Boston Whaler 37 Justice Series, Operation & Maintenance Manual

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Section 1 Safety
1-2
Personal F lotation Devices
P ersonal F lotation D evice s ( P F D ’ s) are designed to save lives. It is your responsibility to ensure
that the boat has a sufficient number of P D’s for your crew. It is your responsibility to ensure
that non-swimmers wear P F D ’ s at all times and that everyone wears a P F D during emergenci es
and severe weather.
The United S tates Coast Guard reco gnize s four types of wearable device s and one type of
throwable device .
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T yp e I - L ife preserver, appropriate for off-shore and foul weather.
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T yp e II - B uoyant vest, appropriate for near-shore and inland waters.
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T yp e III - F lotation aid, appropriate for co ntinuous use in ca lm inland waters.
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T yp e IV - Throwable device , appropriate to throw to a person already in the water. These
device s must never be worn as a vest.
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T yp e V - S peci al-purpose device ; incl udes harnesses, ce rtain jacke ts, and rafting vests.
These vests must be worn while underway to co unt toward minimum P F D req uirements.
All P F D ’ s must be easily acce ssible. They must be removed from their shipping bags and they
should be unbuck led. M ake sure that everyone kn ows where the P F D ’ s are loca ted. M ake sure
that everyone kn ows how to put one on and co rrect ly adjust it.
Check the availability and co ndition of all P F D ’ s before each mission.