Boston Whaler 21 Justice Series, Operation & Maintenance Manual

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Section 1 Safety
Personal Flotation Devices
Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs) are designed to save lives. It is your responsibility to ensure
that the boat has a sufficient number of PFDs for your crew. It is your responsibility to ensure
that non-swimmers wear PFDs at all times and that everyone wears a PFD during emergencies,
special operations, and severe weather.
The United States Coast Guard recognizes four types of wearable devices and one type of
throwable device.
• Type I – Life preserver, appropriate for open ocean, off-shore, and foul weather.
• Type II – Buoyant vest, appropriate for near-shore and inland waters.
• Type III – Flotation aid, appropriate for calm inland waters.
• Type IV – Throwable device, appropriate to throw to a person already in the water. These
devices must never be worn as a vest.
• Type V – Special-purpose vest, includes harnesses, working vests, and rafting vests.
These vests must be worn while underway to count toward minimum PFD requirements.
All PFDs must be easily accessible. They must be removed from their shipping bags and they
should be unbuckled. Make sure that everyone knows where the PFDs are located. Make sure
that everyone knows how to put one on and correctly adjust it.
Check the availability and condition of all PFDs before each mission.