Life Raft Care: Service Intervals, Hydrostatic Releases, Mounting and the Grab Bag

Intervals depend on the maker and model, so the label and the maker's literature are the final word:

• VIKING recommends servicing its RescYou recreational rafts every 3 years.
• Switlik says its newest compressed-air rafts are sold with a 5-year recommended interval. Marlin explains that compressed air avoids the temperature problems of CO2 and lets the owner check a pressure gauge before each trip.
• Compact coastal rafts that aren't vacuum-bagged need annual service and dry storage, according to the service-station owner Marlin interviewed.
• Older rafts were often on annual service; check yours.

Marlin notes many owners service more often than the maximum interval, especially when the raft lives on deck in the tropics. If your raft has been dropped, soaked, crushed or stored past its date, have it serviced now.

Service should be done by a station authorized by your raft's maker. VIKING, for example, lists more than 280 authorized stations worldwide and issues a service certificate and logbook entry at each service; makers' websites have station locators. Ask for a written report and the new service date label.

Practical Sailor reported a cautionary case from 2000: a former authorized repacker in Rhode Island was cited by the Coast Guard after rafts he "serviced" were found missing survival equipment, and in at least one case the raft had been replaced with an old sail. Use a station the maker currently lists and, if you can, be there when your raft is opened.

Both PassageMaker and Marlin suggest booking a time to watch your raft inflated at the station. You'll see how to launch it, right it if it inflates upside down, board it from the boat or the water, and where the knife, sea anchor, heaving line and other gear are kept. Stations may have used rafts for training, but PassageMaker quotes a technician who warns against inflating your own raft for practice. Bring the people who sail with you; the skipper may be the one injured.

VIKING describes its service as opening the container, disconnecting the inflation system, inspecting and testing the raft, cleaning and repairing the shell, updating the logbook, repacking and sealing, and relabeling. PassageMaker lists items stations inspect: floors, seams, canopy, zippers, arch tubes, ballast bags, righting straps, inflation cylinders and the operating head. Marlin adds that CO2 cylinders can only be confirmed full by weighing them on a calibrated scale. Survival-pack items such as flares, first aid supplies, water, food, batteries and pumps also expire. Ask what was replaced and what the next due dates are.

• Valise (soft bag): lighter and usually stowed in a locker or lazarette. It must stay dry and protected from chafe.
• Canister (hard shell): made to live on deck in a cradle, usually with a hydrostatic release so it can float free if the boat sinks.

Either way, PassageMaker and Marlin's sources stress that the raft must be reachable and launchable in seconds. Marlin points out a raft mounted on a hardtop surrounded by tower pipes, on a foredeck with no rails, or behind an engine room or galley fire may be impossible to reach in a real emergency. A compact raft you can get to beats the best raft that goes down with the boat.

• Canister cradle: bolted through with backing, positioned so the canister can be launched over the side by hand and can float clear if the boat sinks. Keep halyards, rails and canvas from trapping it.
• Valise locker: choose one near the helm or companionway with an opening large enough for the bag even if it has swollen. Marlin warns that a leaking vacuum bag can make the raft too big to get out of a small opening.
• Protect the bag: grind or cover protruding screws and sharp fiberglass edges, and raise the valise off wet floors on open tiles or grating. PassageMaker quotes a technician who says never wrap a valise in a trash bag, because it traps humidity; valises need air.
• Keep it aboard: the same technician says rafts are built to stay on boats year-round. A basement or barn invites mice.

Before each season and before any offshore trip:

• Read the service due date on the label.
• Valise: open the hook-and-loop closure and look at the inner vacuum bag; PassageMaker says if it has puffed up, it has leaked and needs prompt service.
• Canister: look for cracks, damage, and bulging between the halves. A service station quoted by PassageMaker says it's happy to look at photos and tell you whether it needs attention.
• Check that the painter (the line that triggers inflation) is attached where the maker specifies, and that cradle straps, buckles and the release are intact and not corroded.

The hydrostatic release unit (HRU) cuts the cradle lashing when the boat sinks, so the canister floats free and the painter pulls to inflate the raft.

• Replacement interval: the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says most disposable HRUs have a service life of 2 years from installation and that the installation or expiry date is marked on the unit. PassageMaker also advises replacing hydro releases every 2 years and marking the in-service date. Some units are rated differently, so follow the date on yours.
• Right part: AMSA stresses that an HRU must suit the raft it's fitted to.
• Fit it right: the raft painter must go to the HRU's weak link, which breaks after the raft inflates so the raft isn't pulled down with the boat. AMSA warns that if the painter is attached wrong, the raft may not inflate or may not release. Straps should be taut but not over-tight; both too much and too little tension can stop the HRU working.
• Reusable HRUs must be serviced annually by the maker's authorized agent, according to AMSA.

Follow the HRU maker's installation drawing exactly, or have the service station or a rigger install it.

PassageMaker quotes a technician who explains that gear packed inside a raft on a 3-year service cycle can't be checked or tested, so keep your important equipment in a grab bag. Their list, and Marlin's:

• PLB or satellite messenger, as a backup to the boat's EPIRB
• Waterproof handheld VHF with spare batteries
• Prescription glasses and medications
• First aid supplies and sunscreen
• Warm clothing, water and food
• Flares (pyrotechnic or electronic) to guide rescuers the last stretch
• Copies of passports and IDs, some cash and a card

Keep the bag next to the raft or the companionway, and give one person the job of grabbing it.

Talk through, with everyone aboard, the order of events: Mayday call, beacon on, life jackets on, grab bag ready, painter secured to a strong point on the boat, raft launched to leeward, then boarding, ideally staying dry. Know who cuts the painter and when (only once everyone is aboard and the boat is truly going down), and where the raft's knife is. Our flooding and fire-escape guides cover the decisions before that point.

Log the raft service date, the HRU expiry, the grab bag's expiry dates (flares, batteries, medications) and your beacon registration renewal in one place. PassageMaker reminds owners that NOAA beacon registrations must be renewed every 2 years, and NOAA's registration FAQ confirms it (NOAA sends a reminder starting two months before the date). NOAA's form also has an "Additional Data" box that goes to search and rescue crews if your beacon goes off: note there that the boat carries a life raft, with its color and capacity, so searchers know to look for one. See our EPIRB and PLB guide.