| Safety Equipment for the Boat: Personal Floatation Devices |
From "Shipshape Boating"
episode DSSB-201 |
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The Coast Guard requires that all boat owners have at least one life jacket per person aboard. There are five categories of PFDs (Personal Floatation Device).
Five Classes of PDFs
- Type One class PFD -- or Offshore PFD -- (figure A) is a type of jacket that will always float you facing up if you were to be unconscious.
- Type Two class PFD (figure B) will slide over your head and strap around your waist and chest.
- Type Three class PFD (figure C), used by most water skiers, allows you to be more comfortable by giving you more movement in the arms. It's a thin, closed cell foam with a series of clasps that buckle around your chest.
- Type Four class PFD (figure D) is an approved floatation device by the Coast Guard and is mandatory for boats 16 feet or larger. You can verify that yours is Coast Guard approved by looking to see that it has a Coast Guard stamp on the seat (you could get fined if yours doesn't). This type of PFD is commonly used to throw out to persons that have fallen out of the boat.
- Type Five class PFD (figure E) is very simple and comfortable to use. Slip it over your head and either inflate it by blowing into the air tube or pulling a lever down on a CO2 cartridge, on the other side of the vest, which inflates automatically.
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