I was notified by an email from West Marine today that my Lifesling had been recalled. This is a bit odd in as much as I purchased it from Defender on line but, appearantly West Marine has some exclusive on the product line.
It did not detail what the issue was though they are recalling the self inflating style and replacing it with the foam flotation type. There have been many reports of the self inflating personal vests not inflating when called on and I will assume that is the issue with the Lifesling inflating type.
I selected the self inflating style for it compactness and also as the bouy and harness were very compact and I felt there would be a better chance of tossing it further do to its compact mass, oh well.
If you have one of these self inflating style Lifeslings you may want to contact West Marine and discuss you options.
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas
thank for the tip.
Haro Bayandorian, 1999 C36 MKII, Sail La Vie #1787, M35B,
Coyote Point, San Mateo, CA.
[QUOTE=Steve Frost;6230]I was notified by an email from West Marine today that my Lifesling had been recalled. This is a bit odd in as much as I purchased it from Defender on line but, appearantly West Marine has some exclusive on the product line.
It did not detail what the issue was though they are recalling the self inflating style and replacing it with the foam flotation type. There have been many reports of the self inflating personal vests not inflating when called on and I will assume that is the issue with the Lifesling inflating type.
I selected the self inflating style for it compactness and also as the bouy and harness were very compact and I felt there would be a better chance of tossing it further do to its compact mass, oh well.
If you have one of these self inflating style Lifeslings you may want to contact West Marine and discuss you options.[/QUOTE]
I bought mine from WM and got the recall notice. I would like to know what the issue is with these units. I like the size and the case. If someone hears about the cause of the recall, please share.
Bruce
Bruce Campbell
Evergreen Dreams #1409
Hello All
They are having a problem with the inflators (or it was said) West will take your life sling back give you the new life sling II and then you get a gift card of around 100 bucks because the difference in price.
To be honest I prefer the other now, you dont have to worry about not inflating or inflating when not needed
Hope this helps
Jeff C
KAIROS C36 #0235
FAIR WINDS & FOLLOWING SEAS
Jeff Costa
S/V KAIROS Hull #0235
I removed my life sling on Sunday took it to WM in Alameda, they were out of stock on the replacement unit and sent me to the Oakland store. The Oakland store did not know how to handle the exchange as I had not purchased it from WM and they could not access the pricing information from Deffender as the item has been removed from their site.
I too like the compact size of this unit, more so I like the compact inflatable sling that you can actually toss in a wind and have it travel some distance. The foam filled Lifesling II you may get about ten to fifteen feet from the boat on a windy day.
There have also been many reports of the the Sospenders the inflatable harness style vests that do not inflate when called on. They do have oral inflation tubes that work if you are not sinking to fast to blow them up.
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas
West Marine seems to be having a product problem. They also had a recent recall on sailing gloves (seems they can give you a rash) and harness lines (I can't think of the name of them, but the ones you use to clip onto your harness and onto the vessel... something about the clip opening too easily).
If you have either, you may want to check with WM.
Chuck Parker
HelenRita 2072 Mk II
2002 Tall Rig - Winged Keel
Atlantic Highlands, NJ
At the risk of making fun of a serious subject:
So, you are working the foredeck and the rash from your gloves causes you to involuntarily scratch, losing your handhold. You start to go overboard and then find the tether released, and then when the crew tries to get you, the LifeSling doesn't function.
That has got to be a BAD day!
Duane Ising - Past Commodore (2011-2012)
s/v Diva Di
1999 Catalina 36 Hull #1777
Std rig; wing keel, M35B, Delta (45#)
Punta Gorda, FL
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/diva-di/
I have had a rash of issues with WM safety products over the last few months to the point where I no longer buy any from them. All were new items, supposedly fresh out of the box.
1. Strobe Unit for a Life Jacket did not work
2. Off-shore life Jacket inflation cartridge was broken.
3. The replacement inflator catridge they offered was out of date (Not WM's fault, someone obviously swapped it in the store.
4. Forespar Strobe had been opened and the battery connection was damaged. Then the moron at the store gave me the wrong battery, my fault for not checking, I was in a hurry and cast off early next day. I was 4 miles off-shore headed to Ensenada by the time I discovered the issue.
5. The dual tether WM harness I just bought for the off-shore trip was recalled as apparently the quick release sometimes does not work
In fairness to WM they did do replacements however the inconvenience is just not worth it, especially as I was prepareing for taking the boat off-shore to Mexico. Their San Pedro store is where all of these were purchased.
Just as well I did not buy new gloves!
John Meyer
Hilbre 2135 - San Pedro, CA
John Meyer
Hilbre
C36 MKll, Hull 2135
Cabrillo Marina, San Pedro, CA
Now for an update on an old thread. I never replaced my self inflating Lifesling as I liked the compact size. Guess I am in the market now. The San Francisco Bay Area got a real soaking in early January. I went to check on the boat after the storms, upon stepping aboard I found the Lifesling strewn about the cockpit. Apperantly it got wet enough to inflate in the canister, it blew the lid off ripping the straps out and launching the lid overboard.
I wrapped the harness back up and put it back in the case, still like the compact size that allows it to be tossed far further than the foam style. My feeling is I would rather have a line tossed to me tha reaches me as appossed to one that floats well that is out of reach. It still has the manual inflation tube on it, guess you could inflate the vest pretty quickly as you hyperventilate into this tube in the cold bay waters. Now just need to find a replacement lid and strap.
Cepheus dream
C36 MK I # 825
MK I Tech Editor No Mas