Life rafts. AY puts them to the test

Most people buy life rafts without ever physically inspecting the 'real thing'. As part of our continuing series of gear tests, Australian Yachting has an experienced team of assessors test five offshore life rafts and the end results will surprise you.

A good life raft is an essential piece of life saving equipment for offshore sailors.  It’s also a major capital item that creates conundrums for sailors.  On the one hand, you’re never likely to need it and it has a set life span, so many would argue that the money you invest to get a quality raft will be lost.  On the other hand, should you ever find yourself in stormy weather stepping up into your raft, you’ll want the best one money can buy.  The reality for most sailors is somewhere in between—we want a well-designed, equipped and constructed raft that represents good value for money.

Do you really need a life raft?
For cruisers that are crossing oceans or large bodies of water, the commonsense answer is ‘yes’, but surprisingly—or not surprisingly if you know a bit about Australian legislation—each state has differing requirements when it comes to life rafts.  For example, Victoria requires a life raft, or dingy, for 12 metre and upward recreational vessels operating more than two nautical miles from shore. South Australia requires life rafts for 15 metre and larger vessels that are operating more than 10 nautical miles offshore.  New South Wales, Queensland, Tasmania, West Australia and the Northern Territory don’t require them at all on offshore recreational vessels—apparently, they have better swimmers!  

Against that legislative background, the National Maritime Safety Council recommends that all recreational vessels going more than two nautical miles offshore carry a life raft or dingy that is capable of supporting the weight of the occupants, even when swamped—but this is a recommendation only.  

Yachting Australia requires all category one and two race boats carry a life raft.  This requirement does not apply to any other category.

So, do you need a life raft?  It depends on where you live, the size vessel, the distance you go offshore, if you race category one and two, and how safety conscious you are.  Personally, if I were cruising up the coast, keeping 40 nautical miles or so offshore, I would feel very uncomfortable without a life raft on board—regardless of whether the state authorities require one or not.  

Part of the problem is the perception that in this day and age of instant communications, with vessels equipped with VHF and SSB transceivers, mobile and satellite phones, EPIRBs and GPIRBs, that we’ve deluded ourselves into thinking that no matter what happens, help is at hand.  The reality is that the ocean is a mind-bogglingly big place and a vessel can sink in a matter of minutes, even seconds; even if you’re able to send off a distress signal with an accurate position, you need to be prepared to sustain life for as long as it takes to be rescued.  Just as you should always stay with the ship, as it presents a bigger target for rescuers, you have a better chance of staving off hypothermia, surviving and being rescued in a life raft than you do in the water wearing a PFD.  For me, that’s a no-brainer.

Which life raft is right for you?
How does the average yachtsman know what represents good quality and good value in life rafts?  In an effort to answer that question Australian Yachting tested five offshore life rafts from major manufacturers and the results are quite interesting.

We invited six major life raft manufacturers to provide us with a six-person offshore life raft for testing that meets one or more of the following standards: Solas model, or; ISAF offshore appendix A part II compliant, or; ISO standard 9650 type 1 group A with service pack 1 (>24 hours) compliant.  The suppliers we invited to take part in the test were: RFD, Great Circle, Roaring Forties, Switlik, Winslow and Zodiac. Zodiac was unable to participate in the test as their ISO9650 life raft had yet to be released.

Whilst all of the rafts we tested met one of the above standards, there are still some significant differences between them in terms of design (both above and below water), construction, weight, standard and optional equipment, packaging options, ease of entry, stability and ease of righting.  

Our test criteria
We put each life raft through a range of tests.  Some tests, such as ease of launching, the time required to fully inflate and the time required to right it, could be timed and objectively assessed.  Other tests, such as ease of boarding (both from a platform and from the water), equipment, construction and closures, were more subjective.  

One thing we didn’t set out to measure, but we learned nonetheless, was how stable these rafts are in the water—as we had to tip each raft over in preparation for the righting test.  Some rafts were relatively easy to tip, others were extremely difficult.  If you read Rob Mundle’s book, Fatal Storm, you’d know that in the ’98 Hobart race many of the crews that took to life rafts race were flipped multiple times, which ultimately led to three fatalities among the crew of the Winston Churchill.  So whilst in-water stability wasn’t a formal measurement criteria, we’re going to share our observations.  

After our in-water testing, we inspected each raft’s construction, features, supplies, and asked questions of the raft’s representative.  Where possible, our assessors have rated raft’s features, such as construction, on a 1-5 scale with 1=poor, 3=average and 5=excellent.

In summary
As I said at the beginning of this article, a life raft is the one piece of gear that you hope never have to use, but if you do need it, you want the best you can afford.  We tested a range of life rafts and there were definite differences between the products presented.  Some had more or less ballast, more or less features and the results speak for themselves.  

Another thing we learned doing this test was how fragmented Australian requirements are with regard to life rafts.  Some states require them, others do not; the Federal government recommends them and YA require them for category one and two racing.  If you think that situation is fragmented, join the crowd.  Australian standards with regard to life rafts and PFDs are a mess—plain and simple.   

Few of us have unlimited budgets and so we have to make judgements about what represents good quality at an acceptable price.  Luckily, when it comes to life rafts we have some quality products to choose from.    

I want to thank the manufacturers who participated in our life raft test and our assessors.  There is no substitute for this kind of testing and we’re pleased to offer these tests as a service to you, our reader.  

Our team of assessors
We assembled a very experienced team of assessors including: two safety and sea survival instructors, Genevieve White and Murray Owen; the ’98 Hobart race winner, Ed Psaltis; circumnavigator, engineer and AY contributor, Andrew Bray, and; sailor, engineer and AY contributor, Ralph Skelton.  

Genevieve White: Accredited safety and sea survival instructor, Marine safety consultant, Owner: MarineSafety Works

Murray Owen: Accredited safety and sea survival instructor, Sailing school instructor, Owner: Kookaburra Sailing School

Ed Psaltis: Skipper and winner ’98 Hobart race, Businessman

Ralph Skelton: Engineer and AY technical contributor, Racing and cruising skipper

Andrew Bray: Circumnavigator, Engineer and AY technical contributor, Cruising skipper

Our assessors ranged in age from early 40’s to 70’s, both sexes and a wide range of physiques were represented.   

The results - here is what we found:

Switlik SAR-6 MK II

Switlik, which are manufactured in the United States, provided us with a 6-person, search and rescue life raft in a soft fabric valise.  Switlik have a contract to provide search and rescue rafts to the Australian Maritime Safety Administration (AMSA).  The rafts’s major features are: a convertible canopy, a toroidal stability device (their ballast bag design), a twin-tubed, boat-shaped hull, and their double-coated Urethene coated fabric.  Switlik rafts are represented by CNC Trading from Santa Barbara, California (e-mail: CNC.Trading@ATTGlobal.net) and the model we tested retails for $9,075.00 USD plus freight and GST. Servicing is provided by Australian Maritime Services, Pinkenba, QLD. 

The assessors were Ed Psaltis and Murray Owen.

Ease of launching: Murray and Ed rated the Switlik a 3.5 for ease of launching.

Time to fully inflate: The SAR-6 MK II took 15.3 seconds to fully inflate.

Ease of boarding (from platform): Both Murray and Ed found the Switlik very easy to board. This raft inflates with the canopy rolled back (see pic) providing a large open space for you to step into from either side.  Overall rating: 4.

Ease of boarding (from water): Our assessors were very impressed with how easy this raft was to board from the water.  Ed commented, “The step assist was very good, very solid and it made it easy to get in from the water”.  Murray agreed saying: “It has a very good entry step and handhold placement.  The entry is also wide in case you need to pull a crew member aboard”. Overall rating: 4.5.

Stability in water: The Switlik was the most stable of all the life rafts we tested.  We were unable to flip it in the pool in preparation for the righting test.  The toriodial stability device, i.e. ballast bags, holds an enormous amount of water and we had to ease the raft out of the pool in order to flip it.  According to Ed, “This raft’s continuous ballast bags were the best of all the rafts.  I imagine this raft would be the most stable of all the rafts in heavy seas and strong winds”.  Overall rating: 5  

Ease of righting: There was a bit of confusion on how to right it, but once they found the instructions (printed on the bottom of the raft) it was easy.  Time required: 7.6 seconds. Overall rating: 3.5

Equipment: The Switlik got high marks for equipment, which all seemed to be of a high standard.  Singled out by our assessors were the extensive signage, the high canopy (which provides easy access and can be used to ‘sail’ the raft) the inflatable floor (which keeps the occupants out of the water and provides protection from hypothermia) and the rain water collection system.  Overall rating: 4

Freeboard: The freeboard was rated as average.

Closures: Ed commented on the Switlik’s fine attention to detail: “I like the double arch structure and the range of options for closure”.

General comments: The Switlik is a heavy duty life raft that is used by AMSA for airdrops and it would be excellent for cruisers.

Great Circle Oceanmaster
Great Circle provided us with their 6-person Oceanmaster life raft that is ISO 9650 approved.   The main features of the Oceanmaster are the: insulated aluminimum composite cellular foam floor, the double buoyancy tubes of buytl rubber and the rip stop nylon canopy.  Great Circle life rafts are available from Bias Boating, Whitworths and Great Circle and the model as tested retails for $2,850.00.  The assessors were Andrew Bray and Ed Psaltis.

Ease of launching: Both assessors rated the Oceanmaster as good to launch.  Overall rating: 3.5.

Time to fully inflate: The time required to fully inflate the raft was 17.5 seconds.

Ease of boarding (from platform): The Oceanmaster was rated as average to good for ease of boarding from a platform.  Neither assessor had a problem boarding the raft, but Ed Psaltis noted that, “the canopy has a single entrance and it’s not as open as the other rafts tested,” which could be a challenge from a pitching boat. Overall rating: 3.5.

Ease of boarding (from water): Both assessors found boarding the Oceanmaster from the water required both a good deal of strength and dexterity. The raft is equipped with a ‘kneeling tube’ at the entry, rather than a ladder, thus you have to press your knees against the tube, grab the ladder and pull yourself upward.  On the positive side, there is a good internal boarding ladder. Overall rating: 3.

Stability in water: The Oceanmaster was one of the easier rafts to flip over in preparation for the righting test.  According to Ed Psaltis, the Oceanmaster would benefit from, “more ballast bags and a mechanism to weight them down so they fill quickly”.  

Ease of righting: Both assessors found the Oceanmaster easy to right.  The Oceanmaster was “very easy to right,” said Andrew Bray, “but you need to know the procedure first.  Once you do, it’s easy to follow”.  Time required: 5.2 seconds.  Overall rating: 5.  

Equipment: The Oceanmaster is equipped with a double layer thermal reflective floor.  Interestingly, it was the only raft of the five tested with an orange floor. Both assessors said the construction was fairly robust, but that the internal webbing was less substantial than the other rafts tested. The Oceanmaster received praise for its water catchment system. The raft is made from 3 layers of vulcanised rubber.  Overall rating: 2.5. 

Freeboard: The double tube system provided a similar freeboard to all of the other rafts.

Closures: The Oceanmaster uses a zip rather than tie closure system.

General comments: The Oceanmaster is “financially good value”.  It’s a good raft with standard equipment at an excellent price point.

Roaring Forties' ISO 9650 Type A raft

Roaring Forties provided us with a 6-person ISO 9650 raft. The raft is constructed of neoprene, it has two entries, an inflatable boarding ramp and the ballast bags are weighted for quick filling. Roaring Forties life rafts can be purchased from distributors across Australia (see http://www.safetymarineaust.com.au/aust_dist.html for a list of distributors) and the recommended retail price for the model tested was $4,269.00. The assessors were Ralph Skelton and Genevieve White.

Ease of launching: The assessors found the Roaring Forties raft easy to launch. Genevieve complimented it on the “rim around the canister that you can hold onto”. Overall rating: 4.

Time to fully inflate: The Roaring Forties raft took 17.5 seconds to inflate.
Ease of boarding (from platform): Both assessors found this raft easy to board. The opening is wide and the canopy is pulled back, providing a big target area.
Overall rating: 4.5.

Ease of boarding (from water): Genevieve was able to board the Roaring Forties without too much difficulty, but Ralph needed to be assisted. “I really struggled with this,” said Ralph. Genevieve agreed. “It was ok for me, but someone older, tired or less agile would find it difficult.” Both assessors agreed that the inflated boarding step needed to be lower and it would benefit from a ladder below it. Overall rating: 3.

Stability in water: The Roaring Forties was moderately difficult to flip over for righting.
Ease of righting: This raft was fairly easy to right once they had been instructed how. It would benefit for instructions on the bottom of the raft. Righting time: 5.2 seconds. Overall rating: 4

Equipment: The raft is round in shape with a double neoprene 3 mm closed cell foam floor. There are interior and exterior lights. Genevieve commented that the interior handles should be moved as they’re on top of the entry closures. There is standard interior lifeline, one inspection port and a manually deployed drogue.
Overall rating: 3.5

Freeboard: The double neoprene tubes give this raft a similar freeboard to its peers.

Closures: The closures were rated fine, but the location needs to be moved as noted previously.

General comments: This is a good, standard raft.

RFD ISO 9650-1
RFD supplied us with their 6-person ISO 9650-1 life raft, which is also ISAF approved and YA compliant. The RFD ISO 9650-1 is manufactured in Europe with some assembly and quality checks done by RFD Australia. The rafts major features are its: double chamber construction, radar reflecting stripes, insulated high density foam floor with heat reflecting foil cover and a water collection system. RFD life rafts are available from Whitworths, Bias and all RFD service centres. The life raft we tested retails for $4,581.50. The assessors were Genevieve White and Ralph Skelton.

Ease of launching: The assessors found the raft easy to launch. There was a slight problem with the inflation of the canopy support, which was hindered by the way this canopy top had been packed, but once the canopy top was untangled the support inflated fine.

Time to fully inflate: The RFD fully inflated in 18.3 seconds.

Ease of boarding (from platform): Both assessors found boarding this raft from a platform quite easy as the raft inflates with the canopy top rolled back half way providing a wide target area for stepping in. Overall rating: 4.5.

Ease of boarding (from water): Both Ralph and Genevieve found the RFD a challenge to board from the water. According to Genevieve, “The stepladder was slightly too short and it folds slightly, which is a common issue with semi-rigid life rafts. There is a good handhold inside, but it still requires some strength and agility. It would have benefited from an internal webbing ladder”. Overall rating: 2.5.

Stability in water: The RFD life raft was “very difficult to flip over for the righting test, which is very good,” explains Genevieve.

Ease of righting: The RFD was the easiest rafts to right. Ralph Skelton explains “It is very, very easy. With the canopy inflated it is essentially self-righting. The only reason it took a while was that each time we tried to flip it, it would effectively push itself upright.” Time required: 15.5 seconds. Overall rating: 5.

Equipment: The RFD’s equipment was tied in below the entrance and under the bladder so it didn’t interfere with boarding. Included was a repair kit, a water collection bag with hose (that attaches to the canopy roof), a good knife in scabbard and a manually deployed drogue. Overall rating: 4.

Freeboard: The freeboard was rated as average.

Closures: Genevieve rated the closures highly. “They were Velcro and elastic so no dexterity is required and there’s no chance of ties getting caught,” she explains. Ralph thought the ties looked good, but that they might be difficult to open and shut from inside the raft. Overall rating: 3.5

General comments: The outer tube is 1100 PVC Desitex (inflatable boat material) and inner is extremely flexible and difficult to puncture except with a very sharp object. Puncture repairs are easy and the patented self-activation canister—requires no strength to fire the canister. The corner ballast pockets are weighted to ensure they fill quickly. The RFD, according to Genevieve, is a “good basic racing raft, a good allrounder”.

Winslow Global Star
Winslow provided us with a 6-person Global Star life raft approved to ISO 9650-1. The Winslow comes equipped with a tripod arch, boarding platform, double insulated floor, interior and exterior lights, an automatically deployed drogue and a water collection system. Winslow life rafts are available from Wiltrading P/L (www.wiltrading.com.au) and the raft as tested retails for $4,198.00 AUSD including canister and cradle. The assessors were Murray Owen and Andrew Bray.

Ease of launching: The Global Star was rated as average in terms of ease of launching, though it was noted that this raft is noticeably heavier than several of the other rafts due to the amount of standard equipment the raft has. Overall rating: 3.

Time to fully inflate: The Global Star took 37.3 seconds to fully inflate. Whilst this is the longest of all rafts, it was noted that the raft floor, tubes and boarding ladder inflated on par with the other rafts. The tripod arch canopy was slower to inflate, thus the longer overall time. Overall rating: 3.

Ease of boarding (from platform): Both assessors found the Global Star easy to board. There is a wide target area and the canopy is rolled back to the middle arch, providing easy access. Overall rating: 4.

Ease of boarding (from water): The Global Star rated the highest of all the rafts in terms of ease of boarding from the water. The inflatable boarding platform, the ladder under the raft and the ladder across the interior rated highly with both assessors. Overall rating: 5.

Stability in water: The Global Star was one of the most difficult rafts to flip in preparation for the righting test. This raft is equipped with a 220 litre ballast system that is wire reinforced and weighted to ensure quick opening. Overall rating: 4.5.

Ease of righting: Both Andrew and Murray found the Global Star easy to right. Time required: 6.7 seconds. Overall rating: 4.5

Equipment: The Global Star was the best equipped life raft in terms of standard equipment, edging out Switlik, which came in second. Interestingly, both rafts are designed so they can be sailed. Particular equipment items on the Global Star that came in for praise were the webbing system, signage, storage pockets, self-deploying drogue and spare drogue, interior and exterior lights, radar reflector, EPIRB, a laser flare and an inflatable floor. Overall rating: 5

Freeboard: The freeboard was similar to those of the other rafts. The tubes are a hard wearing yellow neoprene that is resistant to UV, oil and fuel.

Closures: The closure systems on the main canopy, rear door and observation ports are sure-seal closures with heavy-duty zippers.

General comments: Both assessors rated the Global Star highly. Genevieve sums it up, “It’s a raft with it all—great construction and great features. Perhaps overboard for racing, but great for cruising where weight is not such a consideration”.