04-22-2020, 07:49 PM
Everyone go check your inflatable life jackets. I had a real brain fart. I bought a boat a couple years ago that came with 3 Inflatable life jackets, As well as several regular vests. One Inflatable was out of the package and the other two were brand new still in the plastic. I never owned an inflatable jacket before but liked the idea of wearing one since they are not cumbersome at all like a normal Vest. So, I pulled one of the new Inflatables out of the package and started wearing it. I wore it every trip last year. Well, I was talking with my father in law and he said we should check the Vests because you need to change something out every few years. I did a little research and found that the Bobbin needs to be replaced at least every three years and more if you use it regularly. Well, I opened up the vest that I wore all last year to look and the air cartridge wasn't even threaded into the actuator. Apparently I was supposed to do that when I took it out of the package. That was totally my fault and i should have known better. The other vest that was already out of the package when we bought the boat had the air cartridge threaded into the actuator but I could see that the red warning indicator was out. I unthreaded the cartridge and it had a hole in it. I'm not sure how it had a hole in it and never inflated the vest but it did. So, The moral of this story is to check your equipment and make sure everything is ready to go. I ordered new charging kits and will replace the Bobbins every year just in Case. Hopefully everyone else's Inflatables are good but I would be willing to bet that there are others our there that have issues that they don't know about.