No one buys a life raft planning to use it while he or she is sinking with a ship or downing with an aircraft. About 90% of the rafts lost their lives without even coming out of their canisters or valises and never used while a disaster. But it doesn't means that liferafts are useless. Thousands of happy travelers, anglers, pilots, and sailors are alive today because they have their liferafts with them and they used it on time to save their lives.

For small boats and planes, operating in latitudes where hypothermia is an immediate survival threat for a crewmember in the water, the one-person life raft is appropriate. The smallest, such as the Plastimo Solo, weigh less than 10 pounds and come in a package about the size of a standard flotation cushion. It does not have all the necessary features to make them true life rafts but they can help a lot in a disaster. They often lack things like rubberized fabric construction, automatic deployment and inflation, a canopy for protection from the elements, a sea anchor, and water ballast for stability in rough conditions.

Larger boats and aircraft need larger survival craft. Four- and six-person life rafts are essentially larger versions of the one-person raft with additional features such as boarding ladders, flares, and room for survival rations. The largest inflatable life raft will be the eight-person versions. Rafts larger than the eight person versions are in the commercial category and primarily of interest to operators of charters boats and large fishing boats. It's difficult to carry them by an average yacht crew. It's better to have two smaller life rafts than with one big one even though the final cost will be higher but it will be easy to manage.

While considering the size of the life raft you need its important to know that the US Coast Guard, US Sailing (formerly the US Yacht Racing Union), and the Offshore Racing Council (ORC) all agree that the minimum space requirement for a life raft is 4 square feet per person. It implies that a four-person raft is only required to have 16 square feet of floor space, not a lot of room unless you have a crew of very small people. It's recommended to manage space required for each crew member. Buying a raft at least one size larger than you need will be helpful but remember an underloaded raft can be more vulnerable to capsize in extreme conditions. Make a final decision after reading the manufacturer's guidelines.

THE STANDARD INFLATABLE AS A LIFE RAFT

Liferafts are expensive, cumbersome, and downright ugly. Conventional inflatable boats can also be used as life raft. Even a large soft tail or a sportboat do just as well as a dedicated life raft. But they will not work for a commercial fisherman with a paid crew or if you carry passengers for hire in any capacity the Coast Guard will insist that you carry approved, registered, and inspected life rafts or if you race sailboats offshore, your sponsoring organization will insist you to have an authorized life raft.

A conventional soft-tail dinghy or sportboat, or even a RIB, kayak, or riverboat, all can make fine life rafts for 99.99 percent of the boating public. They won't have a real life raft's inflatable canopy, water ballast system, or sea anchors. But in coastal waters, where rescue is likely within a few hours, a canopy isn't necessary.

The inherent stability of an inflatable obviates the need for water ballast in anything less than storm conditions, and even if it does flip over. Most inflatables work nearly as well upside down. If you need a sea anchor, you can rig one from a bucket or a sail bag, but you won't want one if you're anywhere near shore.

One can use conventional boats as liferafts in three ways.

1.- The boat must have an automatic inflating device or it must be carried inflated-either towed behind or stowed on deck where it can be launched quickly and easily. If you ever need a life raft, it is unlikely you'll have time to blow it up.

2.- You must have an adequate grab bag containing everything you would need in an emergency.

3.- The inflatable must be large enough to carry the entire crew; you don't want your crew trying to decide who won't be coming along.

Inflatable boats offer an array of boating activities so they can easily be called as versatile boats. They can be even used sometimes as a wildly uncontrollable toboggan and an impromptu swimming pool; the kids can sleep in it like a camper.

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