3.3 Required Safety Equipment & PFDs

COI First — Never Invent Counts

Recreational "one life jacket per person" slogans are not enough for a Master of an inspected small passenger vessel. Carriage requirements for T-boats and similar inspected craft are set by 46 CFR Subchapter T (and any other subchapter that applies to that vessel), then made specific on the Certificate of Inspection. The COI states route, persons allowed, manning, and equipment conditions. When an exam or boarding asks how many of a given device you need, the professional answer is: check the COI and the applicable regulations for that vessel — do not invent a single universal number that applies to every Master 100 boat.

This section teaches principles and categories. Exact numerical tables vary with length, route, passenger load, and year of construction or inspection basis. Your job as master is to know where the number lives and to keep equipment serviceable and accessible.

Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs)

PFDs (life jackets / life preservers in common speech) keep a person afloat. Exam themes:

• Coast Guard-approved devices with a legible approval label stating type/performance and intended use.
• Correct size for the wearer — adult devices for adults; child PFDs when children are carried.
• Serviceable condition — flotation material not waterlogged or crushed, straps and buckles intact, fabric not rotten, reflective tape present where required, no open seams.
• Readily accessible — not locked in a paint locker, not buried under cargo, not still in the shrink-wrap from the chandlery if that prevents quick donning.

Count without condition fails. Routine inspections matter because a torn strap or deteriorated foam makes a PFD unserviceable even when the inventory sheet says the number matches the COI.

Wearable vs Throwable

Wearables address "every person needs flotation they can wear." Throwables support man-overboard response — shout, keep sight, throw flotation immediately. A ring buoy is not a substitute for providing wearable PFDs for the persons aboard as required. Conversely, a closet full of jackets does not replace the throwable devices the vessel is required to carry for recovery.

Older U.S. recreational Type I–V language still appears in study materials and labels:

• Type I — offshore life jacket; turns many unconscious wearers face-up; high buoyancy.
• Type II — near-shore buoyant vest; may turn some wearers face-up.
• Type III — flotation aid; comfortable for continuous wear; typically not for rough offshore unconscious recovery.
• Type IV — throwable device.
• Type V — special-use / hybrid devices approved for specific activities when worn as labeled.

Commercial inspected-vessel carriage may specify life preservers meeting particular approval standards rather than recreational type numbers alone. Read the label and COI, not a marina sales flyer.

Child PFDs

When the vessel carries children, approved child-sized PFDs must be aboard in the numbers and sizes the rules and COI framework require for that service. Adult jackets do not count as child devices. Brief parents during the safety orientation on where child jackets are stowed and how to don them. On mixed-age trips (school groups, family whale-watches), verify child inventory before boarding, not after the dock lines are gone.

Ring Buoys (Lifebuoys)

Ring buoys are primary throwable lifesaving appliances on most commercial small passenger vessels. Expect requirements for:

• Approved rings of specified size
• Grab lines and, where required, attached lines for recovery
• Mounting so they can be released quickly (not seized solid with paint)
• Quantity and placement driven by vessel length/route and COI — again, verify on the document, do not memorize one number for all boats

In a man-overboard, the ring is thrown near the person (not at their head) while the lookout keeps eyes on the victim and the master begins recovery.

Accessibility, Marking, and Passenger Orientation

PFDs must be where crew and passengers can reach them in an emergency. Best practice and inspection expectations typically include:

• Clear stowage and, where required, marking of containers or lockers
• Safety orientation covering location and donning of life jackets
• Enough light or marking to find jackets at night if the vessel operates after dark
• Crew practice donning so they can help passengers under stress

A perfect count in a sealed forward void fails the "readily available" standard.

Other Required Safety Equipment (Context)

Beyond PFDs, the COI/Subchapter T package commonly addresses visual distress signals, firefighting equipment, navigation lights, sound signals, first aid, and lifesaving appliances (rafts/buoyant apparatus — next section). The unifying rule for the master:

1. Read the COI and vessel-specific equipment list.
2. Compare physical gear to the list before getting underway.
3. Reject unserviceable items from the count.
4. Do not sail short on required equipment to "make the trip."

Master’s PFD pre-underway check

• COI persons-allowed known; PFD inventory meets that vessel’s carriage standard including child devices if children board.
• Spot-check labels, straps, and flotation on a sample of jackets; replace defects.
• Confirm throwables/ring buoys free to deploy with lines as required.
• Stowage accessible; crew can direct passengers in the dark.
• Safety briefing script includes jacket location and use.

Serviceability plus COI compliance is the whole PFD story for Q161. Counts invented from memory without the COI are how candidates and captains both fail.