Can anyone tell me why the pleasure/High performance jackets are non USCG approved? Wont this get you a ticket when boating recreationally for having a jacket onboard that is not USCG approved if you get a dickhead of an officer that pulls you over for full safety?

You have to have USCG approved jackets for everyone on board, so I am assuming you need to keep an extra USCG jacket, even though your wearing a lifeline.

Just boggles my mind a little bit.

http://www.lifelinejackets.com/pleasure_jackets.cfm

As long as you have enough USCG jackets on board, you are good to go. You don't have to have them on, just on board and readily available.

Its my understanding that the Lifeline jackets aren't approved because they are a "custom fit" jacket that is made to order. So they would have to go through the certification process with each possible size jacket they could possibly make, which would be prohibitively expensive.

Could be wrong there though, its happened before.

It makes one shake their head to think that a ten dollar K-Mart type jacket is USCG approved but a three to five hundred dollar race jacket isn't, mean while which one would you rather have on if you had to ditch or were tossed out at speed?

I'd prefer mine with the optional drone chute. WooHoo!

It's because some politician is somehow not involved with this company.

I kind of wanted to imply the same thing because it always winds up having to pay someone to get a certificate of compliance or in this case a certification of U.S Govt. approval.
But I didn't want to potentially start a political thing here.
I remember reading a few yr's ago in one of the regular boating magarzine about the topic of using only USCG approved equiptment and it was found that in many cases during a survey that you will find that the equiptment on most U.S. Coast Guard boat will NOT be bearing the USCG approval stamp, and they weren't referring to their cooking utensels either. They were referring to safety items - electrical parts - fuel & engine component items for example, but i'm sure it was only in the national interest to save us tax payer a few dollars or due to availabilty issues. Yeah right, LOL!!

More like don't do what I do do what I say....Hummmm?

But i'll be the first to say that 99% of the time they are correct with their electrical - fuel components and ventilation requirements.....
Except mandating many things like carrying distress flare for example in a little ski or fish boat or risk getting a summons when they never ventures far from its docking area.

From what i understand another issue is that it takes to long to put on a Lifeline, you have the zipper,the leg straps,plus chest straps.
The ones that are certified usually have chest straps, I have been pulled over while wearing the lifelines and there was not an issue, but if you have them stored they probably won't count.
i also keep "legal" vests stored but wouldn't want to trust my life to one of them.

The early lifelines were uscg approved about mid 70s dont know why they stoped.

that's what i've been told

if i order one for me they would have to make a few more and send to USCG for certification then send me mine.

if you are boating in NY waters now til may 1 st you need to have a USCG approved PFD on when onboard. that law just went in to effect jan 1st

from nov 1 to may 1 everyone onboard has to have one on

I carry 6 USCG jackets on board @ all times, even when it's just me aboard, I use the lifeline when I won't to do some speed runs or for a shootout, also it goes on when the weather gets nasty. I have had coast guard inspection and they always complementd me on having so many jackets and always said the lifeline was the best one I personaly don't care if a paper azz hole puts there stamp on the best jackets out there if you have the coin spend it, 400 bucks is cheap for YOUR LIFE. And for everyones info lifeline is not the only jacket builder that has a zipper and legstraps, I fished in the BASS tour for years, and both my jackets had zippers and leg straps and were designed for 100mph use, I sold them about 10 years ago, I really wish I could remember what brand they were, they were USCG approved and both were blue and silver, hell they would have matched my boat...

We can get them at decent prices. Let us know.

[email protected]

Kirk