thirdchildhood

iTrader: (6)

Ditto on that. I strongly encourage all passengers to vest up and make sure I have vests on board to fit all guests. There are times I'll go without and take a reasonable risk. If in any kind of group run where there is pressure to keep up, everyone must vest up. If someone hesitates then I just tell them that I will not go fast if everyone is not vested and holding on properly. My boat is small but if it were bigger there would never be a group of people standing all over it as if they were riding the subway.....

Oh, I ALWAYS use the lanyard. There is no reason not to.

Tom A.

Vests 100% of the time on poker runs.

Casual boating not so much but if we run hard, then yes. I admit I need to start wearing them more.

I always wear the kill switch lanyard.

One other note. I have 5 sit down bolsters which means everyone in the boat has a seat and it is designed to help keep you in place. It does limit the socializing aspect of my boat but it also limits (in a good way) how people can sit while running. I look at that Fountain video and it just shows how unsecure people really are in the boat even in a stand up bolster.

drejustice

I require them for everyone on board anytime we are going to be running hard or conditions warrant. Example. We recently participated in a fun run and there was not life jacket requirement for the "event" since it was informal and no one paid to attend. We still put on our lifelines and I saw that about 1/4 of the other boats involved also had occupants wearing various types of life vests. Later in the afternoon when we were doing more relaxed speeds with calmer water conditions and not cruising in such a big crowd, we did not. I make the decisions based upon a variety of factors.

glassdave

iTrader: (1)

When i first got the Donzi i was doing a poker run here in the Erie Islands and was running for the front of the pack pretty hard. Had a full boat and looked back at one point only to see most barely in the boat and a few faces of terror (for lack of a better word). Never again after that, i just was not paying enough attention and thankfully learned a lesson the easy way that day. We sometimes joke about it in that i accidentally slipped into "race mode" but i really took it to heart and added it to my mental check list.

RIPJIVE9311

I have been boating for 35 years and have not had an accident and like to think it is due to staying in my ablity and my boats but after joining this site and seeing some incedents on video I am also going to learn the easy way and take all this with me to the water and be even more dilligent and carefull out there.I have always said a day on the water can go from fun to tragedy in seconds but my thoughts were mainly the drowning aspect but as I said I will bring all this with me now.

huskyrider

iTrader: (1)

We wear our jetski vests or PFD's when the cruise speed will be 45 plus and when the lake chop is rough or our prevailing offshore seas are 2's and 3's or more in the speed boat.
In the fishing boat we wont put on PFD's till we see some 3's and 4's cause we move much slower, and if the sets are bigger or we have a high prevailing wind we wear them while fishing too.
I always wear a jetski bracelet style lanyard, it's comfortable, and like a seatbelt, once your accustomed to it you don't even notice it.
I love my ski vest and have taken a little ribbing sometimes 'cause I forgot I had it on after we anchored. I also like the way it helps with the sun while fishing offshore.

It's really good to see a thread like this, I'm more than certain every member here has been tossed around a boat a time or two in their life, even when conditions were far from snotty.

See ya,
Kelly

JohnAT

A friend of mine, and a member on here POWERPLAY J will not leave the dock without everyone having one on. We started wearing them all the time a few weeks ago. My wife made the case that if someone runs up to race, are we going to stop and put on our vests first. She made a good point, it has happened many times before, another boat rolls up or your buddy wants to run, its on like Donkey Kong. We would wear them when we went out knowing we were going to play. Now I lay them on the back of the seat to put on before I even fire it up. Makes my wife feel more secure when we are running. Having been involved in Motorsports, and mechanical things in general. You never know when a part will fail, it just made sense to us to be prepared if something would happen.

n20michael

I told my little niece from the first time I took her boating (age 4) that she HAD to have her jacket on BEFORE she stepped off the dock, and couldn't remove it until she was back ON the dock, she is 8 now, so, we spend a lot of time anchored and swimming, so, she takes it off for that, but, the minute we start hauling up the hook, she gets that jacket on!

I have always worn a jacket, slow, fast, calm or rough. The way I see it there is NO downside to wearing one, but, a lot of bad things can happen if you don't wear one.

Strangely, it's been my experience that it's the ladies that prefer not to wear them more then the men?

88242LS

Won't lie we don't except for certain circumstances, the bar for "certain" circumstances has changed for the better thanks to the Fountain video

TylerBurich

Wow!.. Shocked at some of these responses. I haven't put a jacket on since I bought the 311. I think it's time for a change.