Spring Safety Checklist- Life Rafts

Starting the safety check list on life rafts ..Do you have a life raft? If not you should consider it a purchase for your Spring Boating needs. You can expect to pay between $1200.00 for a very simple single tubed life raft and up to $6000.00 or more for a top of the line offshore life raft.  Always access your boating needs and trips to determine which new life raft will best suit them. Different life raft manufactures require different servicing intervals on each life raft so that may be a consideration during purchasing as well.
 When purchasing a new life raft remember to consider the number of persons on your boat most of the time and try to match that number to the person capacity of the life raft.
Purchasing a life raft can be a tough decision so let someone help you.


Servicing a life raft is super important to the life of the life raft as well as the functionality. I have written other posts on servicing a life raft such as this one and this one and the point is always the same ...If you do not service the life raft you are taking a big risk that the life raft will not function properly. In one of the posts I highlighted the importance of servicing because the batteries in the flash light became corroded and battery acid leaked out all over the rest of the equipment. The raft had not been serviced one time in it's 10 year life... That particular raft should have been serviced 3 times. 

I don't know about you but I would hate to be the first one in that life raft after struggling in a desperate situation just to find out I had no flash light, no first aid kit, and no flares thanks to leaky batteries.... Can servicing always guarantee a working raft so every one is spared from the worst, no but it can up the odds a lot. Remember being safe on the water involves a lot of factors and having the best equipment and knowledge are your best defense against a bad situation.

Here is a good quality Made in the USA Life Raft
The Switlik MD-3
Offshore Life Raft
ISO-9650-1 approved
6 Person capacity
$5190.00 in a soft valise
$5255.00 in a hard fiberglass container