Automatic life jacket for canoeing?

On Tue, 06 Jun 2006 06:17:08 -0500, Roger Houston
wrote:

>And our team, which
>included among its number some championship swimmers and military
>divers, had an immutable rule: nobody went near the water without
>flotation on. On. Not handy, not potential, but on.
>
>I wouldn't bet my life on an automatically-inflating flotation garment.
> If you haven't found a comfortable flotation device that's compatible
>with your vessel, paddling style and activities afloat, you haven't
>investigated enough alternatives.

Hi Roger,
Thank you for the helpful comments: much appreciated, in view of your
experience... Actually your comment about not relying on
automatically-inflating flotation garments was my own feeling exactly.
However, people who use them have been assuring me that they are the
most sure-fire life-savers, since they inflate even if you are knocked
unconscious. When I reply: "Yeah, that's only *IF* they inflate when
they are supposed to!", they always say, "Ah, but they *will*; they
are throughly tested" etc., etc. But I'm inclined to see things from
your POV: that any mechanised device can fail... and according to
Sod's Law of the Sea, it'll probably will fail on the one occasion
when it is needed!

My main reservations about bouyancy aids is that I'm not sure if
they'd keep one's mouth and nose above water after one starts blacking
out from exhaustion or dehydration or whatever...

Al D
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Per Al D:
>My main reservations about bouyancy aids is that I'm not sure if
>they'd keep one's mouth and nose above water after one starts blacking
>out from exhaustion or dehydration or whatever...

I think that in the USA, life jackets are rated: "I", "II", "III", and so-forth.

One of the ratings specifies that it will keep an unconscious person's head
above water. Dunno how... but that's the spec.
--
PeteCresswell
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Al D wrote:

> Thank you for the helpful comments: much appreciated, in view of your
> experience... Actually your comment about not relying on
> automatically-inflating flotation garments was my own feeling exactly.
> However, people who use them have been assuring me that they are the
> most sure-fire life-savers, since they inflate even if you are knocked
> unconscious. When I reply: "Yeah, that's only *IF* they inflate when
> they are supposed to!", they always say, "Ah, but they *will*; they
> are throughly tested" etc., etc.

Murphy was an optimist.

> My main reservations about bouyancy aids is that I'm not sure if
> they'd keep one's mouth and nose above water after one starts blacking
> out from exhaustion or dehydration or whatever...

The single most heart-wrenching rescue in which I was involved happened
when a bunch of kids were trying out a powerboat with a home-made
fiberglass patch repair on a crack in the hull. The patch delaminated
at speed, the boat made a sudden stop as the patch became a sort of
"dive brake". The kids went flying. All were shaken but not hurt and
grabbing onto the boat, now sinking by the stern. Only one was missing,
an 18-year-old, who was a championship water-skier. In fact, he'd only
just taken off his shorty wetsuit after having tested the boat's ability
to pull him on a slalom ski. Turned out he'd hit his head against part
of the boat during the sudden stop. The wetsuit, off for only a minute
before the accident, would have floated him. Maybe face down, but
floated him. Importantly, it would have floated him within reach of one
of our Sheriff's Deputies, who happened to have been patrolling the park
near where this happened. He jumped into another boat and had a hand on
the kid, but the kid sank out of his reach. The Dive Rescue team was
there within minutes. There wasn't much of a search, given that the
"last-seen" report was given by the deputy, a trained observer. We
dragged the kid out, intubated him on the boat as we sped toward shore,
and we pulled out all the stops and did everything right. We got a
pulse back, but he died in the hospital, he had been under too damn
long. Probably MINUTES too long. Minutes that that wetsuit would have
bought him. I still remember my teammates' faces going from jubilation
at our "save" to sadness at the news that this kid was no more.

If you hit your head, gasp, or become hypothermic, you won't be doing
any swimming. Anything you're wearing that is positively bouyant will
help. If it floats you face-up, so much the better.

But the only "automatic inflation" device of whose certain operation I'm
confident is the mechanism whereby the gases of decomposition float a
drowned body.
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I have one that I wear in my canoe and floatplane without the
automatic feature. If I get knocked out I'm out of luck but I wouldn't
wear a normal life jacket so it's better than nothing. I have tested
it and it gives more floatation than a normal life jacket and keeps
your face well above the water.

>
>I currently use a Baltic brand bouyancy aid, but it is uncomfortable
>to wear (too warm on a warm day) - and awkward because it prevents me
>from accessing pockets. (I like to wear a fishing vest (gilet) with
>multiple pockets). So I'm thinking about getting an automatic
>lifejacket - partly because they don't cover you up so much in their
>uninflated state, and partly because I'm not much of a swimmer. Does
>this make sense? Are these suitable for canoeing? If so, can anyone
>offer any tips on selecting one (preferably low cost, since budget is
>tight).
>
>I use a 14-foot open canoe in large inlets, and on the sea, close the
>the shore. I'm not much of a swimmer.
>
>Thank you..
>
>Al D
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Al D wrote:
> My main reservations about bouyancy aids is that I'm not sure if
> they'd keep one's mouth and nose above water after one starts blacking
> out from exhaustion or dehydration or whatever...

In addition to the "better something above water than nothing comments", I
can think of two features which aid in the face up position:

headrest float - a bit like a pillow attached at the back of the neck of the
PFD. These tend to be favored by commercial whitewater outfitters, but can
snag on ropes, fishing lines, and other useful stuff.

more buoyancy in the front - combined with a barrel shape, the body rolls
until the chest is up, and back, or heavy side down.
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Roger Houston wrote:
> Al D wrote:
> > I currently use a Baltic brand bouyancy aid, but it is uncomfortable
> > to wear ...
> >
> > I use a 14-foot open canoe in large inlets, and on the sea, close the
> > the shore. I'm not much of a swimmer.
>
> With all due respect, I'll just say that, in all my years as a public
> safety diver, I recovered the bodies of many people whose survivors said
> they WERE good swimmers. None of whom were wearing flotation, most of
> whom would have survived had they been wearing it. And our team, which
> included among its number some championship swimmers and military
> divers, had an immutable rule: nobody went near the water without
> flotation on. On. Not handy, not potential, but on.
>
> I wouldn't bet my life on an automatically-inflating flotation garment.
> If you haven't found a comfortable flotation device that's compatible
> with your vessel, paddling style and activities afloat, you haven't
> investigated enough alternatives.

I came across this thread, and my first thought, was "fish hooks and
inflatable"!

The terms don't mix to well, especially if you do not check the PFD
everytime you go out. They are easy to just put on thinking you will
be able to depend upon it when needed!

Murphy says, when you need it the most, it will have a hole in it! TnT
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