tailored PFD

[hazardharry]

i bought an NRS rapid rescuer PFD and the shoulder straps never stayed put. i set them where i needed them to stay with a booby pin and took the PFD to my local shoe shop. the cobbler stiched it better than anyone else. i paid $15 and worth every penny. a nice snug fit iswarm right about now.

[busterblue]

Cool tip. I never thought of taking my stuff to a shoe shop. But it makes sense that cobblers would be adept at stitching -- especially with thick material. I'll file this one away.

[hazardharry]

10-4 go see the cobbler you won't scarte him with the thick webbing.

[sbroam]

I've had a local cobbler custom stitch thigh straps and various other contrivances for years - any time it's more than I want to tackle with the Speedy Stitcher. I priced one of those industrial sewing machines and decided his price of $4 per "patch" is plenty cheap.

[Yukon]

Here is an affordable awesome Portable Industrial sewing machine.

http://www.reliablecorporation.com/Prod ... G/2000U-33

especially when you add a Monster Wheel from Sailrite who also make great portable machines.

[truckeeboater]

another +1 for cobbler repairs. Had the zipper completely blow out on a very well-loved NRS throwbag. 2 days and $15 later, I can now go another 5 years with it. They really know their stuff!

[ezwater]

It's rare when one has a PFD inspected by a ranger or CG honcho.

But I've heard that modifications to "approved" PFDs are forbidden by the USCG.

That's never stopped me, but if you are at a river entry where rangers are inspecting gear, you might want to have an unmodified horsecollar or something to get past them.

[Larry Horne]

good info about getting gear worked on, but I would have sent that pfd back to nrs & let em know it's a pos. gotta let em know..

[woro90]

I've been thinking about making my own PFD from scratch - heavy webbing "frame" (waist belt, chest belt, shoulder straps) with the flotation foam in small panels tailored for a close fit, with gaps allowing full flexibility, sewn into a heavy-duty ripstop nylon shell. I have some home experience with heavy-duty sewing. How much of a suicidal fool am I?

[Bob P]

I've been thinking about making my own PFD from scratch - heavy webbing "frame" (waist belt, chest belt, shoulder straps) with the flotation foam in small panels tailored for a close fit, with gaps allowing full flexibility, sewn into a heavy-duty ripstop nylon shell. I have some home experience with heavy-duty sewing. How much of a suicidal fool am I?

Years ago, Charlie Walbridge offered a do-it-yourself ("Hi-Float") pfd kit with all the necessary materials. It was much higher floatation than the commercially available ones. (I still have it somewhere in the attic.)

So, if your local laws don't prohibit it, making your own should be possible. I'd check into the laws of the other European countries too.

Just be careful, and make it look professional.

[John Coraor]

We have 2 Walbridge Hi-Float PFDs hanging up in the garage that I sewed in the late 70s.

I also have 2 early low-profile racing PFDs that I sewed in the early 80s (from scratch, not a kit). After "Lifedecks" (with all the required PFD flotation fastened to the inside of your spray skirt between your knees) had been banned in slalom, low-profile "Grabner" (brand name) PFDs from Europe were all the rage among racers because they were less bulky than anything available domestically (less chance to hit poles). Neither actual Grabners nor my Grabner knock-offs were ever very "Hi-Float," however. I once saw a genuine Grabner fail an ICF PFD buoyancy test.

P.S. No kit is ever USCG approved so if someone is actually checking PFDs for certification you'll need a second (certified) PFD in the boat with you (you don't have to wear it, mind you!). However, in my experience unless they are actually checking labels, boaters who look like they are properly outfitted usually aren't hassled.

John

[Roy]

I have a friend who had his PFD rejected at the GC inspection due to some minor fraying at a seam. He had to drive to Page and buy a new one. Clearly, if you draw a PIA ranger, you could be out of luck with a old, modified, or home-made PFD.

That said, my home-made PFDs have made it past a bunch of western river inspections. Sometimes I have shown them a PFD which ended up staying in the truck, sometimes it has been the old top-of-the-pile middle-of-the-pile trick which has them inspecting a particular PFD more than once; regardless of your plan, scantily-clad opposite-sex-to-the-ranger paddlers can be used as a handy distraction.

Having an extra horse-collar PFD won't work everywhere; for instance, Type II PFDs don't count for the GC.

When I build a PFD, I buy a 5 dollar Type II and harvest the foam and the USCG label. And, I agree that a normal-looking home-made PFD is the way to go. Odd that I can sew a normal-looking PFD, but all my boats look like they were built by chimps smoking crack.

Roy

[clt_capt]

Many years ago, Extrasport was just getting into low profile racing type PFDs - I was lucky enough to get an early one - before they had passed CG certification - Wore that jacket daily - the rangers on the Nantahala saw me nearly that often - but for some reason the decided to make an example of me one day - and I was trip leading that day - not fun - luckily the bus hadn't left yet and I was able to grab a "guest" PFD for that trip.

By that time Extrasport had them certified and NOC was carrying identical jackets - so I bought one - hoping the ranger would try to bust me again... Ha Ha - he did and I had a certified jacket ...

Just be careful with homebuilt PFDs - would hate to have your day spoiled bacuase it doesn't have a CG label.

[ezwater]

I've heard that USCG regulations say that a life jacket must not be modified in any way by sewn on pockets, sewn on crotch straps, sewn or glued repairs, added foam, etc. I've not heard of anyone getting inspected and rejected for such changes, but at places like the Lee's Ferry, it could happen.

I wonder if any ww paddler has ever had to deal with real USCG enforcement. It seems that the most officious and ignorant decisions are made by "rangers" working for another agency. I was out practicing in my c-1 on the metro Chattahoochee, wearing my Rapidstyle racing jacket, and at the take out I encountered a DNR ranger who wanted to see my PFD. He noted that it was not "approved" by the USCG. I pointed out that those of us pretending to be serious racers were only concerned that our life jackets *work* but that I could stuff an approved jacket into my boat if that met the rules. I wondered aloud whether having an approved jacket in the boat, while not wearing it, was better than wearing a non-approved jacket which clearly was effective.

The DNR ranger wasn't unfriendly, but he just couldn't separate his mind from the way the regulations were written, to treat the issue of real safety. It sounds like that is the case with the Nantahala rangers and those on other inland bodies of water.

[Bob P]

...
The DNR ranger wasn't unfriendly, but he just couldn't separate his mind from the way the regulations were written, to treat the issue of real safety. It sounds like that is the case with the Nantahala rangers and those on other inland bodies of water.

It's a PITA, but look at the situation from the Ranger's perspective. What would happen (to the Ranger) if you got into trouble and required some expensive rescue? It's a bad law that puts the Ranger into a predicament that's not his doing.