Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

[MTboatguy]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

I'm sure you can, but perhaps this isn't just about you.

Mel,

I never said it was just about me, I offered what I do, just as others have on this thread, it is up to the OP as to what he chooses to do in his situation, I am real sorry there is a couple of you, that have choose to come at me and my posts on this subject as I said in my previous post, you do what you do and are comfortable with and I will do what I do and am comfortable with, and I am sure the OP will do what he is comfortable with, of course being Canada, it is going to be based on their rules and regulations, and not what any one of us said. As I also said, if you have issues with what I post, then take it to PM and we can discuss it there.

 

[Mel Taylor]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

As I said before, (or as I meant to say at least) instead of engaging in a lot of acrimonious discussion we need to respect each other's opinions and lighten up just a bit - ALL OF US!

Try this one on for size and then tell me how important this silly discussion really is in the grand scheme of things.
http://forums.iboats.com/boat-topic...rks-why-so-many-jerks-619166.html#post4314177

 

[matt167]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

Me either and when I did try lengthening the lanyard it got tangled and wrapped around everything in the boat. I decided that it was more of a hazard and more dangerous than not having a kill switch at all. There's gotta be some better way of killing the engine if one goes overboard or falls down in the boat.

Calibrated moisture sensor and an RFI circuit for a remote engine kill, but that would only work for overboard.

 

[82rude]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

in Ontario at least if you have one of the inflatable jackets it must be worn or you will get a ticket.just having it in the boat doesn't count for that particular type.i never wore a lifejacket until I bought one of the afore mentioned ones .since I bought it I don't even realise now that im wearing it and where I fish if you fall in the water I don't care if your tarzan your going to be hard pressed to stay alive without one.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

I don't personally know any of you and most likely never will.
Myself, being 59 years old and have spent my whole life working in very hazardous enviroments around equipment and chemicals that can and will kill you very quickly I have learned one thing is for certain. There are times and situations were no amount of safety training or Personal Protective Equipment is going to save your life even if you've done everything right. I live the training I've received throughout the years and at time take it for granted and don't even realize I'm practicing it.

So those that think PPE is going to save their life in every situtation, 100% of the time, are fooling themselves. All one needs do is look at the firefighters out west that lost their lives. They were some of the best trained, most well equipt in the world. It all failed for them!
I for one am not going to put myself into a bubble because of a few paranoid individuals. I will enjoy my life, take my chances and accept the odds that I am not going to make it out of here alive.

 

[Another retired guy]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

in Ontario at least if you have one of the inflatable jackets it must be worn or you will get a ticket.just having it in the boat doesn't count for that particular type.i never wore a lifejacket until I bought one of the afore mentioned ones .since I bought it I don't even realise now that im wearing it and where I fish if you fall in the water I don't care if your tarzan your going to be hard pressed to stay alive without one.

Thanks for posting this info - I must have missed reading that in the long list of safety requirements we have! I also wear an inflatable type whenever I'm in the boat, but I have another one that I've been including in my total # of pfd's on board. I'll have to buy one more regular type to stay legal.

 

[Dee Jsaan]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

Just to mention this.

On the Ohio River and other large waterways you will see tow boats with barges where the deck hands are all wearing their PFD's.

I once asked a deck hand I had a chance to talk to about this. I had noticed the Captain step out on the bridge without a PFD on and
had even seen a woman (presumably a cook) and a guy that I'm guessing was an engineer without their PFD's on and mentioned this.

His reply was rather dry and to the point. He said that in the worst case it would allow for a quick recovery of his body. That had two
merits in itself. One for the Insurance Company, and the other was that his family would have his body without it being in the water too long so they could have a funeral for him.

I had never thought of it like that. He added that often when people are swimming and drown in the river, they aren't found for some time and when they are found they can be hundreds of miles down stream and on some rare occasions they are found upstream. This
is usually when a body is trapped in the suction of a barge and are carried many miles away from where they were last reported being seen. Since most PDF's are a bright orange it makes it easier to find the body.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

Some of the northern lakes are so cold, its damn risky falling out. Last year a guy tried to swim to shore from his dead pontoon and he was only 50 yards out.
He didn't make it unfortunately.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

I know if I can take off and put on my scuba diving set up which includes my tank, weight belt and BC, that I can put on a life vest in the water.

It is not the same. Try taking the PFD OFF and putting it back ON the next time you are floating around.
A deflated BC on the bottom of the lake is much easier than a PFD that wants to float while you want to sink.

Think how hard it would be to put ON the BC with normal air still in it, and the weight belt still on your waist, and doing it mid water.
The BC's buoyancy is adjustable, the PFD always wants to float. That is what makes it a pain!

 

[Dee Jsaan]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

How many of us here carry a "Ring Buoy" aboard our boats ? Should someone go overboard it may be easier for them to hold onto one of these than try to get into a PDF.

I carry one like this in daytime florescent orange with silver reflective bands should a night time search be necessary.
Again, when I go for the USCGA CMI (courtesy marine inspection) this is an item that finds favor with them when they
evaluate my craft. When they apply their sticker to the hull of my boat I'm generally good to go. I've not been stopped
and that owes to their seeing their sticker.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Do you have to wear a life jacket on a 16 foot boat?

in Ontario at least if you have one of the inflatable jackets it must be worn or you will get a ticket.just having it in the boat doesn't count for that particular type.

That's true in the US as well. An inflatable must be worn to be 'counted' as an approved PFD. I have heard that there's now an exception to the 'must be worn' rule- a specific type of inflatable that can be substituted, but I'm coming up blank in a google search. If anyone's aware of the change, please provide a link.

Thanks.