There are a number of circumstances when a personal flotation device may be given to you. This could be allocated to you for a charter or perhaps while undertaking a sporting activity. It is important whatever the situation though that the correct equipment is used and the equipment is in a serviceable condition to perform its purpose.
So the Purpose:
A buoyancy aid is a flotation device that is not designed to save your life, it is designed to aid in your buoyancy. It is very useful to have a buoyancy aid while wake-boarding, water skiing, dinghy sailing paddle boarding and canoeing, any activity that may have an individual going in and out of the water. The buoyancy aid will do as is says it will aid in your buoyancy allowing you to move and swim and do the activity in the water. Usually a buoyancy has 50 newtons of buoyancy which is additional help to you while in the water. It will not act in the same way as a life jacket. A lifejacket will usually be a minimum of 150 newtons of buoyancy.
A lifejacket is designed to make sure you are kept afloat on your back and that your head is held up out of the water. It is designed to achieve this without any effort from the person wearing the lifejacket. It is difficult to swim and move around in the water while wearing a life jacket because it is trying to keep you in the position described above.
Both the buoyancy aid and the life jacket must be fitted to you correctly to enable it to work properly.
Life jackets can be the large foam type that constantly have the buoyancy in them. These are a little harder to stow and dramatically reduces your ability to perform duties or move around a vessel while wearing one. The newer design inflatable life jackets are very comfortable to wear to the point that you can easily forget that you are wearing one when not inflated.
It is important though to know the components within the life jacket and how to check them. Not all life jackets have an automatic inflation device. Some of them are manually activated only. Not all of the life jackets will have a light or a thigh / crouch straps. The thigh or crouch strap will ensure the lifejacket does not come off over your head as it inflates when you are in the water.
Items to check:
• Serviced within 12 months
• Automatic inflation system
• Cylinder condition
• Manual inflation system
• Oral inflation tube / Deflation
• Light
• Reflective tape
• Whistle
• Fitting correctly / crouch clips in good condition
When fitting the life jacket it is important to have the strap around your middle tight enough but not too tight. You should be able to get your fist in between the straps and your solar plexus. If you remove layers of clothing then you must adjust the fitting straps. Apart from the checks that you do personally the lifejacket should be serviced annually by a certifying agent and the manufacturers guidance on servicing and maintenance should be adhered too.