Life Raft Re-Certify vs. Purchase…What To Do?

After buying our second sailboat in early 2018, we knew immediately that we would have to re-certify or update the aging valise style life raft that came with the boat.  In doing my research, I was surprised to find out that trying to get the older valise style life raft re-certified would be nearly as expensive as just buying a brand new life raft.  This was a shock but we knew that we wanted crew for the 2019 Baja  Ha-Ha….so we would need a bigger life raft anyways.  Our boat neighbors with a family of four were going to crew for us….meaning we would need at least an 8-person life raft.

But before I go further, a quick discussion about why boats have (or should have) life rafts on them.  My discussion centers around non-commercial cruising or racing boats that will be going further offshore than lifesaving services can assist them….like out of sight of land or into waters that won’t allow for easy rescue.  Most cruising boats we have ever known have some form of life raft or have designated a dinghy to be the life raft.  Like one of our friends who used their Portland Pudgy as their life raft….which it’s designed to do.  Life rafts are essential gear for oceangoing boats or ships to be used in emergency lifesaving conditions, but they are also often used when rescue is needed but oceangoing ships or other boats cannot safely transfer people between boat or ship due to unsafe conditions.  Often the Captain or Master of the rescuing ship will request that a life raft be deployed for safe personnel transfer, so that one or the other boat doesn’t put the people in danger between or against hulls or rough conditions.

But I digress.  In doing my research, I learned there was a company in Long Beach, Ca where we could go to look at different types of lifesaving gear and life rafts, allowing us to touch and feel the equipment and talk to experts before we spent a money on the raft.  One Saturday morning, we did the trip up to Long Beach to visit Avalon Rafts…which carries survival gear and re-certifies rafts.  We had an appointment, but they had clearly seen enough cruisers with families…..they told the kids to just go climb inside and among the rafts and we chatted about what we thought we needed.     

As it turned out, we still thought we could get our old life raft re-certified but they confirmed it would be cheaper to just buy a new one. They also made us realize that a slightly larger raft would be best.  We ended up buying a Revere Survival Offshore Commander 2.0 life raft that came with a deck cradle and a waterproof case.  I would end up making a custom cover for the life raft and it would sit on Tulum’s deck, never needed by us….Thank God.  

But this life raft story isn’t over yet.  Before we left in 2019, we were determined to see if the old life raft would work, what was in it and give the kids a chance to board and get comfortable with a life raft while it was in the water.  So….we convinced our marina manager to allow us to inflate the old life raft in the marina pool and then we had the kids swim to it, board it and play in the raft a bit.  When the excitement was over, we deflated the old raft and threw it away….after saving some of the emergency supplies to put in our ditch bag.  Here’s the pics:

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