Innovative Lifejacket

Sorry but I do not understand the questions and I do not understand where you want to reach.

 

How much weight
will one large jacket float.

 

You need to determine what type of usage market your going to sell to. USCG has, I believe, 5 catagores of life vests. #1 IS OCEAN USE which also covers river running where the vest will support a body in the vertical position keeping the head out of water.
Yours is not a #1. You're a 4 or 5 is my guess.

 

This lifejacket has a buoyancy of 33 lbs and can make afloat average person with 165 lbs

 

Seems not enough.

 

It is more than the minimum required flotation by law. Too much can also be a problem, because the head won't stay up.
http://www.pfdma.org/choosing/types.aspx

 

What law, Gonzo?. There are no laws governing the safety of life at sea.
What I said in post #20 seems to be not correct. Sorry.

 

In fact, SOLAS gives a minimum value of flotation (14.5 kg) for lifebuoys, but not for lifejackets.

The only buoyancy requirements for a lifejacket are that it has to:
- keep the mouth of the person at least 120 mm from the water surface
- keep the body of the person inclined backwards at least 20° from vertical
- be able to turn the body of an unconscious person from the face-down to the face-up position in less than 5 seconds.

 

TANSL: your posts show a total ignorance of boats and related marine issues. Read the link. The USCG has the power of Law under the CFR.

 

Dear Gonzo, even if you were right, which I doubt, knowledge on "boats and related marine issues" does not consist in knowing the legislative capacity of the USCG.
Anyway, thank you as always, so valuable information.

 

PFD designs differ, depending on the environment it will be used in.

Kayakers need freedom of movement, but an unconscious adult in rough seas needs a device that will ultimately keep their body in the correct position, & keep them face up.
Imagine you're on the open ocean, your boat has sunk & you are wallowing in 10m breaking swells. Then a chunk of floating debris clouts you on the head & knocks you out cold for 3 minutes.....then what?.

I took one look at the water test & immediately I could see the potential for your device to keep a person floating face down on their stomach.

I agree with others here too. Your device is no different in design than others already on the market.

Spend the money & get a professional to make a REAL mock up, at least then it can be tested in the real world.

If I were to design a life preserver, I would ultimately design something that resembles a survival suit &/or a wetsuit.
Something that could be worn as if it were regular clothing. Warm, comfortable, & with the ability to keep you warm in water. Keeps you dry, & floating "head up". Including a radio/satellite distress beacon & a flashing strobe into the design too.

 

Sorry, you are quite incorrect. if it is made or sold in the USA, because it is a safety device, it must have USCG approval. it might be able to be sold as a "swimming aid" without a USCG approval, for use in pools or ponds. But if that is all you have on a any boat of any size in US waters, you will get fined by the USCG. And could even be arrested and have your boat confiscated if you are a hazard to yourself or others in navigable waters.

To get USCG approval is quite a costly and complicated process, it appears beyond the capability of the OP, but if he is persistent he will eventually learn what has to be done to get his invention to market.

the USCG is not a legislative authority, it is a law enforcement agency. It has no power to legislate, it has the power enforce laws, and to fine and even arrest and imprison anyone violating US Laws. Public health and safety is subject to government regulation, everything from cars to boats, to food safety and any other manufactured product made and sold in the USA. You can not even sell a hot dog to another person without a food handlers license and use only USDA approved food supplies. Or you will be fined or worse. I have to deal with these regulations everyday I am working as a licensed PE.

what you do in the open sea is your business, but if you ever put to port in any modern country, if your vessel and all of the safety equipment does not meet some recognized standards (like the USCG regs), you will also likely be fined or at least denied entry and expelled. There might be a few rare exceptions to this, but it is these regulations that keep public resources, like rescue operations, from being overwhelmed (at public expense) by too many ignorant and foolish people that put to sea with inadequate equipment.

 

I think what TANSL meant was that knowing the USCG regulations and understand " boats and related marine issues" has nothing to do with each other....unless you like to do buisiness in the USA, related to marine subjects.

It might well be that someone has a huge understanding of boats and marine issues, without knowing one single letter written or proposed by the USCG.

Perhaps there are still people in the Pacific who have a tremendous knowledge about their marine enviroment and boats but have no clue whatsoever if you mention the United States Coast Guard regulations.

Be very carefull with being in favor of regulations because they have the habbit of turning against you.......sooner or later.

 

All I want to say, and if I'm wrong, I beg your pardon, is that only sovereign governments have the capacity to legislate. Classification societies, the USCG and similar entities may issue regulations but never make laws.
Westel, I think you understand me perfectly. Thanks a lot to explain what I have failed to do. Although I suppose you can testify that it was not very difficult to understand me.

What is the difference between this and what I said ?. You believe that now, knowing what you have already told me, I can say that now, now I do have knowledge of design and construction of ships, that now I have increased my knowledge on "boats and related marine issues"?

 

Regulations have the force of Law. There are obscure technical differences, but none that affects their enforcement.