The granddaughter will be joining us for day sails when the Port Phillip northerlies abate in spring, and I will need to keep her safe. Having had no experience with kid's lifejackets, I'd appreciate any suggestions from anyone who has had little kids on board wearing them.

Cheers, Graeme

Hi Graeme

I haven't had any experience with kids on boats either and not sure how much you want to spend but Stormyseas do a range of kids jackets from baby size upwards www.stormylifejackets.com.au/product-category/recreational/page/3/

The trouble with buying a jacket for a child is that the keep growing so what works today may not work next year and to keep updating them might be expensive but i guess the bottom line is the life jacket needs to do the job and not let them be face down in the water if they fall in

I guess the other thing to is to make sure all of the adults on the boat are wearing them as well (even if you normally would not) so the child thinks this is normal and does not feel that they are being singled out

The question that needs to be thought about is what is their life worth

Regards Don

How old.

She will two and a half by the time we start the day trips.

Having brought two kids up on a yacht i'd rig up netting around the lifelines and if they can swim, just put them in a light boyancy vest. Big bulky life jackets make it hard for them to move around the boat safely.
We did have high stanchions though. And its a matter of one eye for the kids, one for the ship.

I have faced exactly this issue as a grandparent.
The problem with a full and proper life jacket is that (assuming you want the child to wear it at all times on the boat) it turns them into a state you would be in wearing one of those sumo wrestling suits; arms stuck out horizontally and the shape of a blimp.

And that does not make for a happy baby.

My personal fear was always that, having for some reason fallen overboard (and I am talking here of children still in arms, and not walking around the deck) they would go straight to the bottom. So I wanted something they could wear uncomplainingly for a few hours that would at least keep them on the surface long enough for someone to dive in and get to them.

We compromised on this
www.divewarehouse.com.au/error_message.php?product_disabled=

with this as a back up 'proper lifejacket
www.bcf.com.au/marlin-australia-child-pfd-100/223979.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI7aCciN_C3AIVyrWWCh2Rjw6iEAQYASABEgK0jfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

But when my own kids were young, I too put netting on my lifelines.

But the end reality is that young kids on the boat always leave me uneasy whatever I do and it was an infrequent and fair weather day when we did have one.

Thanks Tamble, that's good advice. I'm sure I will also be circumspect on the risks, and that means she'll only be aboard on very light-wind short trips. The up side is that she has had swimming (or in reality "not-so-likely-to-drown" at this age) lessons and has plenty of water experience, and the rest of us are all strong swimmers.

Cheers, Graeme

Just thought id post this photo for anyone interested.
We used to use beanbags to lounge around the deck and they're also good to keep non-walkers out of mischief. Keep them a bit floppy and they conform to any part of the deck and make a snug little cocoon. We would often set this up on the cockpit floor depending on conditions, and the boat was set up to keep most lines out of the cockpit so the area under the dodger was safer for kids.

2.5yo... not much sitting round at that age... I have two kids 4 and 6 now, both can swim and are used to wearing life jackets, but hated them earlier in life... we have full netting, but now that they can swim when on board full time and now only use them in the dingy. They actually like wearing the jackets better now and often wear them on the beach as well?
Seriously though, we didn't do much sailing with kids between 12mths and 3 years because they are very demanding, 100% adult attention required, which wears someone out if for more than a few hours.








Kids 3-6yrs a 15-25kg jacket is perfect. The 10-15kg jackets are really bulky and uncomfortable for little ones.

Keep your eyes peeled grandpa!

My 2c.
Don't buy inflatable jackets for under 10ish.
Firstly they can pull the release when they shouldn't.
Secondly if they do fall in, do you carry a full set of canisters etc? Otherwise once discharged and you get them back on board it's no longer a life jacket.

Go to a big chandlery that has a good range and try them all on.
I have sold all brands for years and different kuds/parents like different brands for fit.
My boy is 2 1/2 and has an RFD which fits pretty well and they are a good brand.
He wears it playing in Poppy's tinny in the backyard so gets very use to 'no life jacket, no boat ride'.
Issue can be big step up from 10-15kg jacket to 15-25kg one. Try and keep them in the smaller one for as long as possible

Our daughter has the burke L100. Not too bulky. Crotch panel is more comfy than strap and a grab handle on the back for you to pull them out of the water. She was 5 when she got it so a little older.

I went through this and there are huge differences between how they float. The one we ended up with wasn't ridiculously bulky has a crotch strap but most importantly has a big loose collar to support the head.
Once you've chosen one head down to a non surf beach on a choppy day and see the reality of how they perform. Nothing worse than floating but face forward.

our son did his first race at 6 weeks old we purchased the yacht we have now to have a more appropriate family yacht when on board and on deck he always had to wear a harness on deck and a life jacket in the dingy our thought was if he went over the side at least we could get him back aboard quickly wear as the lifejacket may keep him afloat but would probably take 10 minutes to retrieve him
he adapted to this system quite well and would grab his harness before he could speak and hold it out to have put on so he could come on deck
he is now 22 and fortunately never went over the side unintentionally

I agree about the harness, but have never seen a kid-sized one in a shop. Where does one buy them?

Cheers, Graeme

Select to expand quote

wongaga said..
I agree about the harness, but have never seen a kid-sized one in a shop. Where does one buy them?

Cheers, Graeme

we made our own from 25 mm webbing copied a climbing harness