 Life Raft or Inflatable Dinghy in the North Atlantic?
Hi,
I have just purchased a new 21' open boat that will be used in Newfoundland no more than three or four miles offshore. The boat is a traditional trap skiff, made of wood, and we are installing a 14HP Yanmar diesel engine.
I am working through what I need in case the unthinkable happens and we get into serious trouble. The water here is extremely cold. For emergency communications, I am installing a fixed mount Icom M604 radio and will also have a handheld Icom M 36 radio and handheld Garmin GPSMap 78s on board. The Garmin will be connected to the Icom fixed mount radio. I am setting up a ditch bag which will contain the usual safety gear - flares, strobe light, the handheld radio, etc.
Normally, there will not be more than four people on board, although occasionally there may be as many as six. I am trying to decide what to do about a scenario where the boat floods (given the wood construction, I doubt that it would actually sink). In that scenario, I am really, really not interested in being in the water - there are far too many deaths here due to hypothermia. I am considering an inflatable life raft packed in a valise or hard case or an inflatable dinghy that would be towed (unless there is a dinghy on the market that packs very small and that can be inflated in a big hurry). I don't think that survival suits, which would have to be stowed somewhere, which require experience to don and which are quite expensive for top quality, are a realistic option.
I am fairly confident that if we can keep out of the water and have a way to communicate with other boats and the Coast Guard, we would get picked up within two or three hours at the outside.
I would appreciate thoughts on a life raft vs. towing a dinghy and any other suggestions. A dinghy, which would seem to be the less expensive option, would be towed at not more than 6 or 7 knots, which is the hull speed of the trap skiff.
Thanks.
Last edited by redge; 07-20-2010 at 08:35 AM.
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