Re: [Paddlewise] One man life raft or super paddle float

From: <JCMARTIN43_at_aol.com>
Date: Sun, 17 Oct 1999 16:51:46 EDT
Gary wrote, "question...  How does one rig up a CO2 cartridge to the inflation valve?  Inflating by mouth is a bit slow.  It did not come with instructions and I don't know the military manual number."

Have had about 30 years working with and testing water survival systems, and if this raft did not come equipped with a threaded bronze fitting for a cartridge and an inflation toggle --- along with specs for the cartridge --- it was not designed to inflate by a cartridge device, Gary.  There's no viable way to retrofit a cartridge to a orally inflatable raft, nor is there a safe way to figure out which size cartridge to install, anyway.  Without that, you have a neat water toy there --- not a survival system.  I wouldn't depend on it for serious rescue scenarios, from the sound of it, and I'd be really hesitant in connecting it to myself with a tether long enough to foul on anything else in the boat, as well.

Suggest testing it in real but controlled conditions, at the very least, Gary.  (You can't assume a raft will remain functional by inflating it to normal pressure and leaving it in a static state --- has to have the weight of your body in it and the dynamics of waves to really prove out its survivability.)

Jack Martin



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Received on Sun Oct 17 1999 - 13:53:05 PDT

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