Sadly Most Boating Fatalities Occur When Life Jackets And Buoyancy Aids Are Not Worn.
That's why it's so important to ensure that when you're out on the water you have the correct life jackets and buoyancy aids on hand that suit you and the activity you're engaged in.
What do we do?
We only stock life jackets, buoyancy aids and associated accessories made by manufacturers that we know and trust.
Our staff are factory trained and authorised to service and maintain the following brands of life jacket:
- Crewsaver
- Kru
- Mullion
- Ocean Safety
- Parmaris
- Seago
- Seasafe
- Viking
This means we can quickly carry out inspections and recertification in our dedicated Lerwick facility without having to send the equipment away.
We also hold stocks of genuine spares when repairs are necessary.
What is the the difference between a life jacket and a buoyancy aid?
A life jacket will fully support the wearer in the water and work to rotate them into a face position, even if they are unconscious (assuming it has been inflated), see details of the different types below.
A buoyancy aid is designed to provide extra buoyancy that helps reduce fatigue in the water and should only be worn by competent swimmers
The main types of life jacket
Automatic
These life jackets automatically inflate when a mechanism triggers the gas cartridge to release CO2 when it gets wet.
Manual
These life jackets have to be operated by the user - a pull chord needs to be pulled to fire a pin into the gas cartridge to release the CO2 to inflate the life jacket.
Note that if you are knocked unconscious and fall in to the water this type of life jacket will not do anything for you!
Choosing the right life jacket or buoyancy aid
It is vital that you choose the right equipment to suit your activity. The RNLI provides some great information on making that choice, so have look at their pages here to find out what will work for you.
For further information and advice please call us on 01595 690618 or send us an email.