On Wed, Oct 14, 2009 at 4:00 PM, <rcgibbert_at_aol.com> wrote: > There is an inherent ingorance when people in authority try to make safer > people who participate in things the authorities have little knowledge of. > In a similar vein, some 30 years (or so, but who's counting?) lifejackets were not called PFDs and mostly filled with kapok which is a natural substance obtained from certain trees that can get waterlogged and lose buoyancy over time when exposed to water. At the time I was part of the crew of an off-shore drilling ship and flying by helicopter to and from the rig and wanted something better. This was also before the common use of "gumby" suits on helicopter rides over water to drill rigs. I discovered that Mustang had just created an effective flotation coat that was designed to keep a person alive somewhat longer in cold water and made a trip to Vancouver, B.C. to buy one. While it was very effective, it did not - then - have the USCG approval stamp on it and so it was not legal to use as a flotation device here in the USA. This inevitably led to my being reproached by a USCG officer for not having an "approved" lifejacket and, even worse, refusing to trade my Mustang coat for a kapok piece-of-crap. I compromised by putting the kapok thing over my float coat and then took it off immediately after he disappeared. But then I've always been a troublemaker. So it's not just those who are ignorant who are a problem. The law is the law and if it's not properly labeled, even if it's obviously a better product, it's not legal and under these circumstances any bureaucrat worth his (or her) salt will say, "no". The kapok lifejackets, by the way, are standard aboard ferries and in lifeboats as well as aboard ships of every size. They are standard because they are way cheaper than the Mustang float coat. And they are approved by the USCG. If you go on a cruise or spend a lot of time on ferries you might want to think about this a bit. Craig Jungers Moses Lake, WA www.nwkayaking.net *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Thu Oct 15 2009 - 10:34:29 PDT
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