Seafoam
2014-04-25 16:35:23
Can we get out of buying new hydrostatic releases every two years? I know the old ones still work, I test them by lowering them over the side. I hate to continually buy such equipment if there's a better solution. I've seen cradles or cages for EPIRBs and liferafts that hold them in place as long as the boat is upright and floating. Do any of you know if these cradles are acceptable under Coast Guard regulations? I could try to devise one myself. Or if there are Coast Guard approved ones for sale, I would get one and never have to waste time, money and resources on another disposable hydrostatic release.
akfish1
2014-04-25 16:50:26
Every inspector is different but the one I had in Juneau was very courteous, reasonable and informative. Best way to find out is get a dockside inspection and if it doesnt pass they will come back to reinspect. Might as well get used to it since it looks like they will be mandatory soon.
F/VNightingale
2014-04-26 06:28:44
A boat I longline on has an aluminum cradle for a 6 man life raft. As this boat gets inspected every year in Juneau, I assume it's up to standards. After the raft has been repacked, we simply slide it into place in the cradle and shackle the painter line to the base. A simple and effective solution that isn't, as you said, wasteful.
On a side note, we popped a liferaft from the 80's open on the docks in Pelican a few years ago. Worked perfectly. I chowed down on the coconut biscuit rations that were inside. Pretty good stuff!
Seafoam
2014-04-27 04:20:09
It seems that there would be a market for EPIRB and liferaft cradles if someone could manufacture and sell them for three or even four hundred dollars. It wouldn't take too long for them to pay for themselves. The hydrostatic releases that we are required to replace every two years cost around $120. I suppose there would be some liability issues that have to be factored into the price. Do you know if anyone out there is selling these things? My dockside inspection is due pretty soon. When I renew it I'll ask the Coast Guard guy what he knows about it, and pass it along here.
Trnaround
2014-04-28 17:20:46
These issues of expiration dates are very expensive mainly because the frequency of expiration is so short. That goes for rafts,flares and hydrostatic releases. We as the consumer have to bear the cost. Soon it will be mandatory to make these purchases as directed by Coast Guard regulations. Somewhere between the manufactures and the Coast Guard there has been an agreement that these dates are ok. I think we should question these expiration limits. Who decides? It is a simple collection of data to determine the optimum time. Data can be gathered by the re packers at the time of service and the releases and flares can tested at the manufacture's exp. dates to determine in reality the safe time to replace them. We are just throwing them away anyway. It would make sense, to me that the Coast Guard should gather this data and analyze it as a service to the boating public. After all these cost are being mandated by the regulators, how about a little help? Just my opinion.
curmudgeon
2014-04-28 21:07:01
The below came up in a discussion about stock-market regulations, but it seems to apply nicely here:
"More regulations cannot fix a problem caused by regulation in the first place." -- Dr. Keith Weiner