Going through things in the skiff yesterday and noticed that one of my Onyx brand PFDs had deployed in the hatch. Anyone ever have that happen before? What could cause it to do that. Boat is store in the garage. I don’t remember tugging on it ever to where I would’ve manually deployed it, plus I would have noticed that lol. I have a new cartridge coming today and I plan on rearming it , but I sure would like to know why it did it.
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Some inflatables have a cartridge trigger that dissolves in water. Yours could have popped off due to heavy humidity/moisture in the hatch. I’m not sure what kind Onyx uses, but it’s not uncommon.
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Humidity is definitely next level at times. I’ll start bringing them in the house, but then there’s always the risk I’ll leave without them.
Because I sometimes wear a PFD while fly casting if it’s rough or if it’s cold (or both), I’ve never been a fan of inflatables. I used them in the bass boat with levelwind gear, but I kept conventional PFDs aboard “just in case”. In the salt I’m fly fishing 99.9% of the time, and I don’t want to risk a punctured PFD. Just something to think about.
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In Texas, inflatables only count as a legal PFD if they are being worn. If someone gets stopped and inspected, the inflatables must be on to count as a PFD. If not on a person, a regular PFD must also be present.
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Yeah, I wear them when underway for sure, but not when poling.
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ive worn mine caught in pounding rain and its never gave a issue. i would leave it out to dry because its soaked thru and thru.
i even doubted it worked so i jump in pool with it. it worked great.
its a Mustang brand.
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So I recently went down the rabbit hole of what “underway” means according to FWC definitions since an inflatable PFD must be worn when underway. The best I can determine, if you are not anchored (drifting, trolling motor, etc) you are underway. Anyone else have thoughts on when you have to wear the inflatable?
I remember this as a question on my Capt. Exam…here is a simple example from Google AI.
The link below references the CFR.
In the context of the U.S. Coast Guard, “underway” generally means a vessel is not at anchor, made fast to the shore, or aground. This definition applies whether the vessel is moving or not. Essentially, it indicates a vessel’s operational status when it’s not secured to a fixed point.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
- Not at Anchor: The vessel is not stationary with its anchor dropped.
- Not Made Fast to the Shore: The vessel is not tied to the shore with lines or cables.
- Not Aground: The vessel is not touching the bottom and is floating freely.
Therefore, even if a vessel’s engine is off and it’s drifting with the current, it would still be considered underway as long as it’s not secured in any of the ways mentioned above, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
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Follow UP.
For what it’s worth to others…when I fish alone, I normally have my PDF inflatable with my ERPIB attached…
I have heard too many stories of someone getting thrown overboard, even when “Not Underway”, I’ve often thought what could happen in one of the Rivers like the Chatham in ENP and loose my balance and fall off the deck…it could be ugly 
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Type III does not have to be worn. Type V does.
I wear a Mustang Fluid SUP inflatable waist pack all the time. It is a Type III with 29 pounds of buoyancy but that won’t do me any good if it’s in the hatch and I slip and fall overboard.
I wrote a Boat Talk article on this a few years ago and spoke directly to the USCG Safety Officer. They were supposed to update the classifications to make it easier to understand and remember. I’m not sure where that stands.
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Not at anchor, not aground, or not made fast to the shore. That’s from the Rules of Navigation.
Sorry, I missed the post above with this information.
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I had one deploy while it was in my truck. Humidity as has been said is the culprit.
I’ve had my inflatable deploy twice. Both times when the boat was in the driveway, vest in the hatch. Humidity/condensation to blame. At $25ish for the re-arm kit, I quickly learned to take it inside when not on the water.
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I’m going with humidity. I’ve got 2 auto deploys that both live in the garage, and a waist belt that is manual. The waist belt I wear pretty much all the time, and it lives in my tow rig.
I did have one of the autos deploy in my kayak hatch once, there was a small amount of water in it, but not much, figured it was the humidity that did it.
Humidity unless you were careless like I was and accidentally got both wet when washing the boat down. I knew they got wet but wasn’t thinking so I through them back in the hatch. Next morning, inflated. The biggest pita is stuffing them back together in addition replacing the aspirin like pellet..
Same in Florida
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Always check the expiration date when you buy a rearm kit. Some places (Bass Pro from personal experience) will sell them with 6 months left at full price. At $89 that’s a bad deal.
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That also applies to flares.
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thats odd to me. my last skiff , the hatches leaked like crazy. ive oulled the vest out many times dripping water straight from hatch.
like i said i doubted it even worked to the point of jumping in pool. i rearmed it and it got wet some more.
is this the difference in a 200 buck vest and a lessor priced one ?