Servicing Type V Personal Flotation Devices (PFDs)

If you’re like a lot of recreational boaters, you may not pay a much attention to your life vest. You might not even know what PFD stands for – Personal Floatation Device. You may have even purchased a type V PFD with your #1 criteria being comfort. You throw it on each time you go out, mainly just to make a show of it, and take it off as soon as you’re outside the marina – confident that you’ll remember to put it back on if the weather picks up.

PFD Types

Life Jackets

Lifejackets – or more generally personal flotation devices (PFDs) – are classified by their function and buoyancy into five types. The table below describes each type. Federal law requires at least one lifejacket (any non-throwable type) per person to be on board any boating vessel. Larger boats (16 ft or Read more…