Wear Your P.F.D.

[gillygirl]

Originally Posted by fatlazyless

While not a Coast Guard approved item, a swimmer's belt is less bulky and more comfy to wear, plus they center the buoyancy which makes them actually good for swimming, not the case for the pfd. The swimmer's belt comes in a number of different designs and will definitely conserve your energy and keep-U-afloat while you swim or tread in the 40-50 degree water. With just one click snap, it is easier to adjust, and easier to put on when already in the water, too. And, unlike the pfd, it can always be used to practice your swimming in the calm water or in the choppy waves.

Back in the 1960's the swimmers belt was commonly used for waterskiing, and now one almost never sees them anymore, and they have them at Parafunalia in Gilford.

I don't think a swimmer's belt helps if you're knocked unconscious.

[jrc]

A USCG or NH MP approved PFD needs to work while you are unconscious, that why FLL's swimmers belts are not legal as a PFD on a boat.

I do agree it's a PITA to swim in a PFD. They are meant to keep you afloat until help arrives, not to help you swim to safety.

[NH_boater]

I would take a swimmers belt over nothing, but I believe this to be a far cry from an approved PFD. A usefull link with lots of info.


http://www.ussartf.org/cold_water_survival.htm

[kauriel]

I don't recall the circumstances when inflatable belts are OK to use but I believe they are now coast guard approved (at least for some situations). They are not ideal for situations when you may go into the water unconscious (nor are some life jackets) but they have the potential to help, particularly in instances when someone otherwise would not wear a PFD.

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Winnisquamguy

I don't think people think accidents will not happen to them its more uncomfortable to wear. To put it on and keep it on when its hot and then start sweating its gets itchy and very uncomfortable. I agree they should be worn at all times in a non motorized boat, or in a boat by yourself.

Back a few years, then-Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen floated the proposal that every boater would be required to wear a PFD when under way.

Originally Posted by jrc

A USCG or NH MP approved PFD needs to work while you are unconscious...They are meant to keep you afloat until help arrives, not to help you swim to safety.

Check on those PFD "approvals".


Only a couple of PFD model-designs will keep one's face above the water should the wearer be unconscious.

[RailroadJoe]

Back in the 1940's we would have said WHY.