Inflatable lifejackets are great as they are comfortable and people are more likely to wear them. But if you never open and check yours, you may as well sling a chain round your neck. Corroded gas bottles have been known to wear through the bladders.

If you own an inflatable lifejacket, you MUST open it every 6 months and inflate it orally and leave for 24 hours and have a visusl inspection. If this is too much like hard work for you, buy a foam lifejacket.

I spoke to another boatie today who had the same experience as I did. He went to put on his PFD, only to have the gas cannister fall out. I'm sure that there are hundreds of these PDF's out there that aren't going to work properly if they put to the test. I'll be talking to some of the retailers/suppliers about my observations and concerns at the boat show. I know that one group of retailers has already looked at addressing the problem.