Boating is probably no more dangerous than commuting around our nation's cities, so most of us hate to even think about spending dough on a liferaft. Even though communications have never been better, and there is a web of shipping that can lend a hand, equipment can fail, and search-and-rescue services are stretched. In the best of circumstances, it is usually hours before anyone can reach you, and each hour can seem like a lifetime.

The liferaft, in its most basic sense, should be a platform on which you can stay out of the water long enough to reach safety. It keeps you from drowning or dying from hypothermia, and allows you to tend to wounds. Longer-term, it provides access to water and food. There's a wide array of rafts to choose from, and while, generally speaking, more money gets you more (or better) boat and gear, you still need to determine what suits your needs and the conditions you may face.

This valise-style life raft is meant to be easy to transport onto your boat and retrieve from a cabin.STORAGE CONSIDERATIONS

No raft will do you any good if you can't get it in the water and inflated. Storage should favor protection from the elements, security in the worst conditions and least-required movement for deployment. There are risks to any installation. Even through-bolted cradles have been ripped from the decks of boats. I recommend built-in, quick-deploy lockers away from engine compartments and other areas at high risk of fire, but close to the stern.

Even for fit people, any raft can prove a beast to handle on a moving deck, even a dock. Generally, the larger the raft size, tube diameters, and ballast, and the stronger the construction and the better the detailing, the heavier the package. Canisters are heavier than soft valises, but better protect the rafts from the elements if you opt for on-deck storage. Valises must be protected in lockers large enough to allow immediate removal. At boat shows, pick up and carry different canisters and valises, and evaluate how well balanced they are and whether they have good hand grabs, clear labeling and strong tethers. Some companies vacuum-pack their rafts, reducing their size and eliminating seawater penetration.

CONSTRUCTION AND FEATURES

Also carefully compare manufacturers' arguments about the materials they use and methods of construction, topics of eternal debate. Rubber-fabric rafts, such as the one I used in the stone age of 1982, are a bit heavy and can smell unpleasant, but are truly tough and proven. I've never seen delamination between attached parts, and rubber seems forgiving of jabs and scrapes. More modern fabrics similar to those used for inflatable dinghies, such as Hypalon or PVC, also have proven tough and reliable, though generally more vulnerable to UV rays. Even lighter fabrics like those used by Winslow have been around the block without notable problems and reduce weight significantly. I'm less sold on thin, reinforced-nylon construction; although it can keep a raft light, I've found during trials that it's more susceptible to damage.

Generally, survivors prefer added weight to get the strongest gauge of any particular material and details like webbing and zippers. Rafts most commonly fail when components separate or the raft deflates due to holes or leaky valves. Joints should be double-taped or welded (PVC) wherever possible, and you should not see holes in seams between tubes or between tubes and the canopy. Vital attachment points, from ballast bags to hand lines, should be able to take much higher loads than any person can exert.

Valves vary, but must be able to release gas during initial inflation. A few are fitted with covers that allow survivors to close off leaks, but most don't permit re-inflation by mouth. This makes the raft pump the most vital piece of equipment – but a surprising number are of poor quality. Foot pumps often are the toughest and most reliable, though in a raft, survivors will have to operate the pump by hand. In any case, carry a good spare pump with proper valve fitting in your ditch kit.

Never overload a life raft; this one is certified for a maximum of four people.If a tube fails or gets holed, a particular risk when abandoning ship, you'd better hope you have a two-tube raft, giving you the chance to repair the damage by patching it. You might use glue-on patches in ideal conditions above water. Well-lashed conical plugs allow you to stop up other holes. Usually, though, patching an inflated tube is problematic. That's why I recommend buying raft-patching clamps and storing them in your raft or ditch bag. They look like pairs of oblong cymbals with rubberized rims and wing-nutted bolts running through the centers. These clamps are quick and easy to use, come in several sizes and are handy even to temporarily repair your inflatable dinghy when a rock pokes a hole in it.

One exception to single-tube vulnerability is the inventive Switlik "coastal" raft, in which sock-like dividers split the tube. If it's holed, high pressure from the opposite end pushes the socks toward the hole, re-filling the deflated half. Survivors then can pump the tube back to normal pressure. This feature gave Bill and Simone Butler, the subjects of the book 66 Days Adrift, some peace of mind while they floated on the Pacific Ocean, buffeted almost constantly by sharks.

CANOPY AND FLOOR

The canopy's quality is also important, helping keep all crew and gear secure in the raft and reducing exposure. Strong material and attachment to the tube is essential, though some rafts allow survivors to open the canopy in calm conditions. The critical canopy opening should be large to ease entry, but as waterproof as possible.

Do not rely on Velcro alone to keep entries closed in high winds and waves. Double-layered zippered closures are best, but single zippers with flaps also are quite good. Ideally zippers should have double heads so the crew can vary the size and position of the opening. Some canopies also offer windows, which help survivors visually orient themselves and keep watch without having to open the canopy. Large, highly arced support tubes can aid in re-righting and increase interior space, but also add to windage and weight.

Then there's the raft floor. It can be a single sheet, which provides virtually no insulation, or double and inflatable, which is a real plus in anything but tropical waters. Some rafts are even fitted with inflatable cushions or other insulation material; be careful, though, as these cushions and materials can be of questionable quality and/or inadequately secured to the floor. I generally prefer a well-secured, inflatable-floor insert, however, because the crew can remove it to gain access to the raft bottom in case it gets holed, or to use the cushion for other purposes.

A life raft's canopy opening should be large so that boarding it is as easy as possible.BOARDING THE RAFT

Even if you properly launch a raft and it inflates, you still need to get aboard. Large-diameter tubes provide more freeboard and security, but are hard to climb over. Unfit or injured people need assistance regardless. If everyone is alert, especially in calm conditions, your crew may board the raft as they would a dinghy, never hitting the water.

In tougher conditions, one fit, trained crew member can jump on the canopy, crawl inside, secure gear, and get ready to aid the next person. Additional jumpers might injure those already aboard, so when it's rocking and rolling, guests can hook their arms around the raft painter, enter the water without letting the painter go and pull themselves to the raft.

In my opinion, the best raft provides large-print instructions and pictograms, strong handholds all around the perimeter, a long-tongued, inflated platform on which to belly up and crawl aboard, extra handholds on the exterior within easy reach of the platform and a web hand ladder that stretches across the interior. If the hand ladder has quick-disconnect clips, anyone in the raft can quickly clear it out of the way or re-deploy it. I also like a platform "hinged" onto the raft so the crew can pull it up and secure it once all are aboard. Web boarding ladders are the most difficult to use, best suited as secondary entries fit on some canopies.

CAPSIZING CONSIDERATIONS

Intensive stability testing in tanks and at sea over the years indicates that nothing can guarantee a raft won't capsize. Everything from loading of occupants (stay on the high, upwind side) to raft shape and canopy design play a role in stability, but water ballast and a properly designed drogue are the primary tools to prevent capsizing.

In recent decades, designers have focused on increasing water ballast. Some boaters prefer the large, torroidal ballast systems on some Switlik rafts or a single immense bag pioneered by Givens. Increasing water ballast increases loads on the structure, however, requiring heavier construction. As a compromise, most rafts rely on ballast bags or pockets. Regulations stipulate that pockets be distributed around the perimeter.

Even with this, ballast weight and bag drag on the downwind side may detract from stability and prevent directional stability. The varying motions of a spinning raft can plague a crew, especially sealed under a canopy. Spinning also routinely exposes the boarding opening to breaking waves. Only some bags are fit with retraction lines, so if survivors need to reduce drag on the downwind side or increase maneuverability, they can pull some or all of the bags up. All pockets must be large, strongly built, and adequately weighted or "sprung" to open quickly. The actual effectiveness of each system depends primarily on total ballast weight and raft size, but it is tough to evaluate any raft's stability without experiencing it firsthand in the water.

Canister rafts are intended to be mounted on deck.For many, the drogue has proven the most effective stability aid, however, and it keeps a raft from spinning. I prefer the sea anchor rode to be attached to the raft opposite the primary entry opening, keeping the entry on the downwind side. Some anchors self-deploy as the raft inflates, which may add an entangling line to the water, but allows survivors to catch up to the raft if it gets separated from the boat. If it's not self-deploying, it should at least be clearly at hand yet secured so it doesn't escape if the raft capsizes. Since big waves can tumble and tangle most drogues, the best type is "Improved Icelandic," a long cone with webbing ringing its bridle to prevent a breaking crest from throwing the cone through the bridle.

Now, even with the right gear, capsizing can still happen. The good news is, I've yet to encounter a typical ballast-pocket raft that could not be re-righted by an adult in controlled conditions. In harsh conditions, it's more like riding a bronco standing up, pulling the re-righting reigns attached to the other side. Of course, it's critical that there are clear directions on the raft, secure places to wedge one's feet on the tube and strong re-righting line. Some rafts are also "self righting." The huge ballast on Givens-style rafts appears to re-right them. Others with large, high, canopy tubes create a shape that is unstable upside down, and roomy for survivors.

Just as you don't want your first experience in a boat to be during an emergency, get a feel for a liferaft in controlled conditions, like a boat show – or better yet, a survival training course. Climb into the display models; only by doing so can you appraise the space, ventilation, and light, how easy it might be to work, whether anyone can stretch out. Are instructions crucial in the early stages of survival obvious and waterproof, hopefully printed on the raft? How strong and secure are the interior handholds and attachment points? Are there auxiliary equipment bags, windows and rain catchments? How good are the canopy light and light-reflective strips outside? How quickly can you find essential gear like the dull-tipped knife at the entry, so you may quickly cut the raft free from the boat? Is the emergency-equipment bag flying about on an entangling tether, or is it kept secure, its contents organized and waterproofed? And how good is the actual equipment?

It's adventure on a small scale that, if needed for real, is likely to keep the adventure on a small scale.