A dramatic and entertaining look at the properties of life rafts, raft stowage and raft equipment from the point of view of a sailor in the middle of using one. One of the most convincing discussions of what many of us tend to ignore.
[Equipped To Survive Foundation, Inc., USA]
Very detailed tour of the licensing and manufacturing requirements for life-raft makers, how search and rescue is organized, the differences among coastal, offshore, and ocean rafts and their equipment packages, auto-inflation, launch technique. 5 pages,
[Ocean Navigator, May 2003]
Polyurethane liferafts for commercial, offshore, and coastal purposes. Offshore units come in 4, 6, and 8-person models.
[Revere Safety Company, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, USA]
One of the best introductions to the choices you will have to make when buying a liferaft, based on testing of 27 models (see articles below). 7 pages with photos.
[Practical Sailor, 1 May 2000]
Video of interviews with cruisers and demonstrations of life-saving items like Exposure Suits, Solar Stills, Desalinator, Life Rafts, Harnesses, Jack Lines and more.
[Magic Lamp Productions, Venice, CA, USA]
Grab bag of facts and commentary to help choose, maintain, repair and stow a liferaft. Contains excerpts from hard-to-find bulletin board and newsgroup postings, as well as links to useful sites and vendor pages.
[Bill Dietrich, USA]
A drogue "may be even more critical to raft stability than ballast," and has other purposes according to this report, which looks at various (primarily aircraft) liferafts and how they rig a drogue.
[Equipped To Survive Foundation, Inc., USA]
On-line video training on the Quick-stop Maneuver (upwind and downwind with spinnaker), launching and righting a liferaft, crew-overboard recovery, and other emergency maneuvers. Registration for a newsletter is required.
[UK Sailmakers, USA]
A discussion board and photo gallery for cruising sailors and wannabes focused on offshore safety gear.
[Cruisers Forum, Buskerud, Norway]
Short pamphlet by an independent safety standards organization on how to choose an inspection service and what you should expect from them.
[United States Marine Safety Association, Farmingdale, NJ, USA]