Buoyancy Aids in the US

Hi,

The F16 class rules say:
"The boat shall be equipped with a personal floatation device for each crew member to the minimum standard ISO 12402-5 (Level 50), or EN393 50N, USCG Type III, or AUS PFD 1."

Can I buy something like the Zhik Buoyancy Aid and use it for racing in the US?

Are there a lot of people using non USCG Type III gear?

What kind or risks are you taking if you don't wear the USCG Type III gear?

What are you wearing?

Thanks,
Todd Z
Falcon US203 - Angry Bird

Depends!

All US Sailing run events... require wearing of a CG approved PFD. CG = coast guard. Some vests were recently added to the list (don't remember off hand what they are though)

State and fed law require you to carry a CG PFD (and perhaps a throwable if 16 feet and up and you are an adult. (so you need the throwable as well)

When you go racing at other venues. the US Sailing Prescriptions enforce that legal requirement as a matter of the RRS ... so its just like a sailing rule.

If they say nothing in the SIs... you can put your CG PFD in the hull and wear nothing.

The SI's can up the standard to WEAR a xxx....
This could be the zhik Flotation aid... (FD) This allows you to be state legal and comply with the RRS by putting a CG PFD in the hull and wear the zhik. (the type IV is a PIA)

The SI's can up the standard to the US Sailing... ie WEAR a PFD. That means that an aid is not legal.... you have to wear a CG vest and the orange PFD you can buy for the hull is useless. (Did I mention that the type iv throwable is a PIA)

The US Sailing uber standard of Wear a CG approved PFD is tossed around by OA's and half the time I doubt they know the distinctions.

Now that you have a headache.... good luck!....

Oh... BTW... the CULTURE is probably... they take you out back and beat the tar out of you for filing a protest on a PFD or a type 4 throwable against someone . So... don't do that.....

The dilemma is... you are breaking the RRS if you don't carry the throwable and stuff the bright orange pfd in your hull while wearing your zhik. This one is about your conscience. There are no ways around this foolishness.

Now... if you want to go to a US Sailing event... they have been known to check... and toss sailors midway through a regatta... usually these are junior events. One example made seems to scare the hell out of the fleet and lots of pfd's get sold that way. Usually they announce the pfd check for these regattas a head of time.

(and you thought that was a simple question.....)

Gill has new USCG type III PFDs that I plan to check out. They are fashioned very close to the CE 50 newton cousins.

Mark is technically correct about the throwable. I would argue that when the rule writers made exceptions for kayaks and canoes regarding throwables, they were not familiar with beach cats.

Also, the practice of storing the classic Orange PFD in the hulls may not be legit either. I know of boaters that have been fined for storing their PFDs in the cabin berths with a PFD bag while underway. The argument was that the PFDs were not ready accessible.

Yeh, I need something I can throw to myself when I get separated while single handing.

Pete,
I thought I saw you said you were going to dust off the jib a little more this year. So maybe that strategy could work for you.

I guess I'll stick with my kayaking pfd for now and save the money.

Thanks for the answers.

I found a good crew but she has to work! Can you imagine? Work before sailing?!

I buy a lot of kayaking stuff, from http://www.nrsweb.com/shop/product.asp?pfid=2549. Those pants are the best value on the market imo. I have a pair that are five years old and can't tell them from the newer ones.

I have always wanted to get stopped by water patrol and asked if I had a throwable while singlehanding just to ask that question.

The answer that would make the most sense is if the Officer stated to aid in rescuing other not necessarily on my boat. I'd buy that.


I wear a Zhik, my normal crew wears a Zhik. If we were racing for money and someone protests me, and I'm scored a DSQ for all races I'd care. Up to that point, I don't really care if I'm DSQ'd, I know where I finished, you know where I finished, and we both know my PFD had nothing to do with it.

In super light air I usually take it all off anyway unless I'm looking for some more insulation for my skinny butt.

Yes... for the marine police... You would get a ticket for having nothing on and the pfd stuffed in the hull.

the orange pfd stuffed in a hull is the work around for those who want to follow the RRS and wear the zhik vest.

the fight is with the OA and PRO who feel compelled to tell you what you should be doing and put this in the NOR/SIs ...

(Kudo's to West River who removed this stupid requirement from their NOR this year's spring regatta.... I have challenged this each year... BUT.... The pumpkin patch regatta said this.
15. Safety
Each boat shall carry a towline of at least 20 feet in length. All competitors shall wear a USCG approved Type I, II or III personal flotation device. All catamarans must be staked down for the evening.

Why do the two NOR's from the same club differ so much... ? just one of those things.

BTW... Just fought this out with US Sailing.... They insist on setting the highest standard and hope the rest of the country will follow suit.. So.. their events require wearing a CG approved vest... and they seem to want to enforce it.

So... YMMV!

Perhaps if cat sailors stopped showing to races where the host insists on this, that they'll eventually allow stuffing a USCG vest in your hull and wearing a buoyancy aid. This is for the people competing anyhow, right? And if all else fails just get a manually inflatable USCG vest or waist piece and don't inflate it.

West Marine coastal manual inflatable belt pack. Listed as USCG Type III.

http://m.westmarine.com/aHR0cDovL3d3dy53ZXN0bWFyaW5lLmNvbS93ZWJhcHAvd2NzL3N0b3Jlcy9zZXJ2bGV0L1Byb2R1Y3REaXNwbGF5P3Byb2R1Y3RJZD05OTU5MSZjYXRhbG9nSWQ9MTAwMDEmbGFuZ0lkPS0xJnN0b3JlSWQ9MTExNTEmc3RvcmVOdW09NTA0Njkmc3ViZGVwdE51bT01MDQ3MCZjbGFzc051bT01MDQ4MQ%3D%3D#description

A little pricey, but hell, beat the system.

ah! ... nothing stops the OA from declaring inflatables are not allowed .... (just fought that battle)

its not the system... it's US... See my example above. Same club.... same discipline (cats).. back to back events with the winter in the middle.. ??? are you going to do..