconstructive surgeon's convention. They made an announcement at the convention and the absolute best facial reconstruction surgeon in the world answered the call. That happened at 4 PM. She came out of her first of many surgeries at around 4 AM. When I talked to the doctor he said he had no clue how to put her back together. He asked God for direction and into it he went. After umpteen surgeries you can hardly tell she had that happen.

It's high time we wear them.

[Tx_Wader]

Your boat your rules. You might be fishing by yourself a lot though lol.

[super_dave]

How well do you Swim Unconcious?



Life Jacket is the Cheapest Insurance you will ever BUY.

How conscious do you have to be to pull a rip cord??

[UrbanBuck]

Great for you! However I cannot see doing this all day while fishing ...aint gonna happen.

[TXHUNT3R]

Only one of these accidents was in my boat. I was there for the other three. The one in my boat is a long long story but in short, my now wife got hung up in a rope, detached her upper jaw from her skull behind the k9 teeth, yanked her out of the boat, rendered her unconscious and under the water. I jumped into the prop wash to trail back to where I thought she was at. I knew I had seconds and one shot to find her. AS I got close to where I thought she was at she popped up. She was in absolute shock. We drove her to Brownsville to the hospital (Ambulance would have had to come from Brownsville and then back so it was way faster) and the doctor said she was clueless as to how to put her back together. They took her by ambulance to Harlingen where by the grace of God was a reconstructive surgeon's convention. They made an announcement at the convention and the absolute best facial reconstruction surgeon in the world answered the call. That happened at 4 PM. She came out of her first of many surgeries at around 4 AM. When I talked to the doctor he said he had no clue how to put her back together. He asked God for direction and into it he went. After umpteen surgeries you can hardly tell she had that happen.

It's high time we wear them.

WOW, that is crazy, thank God she is here today!

[Chuy]

I may also recommend a strict eyewear policy...getting a hook in the eye...would SUCK.

[muzzlebrake]

Auto inflate is the only kind on my boat. If you ride in my boat you wear it. No exceptions!
The downside to these is that extreme high humidity will dissolve the alka seltzer tablet and set it off. It's about a $40 bill to replace the co2 and tablet.

[fox1]

Ill admit i never wore one while i lived in Texas unless i was fishing a tournament. Since i have moved to Oklahoma it is on anytime I'm on the water. These okies are complete morons on the water and i have seen more boating accidents and collisions here in 4 years than i seen in a lifetime in Texas.
I live right by Keystone lake and every weekend during the spring and summer you can find the ambulances at the boat ramps transporting someone and the police hauling someone off in cuffs.