Planter said..
Starting with the premise - ALWAYS WEAR A LIFEJACKET !!!
Small fibreglass dinghy is positively dangerous,and can tip/capsize in an instant. Are then awash,and difficult to bail out . But,light/easy to store !?
Had one,but quickly got a 10ft Tinny - awkward/heavier,but should not tip or sink,and can be bailed out. Also,can get back in over the stern if fit/light enough ?Rowable in as breeze,and will get there with 18lb mini watersnake el. outboard.
RIB ideal with a motor,but difficult to row + will blow away from you ! Not recommended to leave on the shore tied to a tree = temptation to puncture ? So have to dismantle,or tow home .
NO.
Why always wear a lifejacket? So you can’t swim as quickly? Because you want to make it harder to get onboard your own boat, or another boat in the mooring field? Because those of us who bodysurf in big waves for ages or spend 60 minutes diving to clean our hulls will suddenly forget how to swim if we get dunked, which is something we do regularly when sailing dinghies, cats or boards?
How often do you end up in the water? As someone who windsurfs and sails dinghies, I often end up clambering back on board and having a PFD can be a PITA. The buckles can catch, they can slow you down so you may not be able to catch a drifting boat, and since we can quite easily swim the distance from our boats to the shore and back again a bunch of times, the chance that drowning will suddenly become an issue is basically non-existent.
If small fibreglass dinghies are positively dangerous then how come some of us have owned them for years and not capsized or filled them? I live aboard for four years and for most of that time I had little fibreglass dinghies with no problems. And it’s easy to get aboard a 7ft or so ‘glass dinghy - some of us do so after swimming.
The big thing about much of this is that most people never get into a situation where they have to practice skills like getting back aboard their own boat (or a nearby boat), don’t work on their balance, and don’t work out how they can get their heavy clothes off if they are like the guy Pacific Star luckily saved, and can’t swim well like the guy I saved.
Yes, the chap who sadly died in Quakers Hat Bay was a surfer - but he also seems to have hit his head, and we don’t know if he was used to boats. If you are unconscious in a PFD you are basically dead anyway. Most PFDs won’t float your head properly, and even the ones that do don’t stop the normal tendency for an unconscious person to turn face to wind and drown from splash. If you want to prevent drowning after being knocked unconscious then wear a full-face helmet at all times, and wear a high-end PFD with the splashguard deployed.
