BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?

Subject: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 05:50 PM

I come to the one place where there are opinionated people unafraid to speak their minds!

I live in Alaska. In Alaska, the waters are cold and unforgiving, the weather is frequently stormy, the waves high and the coastline far away. Once a person is dumped into the water, survival time is severely limited.

Every year, multiple times a year, people are lost in these waters, often the bodies are not found.

Life jackets don't help a whole lot. They may help locate a body but the body is most likely deceased.

It happened again this weekend.

A group of us were lamenting this this morning and I got to thinking. What if a life jacket had a cord pull apparatus that would sling a mat under the person, lifting him/her out of the water to the surface, perhaps with a flap that could be laid over the body, which would help conserve body heat.

Is there such a thing?

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 05:56 PM

You'd flip, no? But I like the idea.

Or made out of that stuff that generates heat if you squeeze it?

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 06:07 PM

Maybe there'd be a keel attached? Heat? All kinds of innovations would be possible?

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Helen
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 06:37 PM

Solar powered heating would be difficult, I'm guessing.

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Ebbie
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 06:47 PM

Difficult, yes. But if you are held out of the water, especially if there is a warmth-conserving wrap around oneself, you could survive indefinitely I should think.

We have a good system of alerts on boats and planes and there are tons of people who go hunting whenever someone is missing, so a brightly colored object floating in the water has a fairly good chance of being spotted. Around here, boats, canoes, kayaks all have bright bottoms.

My original question remains: Does anyone know if there is already such a device?

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 19 Jun 23 - 07:42 PM

Here you go, Ebbie. Survitec Single Seat Life Raft to be Used on US Navy F/A-18 Aircraft

Aerolite One, the advanced Single Seat Life Raft (SSLR) from global survival technology solutions provider Survitec, has received official US Navy designation LRU-38/P for use on F/A-18 Super Hornet and T-45 Goshawk aircraft.

Specifically developed to meet the evolving needs of fast jet pilots, Aerolite One’s compact and lightweight design creates additional space for critical mission-specific survival aids in the pilot’s Personal Survival Pack (PSP).

Completion of the demanding test program demonstrated the SSLR’s performance, validating the design of Aerolite One for use in extreme conditions ensuring the user is provided with emergency floatation and protection from cold water.

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 01:04 AM

Darn. I suspected that- it's what happens to all my 'inventions'!

Thanks, Sage.

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Helen
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 04:39 AM

I suspect that a defence department piece of equipment would be extremely expensive for the everyday public, so maybe another product could be designed along the same lines but for general use.

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Helen
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 04:54 AM

Also I just thought of the first aid thermal blankets made of the lightweight silvery material, which are used when the patient is suffering from hypothermia. It folds into a small package.

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Ebbie
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 01:11 PM

I would imagine that a jacket packet for 'every day' people would be/is designed quite differently. I don't know how much a current life jacket weighs- maybe four pounds?- and the additional weight of an enhanced jacket might weigh up to 15 pounds, which would still be doable. My guess is that a 'private' packet would be minus the bells and whistles that the deep pockets of the military could mandate.

Commercial fishing in Alaska is a dangerous activity but even though on a smaller scale, private boating which often may include alcohol is even more dangerous. We have many communities on off-shore islands; often a tragedy starts out as a light-hearted trek on the water to the mainland.

As usual, education is key.

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Helen
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 02:32 PM

Ebbie, I live in Newcastle NSW Australia which is a coastal and harbour city with beautiful beaches. There is a lot of boating activity here and a high percentage of private boating has alcohol as a factor. On the other side of the story, we also have an excellent marine policing unit which seems to maintain good standards of behaviour on the water, most of the time. There are accidents and tragedies, but if not for the marine police there would be a lot more, I think.

There are also Australian advertising campaigns to remind boating people to use their life jackets.

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 20 Jun 23 - 09:17 PM

Yikes. Missing submersible?

Subject: RE: BS: Float Mat/Sac/- Anyone hear of it?
From: Helen
Date: 21 Jun 23 - 12:05 AM

Near the Titanic. Very weird that there is no way to trace it with signals, GPS etc.

What could have gone wrong with the missing Titanic submersible?