Life Jackets - Do People Wear Them?
 

I hear a lot of talk about not putting passengers in danger. We have also seen from the LOTO video how fast things can go horribly wrong http://www.rightthisminute.com/video...ident-missouri). Yet, how many people here wear life jackets and require their passengers to wear life jackets, other than when required perhaps at some poker runs?

Anyone?

Michael

May I suggest a twist on this question, at what speed do the life jackets go on?

I have a self inflating jacket I wear all the time. I know its not the best but its the only one I knew I would ware. The kids all the time no matter what speed. Adults have there own choice but if I have people in the boat I am usually on my best behavior anyway and they always know where they are at. The wife will in my SuperNova but not in the John boat crabbing. I guess that says something. lol

fixx
 

he mark it does you no good when you have it tied around your ankels :lolhit:

My daughter wears hers all the time, from the time the boat is started until it is shut off. Me and the wife don't wear them, however I want to buy some that we can wear when out in big water. I have never participated in a poker run, but if/when that time comes regardless of the rules all passengers including myself will be wearing a jacket. I seldom ever run our boat over 50 mph. When I do it is for short bursts up to about 65 (boat is capable of low to mid 70s, but i dont stay in the throttle long enough to hit max capable speed). When i do run it hard, i do not do it while other boats are around. We dont race other boats, as we had a close call last year when running hard, it opened my eyes to relaize there was nothing to gain and everything to loose when racing... I always wear my tether. I know accidents can happen at anytime, so in this off season, I am going to invest in some quality jackets for myself and the wife.

We Always wear Lifelines in the Skater!

Always while on plane,passengers also.

depends on conditions, speeds, etc. A lot of it has to do with heat down here... If it's 95 and humid we are more likely to have heat related problems than a problem that would require a jacket.

Running hard yes... rough waters or busy waters the kids have to wear them.

Basically... it's up to me and my assessment of the situation at hand.

not all the time but over the last couple years as our boats have gotten faster within my group it is not uncommon to see them being worn pretty regularly when we take the faster ones out for a hard run. Not uncommon at all and its nice to see. It is also nice to see some level of restraint when we are out and vests are not on, throttles are kept in check.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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?

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

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.

I just posted a half hour ago on that thread that I really do believe a lot of good will come from the national exposure of the video. Yours is one example, mine was the fact that I have a rather long leash, which will be shortened next trip out, so I can stretch across the cockpit to reach the other side without pulling out and killing the motors. After watching that driver hit the deck so fast and hard while watching over and over I realized if I hit the deck like that my motors and drives would most likely still be running and engaged.

See ya,
Kelly

Short of spending $300 each on Lifelines, what do you guys wear for jackets in your 50-80 mph boats?

My kids have always wore them. My son is now 10 and we do not leave the dock with out it. I always wear the lanyard at all speeds and put the lifeline on if we plan to run hard. I too have been very lucky over the years with no serious mishaps. This video has opened my eyes that even speeds over 40mph should deem wearing a jacket. We all should do more to wear them. The local marine patrol down here has given us the thumbs up when heading out wearing our lifelines. I see many pics on here from events with people wearing no jackets. I am not comfortable with the cheap inflatable jackets for hp boats. I think they require lifelines. Be safe!

Everyone that ever rides on the boat puts a jacket on before we get on plane. Mustang MV5600 100mph jackets. http://www.machovec.com/catalog/mv5600.htm

http://http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2526/5...e10ca9bb82.jpg 1456993-T600450 by JordanPoppa, on Flickr

Most people can swim when they're conscious, have you ever met one who can swim while unconscious?

Think what your life is worth. The lifelines have more protection for injuries also. Get it!

Getting the dog to put hers on always leads to a confrontation :-)

Maybe if I threw her overboard she would reconsider :-)

The jet-ski style ones are better than what most wear, which is nothing. I have hit the water at 60 off a ski with one one and was fine. Over 80 would probably recommend the lifeline.

Those are nice, thanks for posting.

That brings up a good point, everyone has them on the boat but not on. Jump in the water and try to put on a life vest. Like I stated on the other thread its not just about flotation its the inch of foam that protects you body if you get banged around.

I did not used to wear one. But after all i have seen and been through, you bet your butt i wear a life jacket if running open water on plane at speed. No need to not werar it while blasting around. take it off when you idle you can look cool then. :)

+1, that's what I use. The 4600's are pretty much the same too.

This is for all of you who have kids. Something to think about.

Everyone always says "my kids wear them all of the time." Why? Answer-no one would want to have their kids perish on the water. Especially when a life jacket could help prevent the death.

Do you think your children would want you to perish on the water? Do you think your kids would want to grow up without Mom and Dad around? Why parents don't wear life jackets for THEIR CHILDRENS SAKE is beyond me.

Kill switch tether and Lifelines for all when on plane...always.

Once had someone ask if I knew how to swim.

Right now I am running my parents boat, a 17' Whaler with 70hp......I do not wear it onboard that boat, but I DO keep it in the storage compartment in case it is absolutely necessary. I was running in 2-4' waves coming back from City Island the other day and I made sure that my friend was holding on and safe, and that I kept the boat at a safe speed. One wave sent the boat hard down on my side (due to more weight from the battery, etc, and I stopped the boat and hooked up the kill lanyard.....just in case I was to be thrown from the boat. We got back to the dock safe and sound.

When it comes to poker runs, I ALWAYS have my life-jacket on as soon as I hop into the boat before the run, and take it off at the END of the run, in the no-wake zone heading back to the dock.

On my Chris Craft 23' Stinger, I will make sure there is a life-vest for every passenger onboard. I should install a kill-switch for the boat (1984 boat) and keep my life vest on while doing poker runs/running hard.

There are times where they absolutely need to be worn, and times when they don't have to be worn, but should.....after watching that Fountain accident video, I am more conscious of the safety of myself and passengers.

Well said, also, if YOU fly out of the boat and drown, or are fighting to stay afloat (in front of your kids) you would probably wish you had put on that jacket.

As I said earlier, There is NO "downside" to wearing one at all times.

All the time...religiously.

Never an exception! Before I get on plane the jackets and Kill switch tether are on.

Got a kill switch recommendation for an older boat?

life jackets are for *****s, I only wear them if i am messing around with mother nature in really rough seas, but i also have a slow boat compared to most people here.

Here you go: http://www.cpperformance.com/p-14468...ignitions.aspx