Life jacket question

[deltadukman]

Question. On a boat 16+ foot or larger, do you have to have your life jackets out in the open at all times or can they be in a hatch, consodering a throwable is out in the open and within reach? Having a debate with a few folks with differing opinions. This is not a COE body of water. Just plain public waters.

[Smoke68]

The short answer is that it depends on who checks you and what their interpretation is.

Speaking on my experience of bring checked, I was in a 1754 War Eagle that lacked severely on storage. For this reason, I stored the life vests packed tightly in the rear bilge. At the ramp, GW asked to see the appropriate number of life jackets. It took me 2-3 minutes to try and get them out of that tight space.

GW was not impressed, and I'll state the obvious: those life jackets were doing me zero good in that setup. He said that to be legal the jackets had to be readily accessible, not necessarily out in the open but can be used quickly. . Mine did not fit that description but he didn't write me up. He was MDWFP.

[Wingman]

The law says "readily accessible". Most of the time I see them jammed under all kinds of junk in a seat storage that someone is sitting on. I sometimes see them still in a package all wrapped up just as they came off of the shelf. Like Smoke said, it usually takes a while for folks to find them all or get them out. I always ask folks how long would they have before they drowned? If you gotta search all around in every compartment to find your life jackets for a random check, you're screwed in an emergency.

[matador1]

I went through this last year during a check and the officer was lenient. What we do now is hang them from the center console bar and the bimini top frame so they are not only accessible but visible to the eye. I know that's harder on a small boat but not a bad habit to get into.

[greenheadgrimreaper]

After I take mine off to start fishing, I buckle it onto the back seat. That's a little off topic, but I wanted to make it clear that I'm righteous like that.

[deltadukman]

I went through this last year during a check and the officer was lenient. What we do now is hang them from the center console bar and the bimini top frame so they are not only accessible but visible to the eye. I know that's harder on a small boat but not a bad habit to get into.

Kind of my question/point. Readily accessible leaves it up to officer discretion. I keep mine in a large livewell in front of my center console with nothing else rather than blowing around and out of the boat or buckled onto my bimini top. I can assure you I can get to them a lot quicker that way than unbuckling. Guy I talked to said the MDWFP officer said "Its US coast guard rules they have to be out". I am trying to find said rule. I've been boarded and or checked multiple times by the USCG in South Louisiana and none have said a word about having them out rather than in that console.

[jacksbuddy]

As a general rule, I keep mine on at all times, and I am a good swimmer. It doesn't take too many near drowning experiences to drive that habit home. (Besides, it was drilled into me by parents and grandparents, from the time I was big enough to go, that the life jacket goes on every single time you go out on a boat.)

[Duck Engr]

Yeah I'm on the "wear it" band wagon, especially while duck hunting. I had them in my dry box right in front of me when winds kicked up and I started taking water over the transom last December. I didn't have time to reach in and grab them because if I had come off of the throttle, we were going under. We didn't go under but it was close enough for me to start wearing one, every time.

[booger]

I always wear mine, I feel pretty safe and don't take many chances.

That's me, but what the main concern is all the other crazy mofo's that are running late or popping a top at wide open throttle, not concerned about what's around the bend.

That's reason enough to wear two.

Then again, sometimes stuff happens. I was going upstream at daylight on a pretty narrow stretch of river when a boat appeared at a bend. He was headed right for me but turning, I slowed down and figured he'd turn a little tighter and just go on by, surely he's not going to just plow straight into me. Then I realized he had a mud motor, coming downstream and he was turning all that he could, so I had to make an emergency maneuver NOW to get outta this guys way or I'd been run over.

He couldn't do any more than what he was already doing. There clearly wouldn't have been time to acquire a life jacket, and we were both at low speed, neither of us at full speed.

[420 racin]

My seat in my boat is a toolbox, like a truck toolbox. I keep my life jackets in it. I have way more than I need in there and would be pretty easy to get one or two out quickly. Not to mention someone is usually sitting on the throwable. I typically don't wear a life jacket when running, especially in the summer when we are on the MS River fishing, running lines, nets, tightlining etc.. If it's dark, I always wear mine, but in the daytime i just don't wear it, save for a few times the weather got bad or the river was extra rough and we decided to put them on.. I know some things can happen quickly and all that, i've had some close ones on the river and had buddies thrown out of boats etc.. Side question, if you were wearing your neoprene chest waders and went into the water would you fill up and sink or float? I know the answer via a buddy that got thrown out of the boat last duck season in the middle of the Yazoo River at 0500 with no life jacket, just waders......

[Smoke68]

Side question, if you were wearing your neoprene chest waders and went into the water would you fill up and sink or float?

Float. The real question is would you be able to breath or not if you were incapacitated in some way? As in would your head be above water?

[DoublePslayer]

Float. The real question is would you be able to breath or not if you were incapacitated in some way? As in would your head be above water?

Have you ever had it happen, or seen it happen. Just wondering, because i had a friend of mine step in a beaver run a few years back, and his hat floated. His feet floated up, and he was face down in the water thrashing around until we got a hand on him.

[teul2]

Side question, if you were wearing your neoprene chest waders and went into the water would you fill up and sink or float?

Float. The real question is would you be able to breath or not if you were incapacitated in some way? As in would your head be above water?

Yea, would you be floating on the top of the water, or 6 inches below it? My guess is below.
If we are riding big water in a boat and I have waders on, you bet your sweet a$s I have a PFD on or in reach. Not in a compartment or tool box. ESPECIALLY if I am on the big muddy. Heck, if I am looking at the MS river I probably have a life jacket on. I have seen that river spit 100 year old oak trees up out of the water like it was dauphin doing flip tricks. It is unforgiving.

[Seymore]

Went home with my college roommate to duck and deer hunt over Christmas. He feel in a beaver run up to his neck in single digit weather with a 15 mph North wind. I'm convinced he would be dead had he gone over his head. You could literally hear the wind get sucked out of him when he hit that water.

The auto inflate life jacket are such that I hardly know I'm wearing one. It's just easier to put it on and go. I'll admit when I was younger I would not wear one in the Summer but started after having a family and watching folks do stupid stuff that I used to do.

It's Memorial Day weekend and it's a great time to go to the lake. I go to watch the idiots who get their big ski boat out and try to launch at the ramp more than anything. They only get it out Memorial and Labor Day weekend and have no clue what they are doing.

[missed mallards]

Float. The real question is would you be able to breath or not if you were incapacitated in some way? As in would your head be above water?

Have you ever had it happen, or seen it happen. Just wondering, because i had a friend of mine step in a beaver run a few years back, and his hat floated. His feet floated up, and he was face down in the water thrashing around until we got a hand on him.

Been over my head twice. This happened both times. I quit hunting with folks a foot taller than me lol.

It's scary as hell. Go jump in a pool. You'll start wearing your jacket to wade around in.