3 minute read
Safety First
Test Your Life Jacket IQ Life jacket facts you should know.
We all know that life jackets save lives — they keep the head above water and allow the upper body to remain buoyant. They come in different styles for adults and children, and are designed with specific boating activities in mind; however, there is much more to know. Can you pass this true or false life jacket quiz?
Choosing the right life jacket 1. Weight and size of the wearer doesn’t matter while choosing a life jacket. 2. Children’s life jackets will need to be repurchased as they grow. 3. Most children weighing 30-50 pounds and passengers that can’t swim should wear a Type I or Type II life jacket. 4. Life jackets are not babysitters. 5. Snug-fitting life jackets help maintain core body temperature in cold water. 6. If an emergency arises, it may be too late to locate and put on life jackets, so always wear them. 7. For the right child’s life jacket size, slip your hands underneath the shoulders and lift up. It should be tight enough not to allow their chin and ears to slip through. 8. Test a child or non-swimmer’s life jacket fit and user confidence by floating them in shallow water.
Life jacket knowledge 9. Life jackets are required for all boats, paddle craft and personal watercraft. 10. Never leave life jackets on a boat for long periods of time when the boat is not being used. 11. Type IV life jackets may be thrown to someone in the water. 12. Using a life jacket as a cushion or fender can reduce its buoyancy. 13. Approximately 80% of boating fatalities occur when life jackets aren’t being worn. 14. Life jackets are only effective if worn. 15. Children under age 13 must wear a life jacket topside. 16. There must be enough life jackets onboard for each passenger.
17. Life jackets may be altered for the wearer. 18. By Coast Guard regulations, inflatable life jackets only count if a passenger is wearing it.
Care and handling of life jackets 19. Life jackets may be thrown into a washing machine and then into the dryer. 20. Life jackets should be hung up in the sunshine to dry. 21. Store life jackets in a tightly closed container. 22. Do not dry clean, use bleach, or apply direct heat to a life jacket. 23. Life jackets in poor shape should be cut up and thrown away.
Time to replace a life jacket 24. Replace when the inside material is waterlogged. 25. Replace if there are rips, holes, torn seams, missing or worn straps, or faulty/missing hardware. 26. Replace when the bright colored life jacket is faded from being in the sunshine. 27. Replace when sunscreen lotion can’t be removed from the surface. 28. Replace when the boating activity changes. 29. Replace when the size of the person changes in weight or girth.
Life jackets should be the first item on the boat — put on children before even hitting the docks — and every passenger should have the right style and size. Careful handling and proper storage of life jackets will extend their lifespan while providing peace of mind for safe boating. ★
place. dry, dark, well-ventilated Store life jackets in a cool, 21. damage the fabric. the sunshine. UV rays can Never dry life jackets in 20. before wearing. sun) for at least 72 hours drip-dried (out of the soap, rinsed, and then hand-washed with mild Life jackets should be 19. and safety. compromises its durability Altering a life jacket 17. ask for help. label for information or needed. Check the tag or the amount of buoyancy and then by weight in on child or adult size Choose a life jacket based 1. and 21 are False.
Answers: #1, 17, 19, 20,
HELEN AITKEN is a boating writer, photographer and former science educator from eastern North Carolina. She loves classic wooden boats, is an America’s Boating Club member and plays in the Intracoastal Waterway. Visit her website at
