A British company is launching a lifejacket which it hopes will overcome sailors' reluctance to wear this potential lifesaver as a matter of course.
"Life jackets don't seem to have developed much for a number of years," said Spinlock's Roger Cerrato. "We felt that there was a good opportunity to move things forward."
And so the company best known for its rope handling technology unveiled its revolutionary piece of personal safety equipment at METS, the marine equipment trade show in Amsterdam.
Spinlock's Deckvest - marketed as "more than just a lifejacket" - will make its public debut at the London Boat Show in January.
Roger said the company had worked with performance sailors, and built on race experience from Figaro to Volvo, to develop the Deckvest.
They started by asking the fundamental question: why are sailors, racers particularly, so reluctant to wear a normal lifejacket? The answer was that people feel restricted and uncomfortable wearing them, so the next question was: what would make it more comfortable?
The result is a combined safety harness and flotation unit which doesn't get in the way, doesn't chafe the back of the neck, is fast to put on and take off, and quick and easy to adjust. And it is far more stylish than a conventional lifejacket, too.
Ultra-compact, the Deckvest has been designed with "minimum clutter" so that it will not impede the most active winch grinder. It does have attachment points for crotch straps, as required by the racing rules, but as it is so easy to adjust, via two Petzl buckles at the front, it can be made to fit properly, instantly, and crotch straps should not be needed, said Roger.
The ergonomic, 3D shape is tailored for comfort in cushioned fabric, with a soft neoprene neck collar. The high tensile fibre tether attachment loop is said to be lighter and stronger than steel, and is certainly more user-friendly. And the wide range of sizing adjustment covers multiple layers of clothing. The Deckvest will fit chest sizes from 60 to 150 cm (23.6 to 59.1 ins.)
The Deckvest is not cheap, at ₤199 (including VAT) but some items that are optional extras on other lifejackets (spray hood and light) are included as standard. It is automatically inflated, although it can be converted to manual use in very wet situations (bowman on a Volvo boat, for instance) where there is so much water flying about that there is a danger it might inflate when not required to.
And the Deckvest does have some significant safety benefits compared with a conventional lifejacket: the interlocking bladder eliminates the tendency of the traditional design to channel water towards the mouth and face.
The current ISO 12401:2004 Standard for Deck Safety Harnesses says: "The need is to encourage the wearing of equipment by making it comfortable and attractive for continuous wear while afloat, rather than for it to be stowed in a locker for emergency use."
Spinlock's Deckvest goes a very long way to addressing this. It is a lifejacket that there is no excuse not to wear. Its design is not only neat and functional, but also incorporates the marine equivalent of street cred.
And if spending a little bit more means you wear the lifejacket all the time, rather than leaving it in the locker, and that it is properly adjusted when you need it (which is very unlikely in the case of one hauled out of the locker at the last moment, and left adjusted to whatever you, or the last wearer, were dressed in the last time it saw the light of day), means that it could actually save your life, that would make it look like a very good bargain indeed.
For more information visit www.spinlock.co.uk.
