Boats are going in, 2024. R2AK rule changes.

FIRST IN!

2024 sailing season begins, as first boats in the water have already gotten in their first sail of this unpresidented high water year.

Take some time to inspect your PFD's

After watching this video on servicing a SELF INFLATING PFD, I figured it would be quicker, easier and infinitely more hastle free, to just order a new PFD and wait a day for Amazon to deliver it.
If you have a SELF INFLATING PFD, you should replace your BOBBIN on a regular maintenance schedule, as set forth in your PFD maintenance directions. Some say yearly replacements, some every 4 years. Check your own directions.

I like these self activating, out of the way, emergency lights on my PFD.

One last word of caution. If your PFD has a velcro closure system, rather than a zipper, the velcro is so strong that it sometimes only allows one side to inflate. I can't tell you how painful this is. It puts your head right on the opposite shoulder. This alarming scenario has repeated itself more than once. I have gone rounds with West Marine customer service over this dangerous defect and they just don't listen. I've taken to covering about 50% of the velcro surface with tape to reduce its strength, helping deployment of all inflateable bladders.

The interesting directions on the PFD's say to test functionality by jumping in the water. Sure that tells you if the system works, but then that begs the question, do I need to test it again to make sure the new bobbin and new gas cylinder and packing are all good? This sort of quality control could get expensive, and of course, go on ad infinitum.

How a bobbin works. The folks at West Marine, compare a bobbin to an Asprin tablet. If it gets wet (or even damp from sitting in a damp boat in the off season), it will dissolve, allowing the firing pin to activate the compressed gas cylinder.

O.K., so maybe you can tell I've got a thing about self inflating PFD's. I love 'em. I hate 'em. My last peave is with purchasing replacement bobbins. If you just need one bobbin for your own PFD, you have to purshase a package of 3 or 4. That gets expensive. But the best part is they are all stamped with an expiration date. If you purchase new bobbins in 2024, and they expire in 2028, your spare bobbins have expired by the time you need to replace that 2024 bobbin.

Who Knew?

Thanks to Bob Grieve for this totaly unknown factoid.