my life jacket story

i was just reading the story about the needless drowning ..it kinda hit home in a way..most of you may not know me but i do my share of fishing and a little of others..i fish all over the country in various lakes enjoying my ranger tiller and running hard over big waves..over the memorial weekend this year my girlfriend and i went out to big stone lake in western mn…ive been on the lake a 100 times probaly(give or take a few)..needless to say i know the lake well(its dangers and so on)..well on sat. afternoon runnign down the lake towards ortonville havin a good time ..skipping across two and three footers ..got a box of fish and my girl withn me i struck a huge floating log that was just below the surface..i was ejected forward and over the starboard side at 40 +mph..fully clothed with rain gear and of course no life jacket..when i realized i was in the water (which was about 50 degrees)and what had just happened i knew i was in big trouble…long story short..thank god my girlfriend didnt get ejected and was able to get the mottor in drive to come abck and get me..the five minutes or so in the water was the longest of my life..i was so exhausted from trying to swim with all of my clothes on i could barely tread water and im a good swimmer..what did i learn from this..if i would have had a life jacket on i wouldnt have nearly drowned..yes it would still have been scary but i would have been fine..as for the boat..i tore the transom out of it and did a little damage to the lower unit..$13,000 repair bill..thank god for insurance..i hope this story svaes just one life from a an accident that could have been fatal but avoidable

Thanks Bill for sharing your story with us. It certainly shows that it can happen so fast without any warning. Glad to hear that everything turned out OK and hopefully your story will save another life.

The ? is do you now wear your life jacket 100% of the time ?

THanks for the story Bill! It’s another example of how things completely unexpected can show up and make a mess of things in a hurry! I don’t always wear mine but when the conditions are there I surely do. Just last week fishing with a buddy, we pulled up to the backside of a large dam. Things looked pretty scary to me so I asked him where his lifejackets were at. You woulda thought I had a green head the way he looked at me. My response was “I have 3 young boys and I don’t want them growing up without a father” I’m a very good swimmer but what I was looking at, not many would survive if they fell in and didnt have a rope within seconds.

Posts like this are quickly making me reconsider wearing it every time when my boat is moving. I’ve done that in the past and when you take it off it’s a lot like driving without a seatbelt in a car. You feel naked.

AND. 100% of the time when kids are involved. Both for safety and lessons.

Thanks for sharing Bill.

I know I sound like a broken record, but with today’s inflatables, comfort is not a concern as it’s been in the past. Just this last Friday, my client came back after 15 minutes. He still had the Float Tech on.

Wear it, Live with it!

I fell in my boat but did not fall out. I was laying there for a couple minutes before I could move around well etc ended up with major bruises. What if I went over? I would be a goner as I fish alone most of the time. I got an inflatable mustang vest at Basspro and wear it 100 % of the time I am in a boat. I hope to never need it but it is so comfortable I some times drive home with it on and the wife reminds me to take it off. Great investment and piece of mind. My boat rule is if the motor is on you wear a vest no mater what. But when I fell I was using the electric trolling motor and hit a unseen stump so no life jacket I am contemplating getting more inflatables for quests. Imagine if that boy and his father had been wearing their vests? It would just be a funny story about you remember the time you fell out of the boat. SO sad

Mwal

Safety lanyard should stop the boat. It isn’t just life jackets that people don’t use.

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Thanks for sharing Bill.

I know I sound like a broken record, but with today’s inflatables, comfort is not a concern as it’s been in the past. Just this last Friday, my client came back after 15 minutes. He still had the Float Tech on.

Wear it, Live with it!

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I have been thinking about getting a self inflatable vest for a few years now. I have just heard to many stories about them not working correctly. Inflating when not needed and not inflating when necessary. I know of 1 guys who’s did not inflate when he fell over. His partner then tested his in the swimming pool at home to make sure his would work – same thing – did not inflate. Both units wer Top $ units. May just have to try onme myself. I think if I do I’ll just buy the rearn kit and test it to make sure it works. I’d hate to count on it only to find out it did not work.

Float Tech Vest Only<<<

With a fairly quick search, this is the lowest price on line store I could find.

A. How do you ‘water test’ your PFD?

2. Automatic Inflator

1) To test your inflatable PFD armed in automatic mode, you will need:
Your fully armed PFD, and rearming kit approved for your PFD.
(Rearming Kit includes a 24 gram 1/2 inch thread CO2
cylinder, bobbin, and green indicator clip, see page 8-9).
2) Put on the PFD.
3) Get into shallow water, just deep enough that you can stand with your
head above the surface. Once the inflator is under water the PFD should automatically, fully inflate within 3 to 5 seconds.

I manually inflate mine (by mouth) and let them sit over night to ensure they stay inflated.

With the GREEN indicator showing, they are armed. When the RED is showing, you have a problem.

I trust my life to Float Tech…and my clients.

I’ve worn my in some pretty bad down pours without a problem, I use it as a rain coat even without it ever going off. But I bet if a guy had a few too many beers back in the day while being net man and slipped down the algae covered boat ramp into the water they would go off no problem. Heck, I bet once they go off a guy could paddle around and do a little float tube fishing even.

I glad you ended up all right Bill. What puzzles me is for a guy that fishes that much to be cruising on a cold lake with no jacket on in the first place. Did you think it would never happen to you. My thought is the more time a person spends on the water the better chances are that you will be going in. Hoe could it be any different?

Thanks again for the story. Been getting a little complacent this year with wearing mine to. Time to switch that around again.

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Float Tech Vest Only<<<

With a fairly quick search, this is the lowest price on line store I could find.

A. How do you ‘water test’ your PFD?

2. Automatic Inflator

1) To test your inflatable PFD armed in automatic mode, you will need:
Your fully armed PFD, and rearming kit approved for your PFD.
(Rearming Kit includes a 24 gram 1/2 inch thread CO2
cylinder, bobbin, and green indicator clip, see page 8-9).
2) Put on the PFD.
3) Get into shallow water, just deep enough that you can stand with your
head above the surface. Once the inflator is under water the PFD should automatically, fully inflate within 3 to 5 seconds.

I manually inflate mine (by mouth) and let them sit over night to ensure they stay inflated.

With the GREEN indicator showing, they are armed. When the RED is showing, you have a problem.

I trust my life to Float Tech…and my clients.

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My wife wants me to buy one immediately but I cannot get clarification on the product. Still confused between 3 in 1 jacket that has a vest and the vest sold seperately. Are they the same vest?

3-1 Vest…

1. It can be worn as a liner only in hot weather.
2. It can be worn with the jacket and the sleeves can be zipped off.
3. It can be worn as a wind breaker/rain jacket.

Also, it can be set to Manual Inflate ONLY
or
Automatic and Manual Inflate.

That help Mike?

If you look at the photo gallary on my website, there’s plenty of photos where clients are wearing the vest only and the jacket over the vest.

http://www.BrianKsWorld.com

I wear an inflatable now all the time. A couple years ago I almost did a back somersault out of my Lund tiller after I hit a log. It was only about 4″ diameter, but it wrapped around my lower unit and it was off-center, so it pulled my tiller away from me which threw me into a wildass right turn and I had to keep gripping the throttle and the side of the boat to keep from doing the backwards somersault and having my boat do circles round and round (and over) me as I tried to swim the main channel. I did rotator cuff damage to both shoulders trying to hold myself in the boat. I finally got my wits and reached down with my right hand and turned the key off. I just floated in silence, shook up, for about 10 minutes. Funny thing is, there were a couple guys fishing a wing dam just downstream and they didn’t even notice my ordeal happening.

i guess i have no one to blame but mmyself for not having one on…ill admit im not a big life jacket guy and especially on lakes/rivers that i know well…i never thought to have one on..unless im in a tournament where its required i usaully abstain..has the expierence made me think about things..yes..have i started wearing one..no..my mother would kick my [censored] if she read this..i said i would..im planning on going otu and purchasing a couple of self inflatables for the girl and i before i get my boat back…im just going to have to get in the practice of putting it on every time i go out..no different then a seatbelt..youse to hate it now its just habit..thanx for everybodys thoughts and well wishes…be safe

Bill, I’m not sure how old your “girl” is, but inflatables are not made for youngsters under 16 yrs.

PS I’ll kick your butt for your mother!

I like you comments about getting in the habit of putting it on. You are dead on there. Just form that habit. I started getting back out of that habit this summer and need to get it going again.

If just one person wears when they would not have before reading these posts, everything said here has worth it ten fold.

the ” girl ” you refer to is my girlfriend and yes shes over 16..barely…j/k….lol

I have one of the 3-1 Float Tech’s. Problem is it is too small for me and I don’t use it. I’ve used them with BK and they are top notch.

Now, if someone wants an XL, used maybe twice, I’ll sell mine for a fair price and order myself the next size.

Good deal for you, good deal for me to have one of these on. I need to start wearing one, especially on the move.

ET

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the ” girl ” you refer to is my girlfriend and yes shes over 16..barely…j/k….lol

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Unfortunately much like fish, I’m sure this is just a story. Unless you have pictures to prove it of course.

Cougareye,

You should show it to Suzuki. He may be interested.