Check your lifejackets

Boat owners, now is the time to check your lifejackets. Check that those made to inflate automatically on immersion, have clean, unpierced cylinders with no rust on them, that the inflation device has not been damaged is ready for use and that the cylinder is screwed in properly. Check also that the hand triggered firing mechanism works with the cylinder removed and that the automatic capsule is clean and unfired. The seams should be checked for damage, does the light work and is it properly secured? Are all the webbing, buckles, whistles et al in good order? Try blowing up the lifejacket by mouth and leaving it for a couple of days to see if leaks have developed during the past season. Rinse the jacket in fresh water if salt water has been near it.