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Do you sniff the milk or just throw it away if it hits its best before date??
In 2012 when I first got Mary I got a pair of life jackets and luckily never had to use them in earnest. I hope this continues. However I thought I should replace the cylinders as they had been there for 5 years and they had hit their best before date. However the adage that you get what you pay for is never more relevant. I got these branded jackets ‘cheap’, the reason being they were a deprecated model, not that I knew this they looked the same.
The offshoot is that I cannot get a replacement gas canister. So here is the rub. They still show pressure (as do my 2012 fire extinguishers) and I tested the ‘bladder’ by leaving it under pressure for 24 hours. So for me they pass the ‘sniff’ test and for me I think they are fine and I am comfortable sailing with them.
However it is not just my opinion that counts, a failure in the jacket now risks tabloid level hyperbole and finger pointing. But more importantly if I have visitors on the boat. Would I extend this trust to them? So, in this case, I will pay to get my jackets serviced and maybe replace the most important fire extinguisher.
But I don’t carry a life raft, flares or an EPERB. Maybe I would if I was to cross the channel? I think you can hire them now and as they need servicing maybe this is the best way forward.
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