Liferaft installation

Fountaine pajot gives you two options for liferaft installation.

1-Under the central cockpit seat. The bottom of that area is fitted with a hatch. So in theory you can reach the liferaft even when the boat is upside down. Nice idea but a single person is not strong enough to lift a 8 pax liferaft out of this area. So it will depend on the situation if this is useful or not. Putting the liferaft in the central locker takes up a lot of valuable storage space. During our Atlantic crossing we could store all canned drinks and food in that area. It is huge. However, the hatch in the bottom is not water proof so standard it is a wet area. I sealed the hatch to make it a dry area.

2- behind the stairs to the helm station
From there it is easy to drag the liferaft to the water. But if the boat is upside down, it cannot be reached. Also, the space behind the stairs is great for stocking water and wine 😉

As we do not have the platform, we could install the life raft on the transom with a Plastimo universal cradle. It does not take up any space there. By pulling a metal pin, I can launch the liferaft. It is also accessible when the boat is upside down. For us that is the best place. On our boat, I installed it on the port side, because that is the direction the launch pin has to be pulled. Next time (?) I will convert the liferaft cradle so that I can install it on the starboard side, which frees up the area for the Watt and Sea Hydro generator installation on port side. Shorter cables are better.