Liferaft Rentals

Here are my views on life support equipment rentals.

I often recieve calls or e-mails asking if I rent or know anyone who rents liferafts. I do not endorse or participate with any liferaft rental companies and here's why.

1. Most companies that rent liferafts are not bound or required to have the liferaft re-inspected after they are returned from a renter. What that tells me is, when you rent a liferaft, you could very well be the tenth or twentieth renter of that liferaft since it's last repack inspection. I often use the rental car analogy, we all know that we don't treat a rental car the same as our own. Let's say that the liferaft you rent has ten renters ahead of you. All it takes is one of those renters to mishandle that liferaft to make it un-reliable. Mishandling of a liferaft can include, burying it under luggage, placing it in the same compartment as the oils and fuel testing equipment, and dropping the liferaft on the ground. All of these mishandlings can cause a condition called porous leaks. A porous leak is a condition where the liferaft material is weakened (due to the above mentioned mishandlings) and pressurized air will seep through the material, sometimes in large areas. Worth note: A pin hole leak can be repaired on a liferaft, but a porous leak cannot be repaired and will condemn the liferaft.

2. There are no federal requirements for a repack cycle on a liferaft. When you purchase a liferaft, the liferaft manufacturer will place a recommended repack cycle on the liferaft. Because the liferaft renter is not required to have the liferaft inspected every year, they can and probably will, waive the recommendation and stretch it out as long as they wish. Recommendation: If you do rent a liferaft, ask the renter if the liferaft is vacuum packed. A vacuum packed recommended cycle is three years, and if the liferaft is damaged, the vacuum packing material will appear loose and partially inflated.

3. Liferaft renters usually carry the lowest priced liferafts, which may not carry the features required to save your life. For instance, if you are planning a Alaska or Trans-Atlantic trip, the liferaft you rent may not be suitable for the conditions you will encounter should you ditch. A liferaft with no canopy and no insulated floor under these conditions will only prolong your misery for a few extra minutes. (See "Hypothermia in the Gulf?")

Advantages of owning your own liferaft:

  • Knowing the repack history.
  • Knowing the features of the liferaft (canopied, inflatable floor, vacuum packed, etc.)
  • Knowing what equipment is carried in the survival equipment container and having the flexability to add special need items).
  • Allows you carry the liferaft at all times for overwater or land (makes an excellent tent and carries extra survival equipment).
  • Savings from exuberant hazardous materials shipping charges. 
  • Keeps you from having to stop at pick-up and drop-off points.
  • After three to four rentals, you could have paid for your own liferaft.
  • Peace of mind.

 

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