If I was going out in the pacific/atlantic on a regular basis I think a life raft is smart. I am considering one for my boat on the great lakes.

Here is a website that discounts them.
http://www.wmjmarine.com/marine-safe...-liferaft.html

Wannabe

In most "boat went down stories" they all seem to be: 1. shocked a boat of xyz size went down and 2. surprised how fast it happened mostly in a matter of a few short minutes.

Now in a fast boat (narrow beam, chance of impact damage higher) I would suspect steps 1 and 2 happen faster than if in a larger cruiser/sportfish.

Some NFL players got in trouble off the west coast of Florida a few years back in a Everglades CC (unsinkable) but the boat did capsize and the bulky players had hypothermia related dementia and simply let go.... The guy that lived survived by staying on the hull (out of the water). I believe they got an anchor stuck 30+ miles offshore and rather than discard the anchor as a lost cause they tied it to the rear cleat and tried to power it out. Anchor did not dislodge but when the throttle was pulled back rapidly the rope acted as a rubber band and pulled the transom under water causing the capsizing. Sad 3 guys lost their lives over an anchor (maybe $50 or $100).

That Revere is the one I first ordered....but the place I ordered from didn't have it (and said it was discontinued). Anyway, the REVERE show here only has ONE air compartment. The Viking has two. Yes it is cheaper and smaller than the Viking I picked above.....but there is a reason for that. I think the Viking duffle bag I got is about 50 pounds....the Revere is about 20.

I like your style Nort. Smart move especially if you have kids with you.

Done that Catalina trip a number of times myself when I lived out West, it can get a bit rough out there sometimes too.

Dang it Nort! Now I got another thing to worry about.

I've made solo trips to Catalina and never worried about sinking, or even breaking down for that matter. It might have something to do with having a slow stock powered boat that is super reliable.

Are you using that on the Formula too? Will you stow it in the cabin? Although it is not huge, it looks like it will still take up a fair amount of room, especially in a smaller cabin boat.

Also, if in the cabin I wonder if you would have enough time to grab it and get it out of the boat?

I thought about getting a small rubber dingy and lashing it to the swim step. That way when you get to the island you have one you can get to shore with and I guess it could double as a life raft. May have to give that more thought when I get my next boat.

liftraft and an epirb, vhf radio capable of transmitting gps data.

the last is a cheap option that will get the coast guard right on your location quick.

I bought one few years ago for the cig and it fits under the back seat.
i wouldn't stow it in the cabin on the cig since if you were to have an electrical problem you might not be able to open the cabin door, plus the fact if you are in a position to need the raft you probably don't want to have anyone going down into the cabin

i hope i never need the raft but sure am glad that i have one