Planned safety

If you have the misfortune of needing to use your liferaft, the situation you will find yourself in is likely to be that of panic and confusion, where you need to act calmly and efficiently. As the skipper, it is your responsibility to assure the safety of everyone on board. Before setting out, your liferaft must figure on your checklist. You always check your battery, your radio and your navigation equipment, but you must also be sure that your liferaft is in an accessible place, not tucked away at the bottom of a locker or in a cabin. You need to ensure that it can be launched without difficulty, is up to date for servicing, and that everyone on board knows the launching procedure. By being prepared you can prevent an accident from becoming a tragedy.

Warranty 12 years ⁽¹⁾

The need for servicing

Due to our confidence in our experience and the quality of our products, we provide a 12-year guarantee⁽¹⁾ les radeaux que nous fabriquons, for the liferafts that we manufacture, provided that they undergo the inspections stipulated every 3 year⁽¹⁾⁽²⁾, in an authorised service station. Packaged in a valise or a container, the rafts must undergo this inspection every three years from their date of sale (up to 15 years).*

This inspection is indispensable in order to check that your raft and its equipment are in good condition. For BIP Offshore ISO 9650 rafts provided with a separate > 24 hours bag (grab bag), you are also responsible for ensuring the good condition of the contents of the grab bag. Your Bombard service station would be happy to do this and we strongly recommend that you bring your grab bag for servicing with your liferaft. In doing so, you will get to see your liferaft inflated, find out what equipment it contains and how it is arranged and even add additional personal supplies. Hopefully this will be the only time that you see your liferaft out of its canister, although should the worst happen you will at least know more about how it works and what to do in an emergency.

What is a service?

• opens the container (or the bag).
• tests the inflation system (firing head, valves, pipes)
• weighs the gas bottle.
• inspects the equipment on board.
• repacks the liferaft and its contents in a shrink wrapped waterproof plastic sack.

as the liferaft gets older additional tests are carried out: Hydraulic test of the gas bottle, replacement of equipment which is out of date or will be before the next service. this work can only be carried out at a Bombard approved service station by trained staff who continue to regularly attend Bombard training courses.

(1) For liferafts purchased and serviced respectively in North America and the U.K. In other countries, check applicable warranty and local regulations. Ask your dealer or service station for further details and the terms and conditions of guarantee. The guarantee, which is valid only on return of the guarantee card, is accompanied by a financial contribution from the 7th year onwards.

(2) Rafts for hire boats, as well as any boats sailing in tropical waters, remain subject to an annual inspection. These conditions apply to Bombard rafts purchased after 1 September 2004.

* If in accordance with your national regulation.