Kids and life jackets

[Fish_More]

Hi all

After some clarification on the laws regarding kids and life jackets as have recently moved from Queensland and the laws appear to be different.  My boat is about a 6.5m cuddly cab which I take my 5 & 7 year old out on.

The law appears to be when outside a cabin on this size boat they are required to have a life jacket on.  What is considered outside a cabin?  Is in the back section of the cuddly cab considered outside the cabin?

Maritime went past me on the weekend and did not say anything but still not sure.

started looking for some inflatables for kids which may not be so hot and more comfortable do they can wear them all the time as better to be safe then sorry!

Cheers

Mark

 

[big Neil]

As you say Mark...better safe than sorry. Get them a pfd each and ensure they wear them, mate.

I see that you are in Mudgee. What sort of fishing will you be doing? Windamere and the local rivers in that region should keep you all interested. Good luck anyway and welcome to Fishraider. Cheers, BN

[Fish_More]

Thanks Neil.

I think you are right, probably best to just put a life jacket on them permanently.  Just in case anybody gets the wrong idea, I always carry life jackets for them, it is just if we make them wear them.

I have not fished around Mudgee yet, have been driving to either Lake Macquarie or Port Stephens more recently.  Long haul but have found a caravan park at Port Stephens (Lemon Tree) that is not too bad.  Have some work mates that do a bit of cod fishing and have been thinking should go with them to give it a go.

Are you from around here?

 

[JonD]

My concern with inflatables and kids are they need to be able to pull the cord in an emergancy. I personaly think there would be many adults that would struggle and panic trying to find the pull cord if their boat went over on something like our local bar.

Busy little kids may be more likely to get the cord caught somewhere or just see how hard they can tug on it before it inflates!!!

It can be hard having eyes in the back of your head watching the kids as you drive a boat especially when the conditions are a bit rough.

Maritime in my area have been a pain in the butt when it comes to inflatable Pfds. The date of manufacture inside some recently perchassed pfds I recently bought were for 2012, even though I had only just bought them I was threatened with a fine if I launched my boat with these pfds. Another maritime officer stated to carry the itemised recept showing the date of purchase, which the previous officer claimed to not be valid.

Simply find a quality foam filled kids pfd and you will have far less hassle from the authorities but if you do go with inflatable be aware there are different regs on the inflators for children ( smaller compressed air cylinder). The inflatable models also need inspecting each year, some you can do the first year yourself and the cost of a service inspection is often more than buying new.

Jon

[big Neil]

18 hours ago, Fish_More said:

Thanks Neil.

I think you are right, probably best to just put a life jacket on them permanently.  Just in case anybody gets the wrong idea, I always carry life jackets for them, it is just if we make them wear them.

I have not fished around Mudgee yet, have been driving to either Lake Macquarie or Port Stephens more recently.  Long haul but have found a caravan park at Port Stephens (Lemon Tree) that is not too bad.  Have some work mates that do a bit of cod fishing and have been thinking should go with them to give it a go.

Are you from around here?

 

I live at Leeton in the Riverina and have a daughter at Wellington. I din't get to the coast much but don't need to as the Cod and Yellowbelly fishing keeps me busy. Give it a try, it's good fun. Cheers, BN

[PaddyT]

When my kids were small they generally were actually fairly hard to keep warm on the water - a PFD is pretty good for keeping the wind off as well as potentially saving their life and also being a legal requirement until they are 12. I agree 100% with Jon about the inflatables- I am actually going back to normal jackets on my boat because after doing a few demo inflations at work - for kids and teachers (I run a swim school) ive come to the conclusion that i dont trust them- inflated one the other day and sure enough their was a faulty seam inside the jacket (6 year old MinnKota brand-properly maintained) and it leaked- I think if I go in I want a proper jacket

[jeffb5.8]

I have 3 kids 10yrs and under they all have PFD50 jackets when we are just in the bay's and doing some Tubing.

if I am going near Syd Heads or around the area they have PFD100 jackets.

As above they don't normally complain about heat, but if it's a super hot day 32+ we often find a bay for a dip to cool off.

i have also made them jump in the water wearing the jackets so they know what the jacket does and feels like.

[BrassRoots]

+1 for regular over inflatable. 

My main argument is that if you are in an accident and are knocked unconscious, how are you even going to inflate it?

I want it to just work.

[Jewhunter]

There are jackets that self inflate once in contact with water.

Not sure how they would go in heavy rain though!

 

[Fish_More]

Thanks everyone for the feedback.  They currently have normal life jackets that go up to 25kg, but one is 22kg and the other 24kg, so just need to decide what to go before upgrading.

Will put them in the life jackets next time out and see how they go.