A life raft is something I have thought about (if I ever do that Hawaii round trip...Ha!), and I have the Mk II's swim platform in mind for it.

Our local CG Auxiliary flotilla just had a liferaft demo by Winslow Liferaft Co, and they showed how they can custom pack the rafts for just about any space.

They showed many photos of special packing for lazarettes. There is also a stern rail mount that keeps the raft just outside the cockpit in plain sight ready for use.

Hope that helps.

Sorry for the late reply. I have been away for sometime so just saw this as I catch up on posts.

We have a Zodiac Racing Super - MP6 Person liferaft (with canopy) in a valise that fits the port cockpit locker perfectly.

As well as the liferaft, there is room in the locker for a Zodiac 285 rollup dinghy (we store it there until we are in our cruising grounds), a couple of good sized plastic bins, spare lines, sailing boots, boat hooks etc.

The disadvantage is that you do have to lift it out in an emergency - it is positioned so that it come right out without having to move anything, however it weighs about 70lbs. The big advantage is that there is no neat place to put the raft on the deck, as has been mentioned.

[QUOTE=hilbre;4844]I did a quick search on the forum and nothing came up.
There are all sorts of options for types of life rafts out there however ,given the small amount of deck space, does anyone have suggestions of what storage works best.Canister or valise and how are they stored.
I did see a C36 with a cradle on the foredeck however the Genoa must be high cut to clear the pod.
Any suggestions?
John Meyer
Hilbre - 2135[/QUOTE]
Hello John,
I know you raised this matter in 2010...
I am a new member experimenting this C36IA webside and I just found this thread. Alas, there is not much in it. Was it developped somewhere else since 2010?
I bought an MKI last year and the previous owner was keeping the life-raft below deck.
So, I decided to find a place on deck and my first thought was to lash it down between the fore-mast and the fwd cabin hatch.
My second though is, now, to store it in the cockpit, next to the companionway, under a wooden grating to be used as a step; it would have the advantage to raise the level and improve visibility for the cockpit crew who could stand on it without damaging the life raft casing. And, mostly, it is readily accessible.
Anybody on this topic?
Lavrendios

I put down a deposit with Winslow during the fall Annapolis sail show in order to get the 2012 show price on a new 4 person ultralight. I never went to the show, but they'll give show pricing to anyone over the phone if you call during the show. Delivery is set for March 2013.

Before I ordered I researched quite a bit on how to store it. Winslow will do a custom pack into most any shape that allows the necessary volume, but they charge for it when they do it and they also charge again with every repack. With that I decided to go with standard shape. I didn't like the lack of visability with it anywhere forward on the deck. You can do a vertical on a rail ([URL="http://setsail.com/rail-mounted-life-rafts/"]shown here[/URL]), but that seems so open to damage from docking if it's on port or starboard. If it's on the stern then you get in the way of the outboard mount (port) or aft navigation light (starboard). In the end, I've decided to stow it in the aft starboard quarter locker. Winslow is about the only model that would fit there. The port locker is pretty stuffed with dock lines and a cruising chute. I had considered under the companionway stair, above the motor, but I'm using that space for a ditch bag now.

Winslow is much more compact and lightweight than the other brands. On my last boat (Catalina 25) I carried a Switlik Pod-4. I think they call that a rescue platform or something. It's less than a serious raft and is pretty weak on ballast bags. Viking and the others are bigger and expensive.

Thank you, Greg, the vertical mounting looks fine to me although vulnerable. It is an alternative to the cockpit option, under a floor-grating .
I found one more good reason to do it so: it adds one seat around the folding cockpit table!

This is an issue I have struggled with for our offshore excursions. Our P.O. had a viking in a valise he kept by the engine on the nav table side. Too heavy for my wife to lift out if I was disabled.
So we kept it lashed in the cockpit floor for our run down the coast. Accessible but liable to damage and got walked on.
For our first voyage we bought a cannister and had a bracket made for the rail. Tried it over the transom, this was good but was in the way if we deployed our Jordan drogue. We moved it to the stbd. side, but this was vulnerable to waves and docking, as mentioned above.
Then for our second voyage I mounted the cannister on the deck aft of the mast. This is a good place, but works for us because I've shifted the foremost mainsheet turning blocks aft near the dodger to avoid the spider's web of lines under the boom. The anchor is stored there just for the main passages...
Unfortunately poor old Wind Star looks a bit cluttered with all the junk we have to store up there... :o