Help boaters who hate life jackets

MIKE WHITEHEAD

Ahoy.

Breaking news! The final plans for Marinapark were approved last

night in a secret, closed-session meeting. The last remaining

undeveloped city-owned harborfront property is to be developed as a

full-scale public marina with slips large enough to accommodate

visiting mega-yachts. Also at the late night meeting, members

sketched out plans for a public boat-launch ramp, expressing alarm

that a public launch is missing in the main harbor of the largest

recreational harbor in the world. The state Department of Boating and

Waterways is funding the entire project, and the revenue from slip

rentals and launch fees will fund staffing and maintenance.

Well, by now you most of you have guessed -- April Fool!

I know I have your attention after that opener, so how would you

like to win $5,000? This is not an April Fools joke. It’s a real

competition designed to help boaters, but you do not need to be a

boater. If you have ever thought that you can build a better

mousetrap, then think about how you can design a better lifejacket.

The BoatU.S. Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water and the

Personal Flotation Device Manufacturers Assn. are sponsoring their

Innovation in Life Jacket Design Competition. They’re looking for

entries that embrace new technologies and original thinking to solve

the age-old problem of why certain boaters will not routinely wear

life jackets.

I always look very stylish stepping off a boat, while I am wearing

my big bulky type I flotation device that is chafing the back of my

neck. The life jacket’s orange color reflecting off my face makes me

look good, so I must remember to remind the makeup person that I am

autumn when getting ready for the next Boathouse TV Show.

A 2004 BoatU.S. Foundation study found that many boaters refuse to

wear their lifejackets because the jackets are uncomfortable. So,

BoatU.S. is posing the question: “What would a life jacket look and

feel like if there were no government guidelines?” The goal is to

encourage innovative ideas and new technology to design a life jacket

that the majority of boaters might wear while onboard.

The competition will be judged based on four criteria --

wearability, reliability, cost and innovation. Wearability will

relate to the level of comfort; reliability, taking into account the

chances for potential failure; cost and affordability of the design;

and innovation, originality or the use of new technologies.

Entries are being encouraged from armchair inventors to high

school science clubs and collegiate design programs. The winning

designer will receive a $5,000 award.

The entries are not bound by any rules or types of materials that

are used, and, of course, designs will not need to be U.S. Coast

Guard certified for the contest. However, some inventors may wish to

submit their designs for possible financial assistance toward gaining

full Coast Guard approval, and I know of a good patent attorney,

Jerry Sewell.

Entries will be accepted from March 31 to Dec. 15, with the winner

announced at the Miami International Boat Show next February. Anyone

interested can go online at www.boatus.com

/Foundation/lifejacketdesign or contact Ruth Wood at (703) 823-9550,

Ext.. 3204 or [email protected]; or Bernice McArdle at (312) 946-6280

or [email protected].

TIP OF THE WEEK

The Santa Ana winds were gusting from the northeast on Thursday,

and hopefully the winds will clock-around to a westerly direction

this afternoon. Switching winds play havoc on your mooring lines, as

the lines are stretched from different directions. Always check your

mooring lines during and after strong winds, because the lines will

need adjusting and maybe added help. In addition, you should look for

chafing around the cleats or where the lines make contact anywhere on

the boat.

Tune in to the No. 1 boating talk radio show in the nation, “Capt.

Mike Whitehead’s Boathouse Radio Show.” It airs every Saturday from

noon to 1 p.m. on KCBQ-AM (1170). You can join me, Chandler Bell and

Eric Hovland by calling the listener line at (888) 344-1170.

Safe Voyages.

* MIKE WHITEHEAD is the Pilot’s boating and harbor columnist. Send

him your harbor and marine-related thoughts and story suggestions by

e-mail to [email protected] or visit https://www.boathousetv.com.