ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times

DATE: Sunday, February 23, 1997              TAG: 9702240003
SECTION: BOAT SHOW                PAGE: 5    EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR

HIGH-FASHION FLOTATION SO LIGHT AND CLASSY, HE THINKS YOU MIGHT EVEN WANT TO WEAR IT

THE DROWNING of a friend who wasn't wearing his bulky life jacket sent Scott Swanby on a search for something better.

The inflatable life jacket could be a fashion statement (above) before it's needed, but when you hit the water, it's there for you. Some models are activated when a lanyard is jerked, others are triggered automatically when immersed in water.

Scott Swanby lost a good friend who drowned during a duck hunting trip. The friend had a life jacket aboard his boat, but he wasn't wearing it.

Most sportsmen who die in boating accidents aren't wearing a personal flotation devise. The law requires one life jacket for each person aboard a craft, but often the devices are stowed rather than worn. Life jackets get the rap of being bulky, hot and uncomfortable.

Swanby had the task of telling his friend's wife the terrible news. After that, he went on a mission to find a more comfortable PFD, one that people would not just stuff into a compartment of their boat.

``What we did was to start to search the country, as active sportsmen, for something we would be willing to wear,'' Swanby said from his office in Fruitland, Idaho.

The result was a product Swanby calls SOSPENDERS. It is a slim, lightweight PFD that looks like a vest or suspenders. It rests on the shoulders instead of the neck and inflates in seconds when a small carbon dioxide canister built into it is activated. Some models are activated when a lanyard is jerked, others are triggered automatically when immersed in water. They are boating's air bags.

``They are lightweight and comfortable and give you the freedom to truly enjoy your activities,'' said Swanby.

In September, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that inflatable jackets would meet federal PFD standards. In mid-January, Swanby's company, Sporting Lives, Inc., was bringing the first U.S. approved models off the production line.

``We finally found the gold,'' Swanby said.

They aren't cheap. SOSPENDERS cost about $100, Swanby said. They should last five to eight years.

``Most of the outdoor/marine discount houses carry the products,'' said Swanby. They include Bass Pro Shops and Boat U.S.

The inflatable PFDs have been receiving endorsements from high places.

``The Coast Guard's move to establish acceptable standards for inflatables could be one of the biggest lifesaving advances in recreation boating safety,'' said David Pulvilli, a spokesman for Boat Owners Association of the United States.

``Inflatable PFDs are so comfortable, I believe many people will wear them even when they don't have to, and hundreds of lives will be saved every year,'' said Ray Scott, president of the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society. B.A.S.S. requires that an approved PFD be worn during its tournaments.

Sid Stapleton, skipper of the Americas Odyssey, ordered his crew to wear inflatable devices during a run along the coast of Colombia when winds up to 40 knots were encountered.

``We lived in those vests for 28 hours, but because they were so light and unobtrusive, they were hardly noticeable. I doubt very seriously that I or any of my crew would have worn a cumbersome foam-filled PFD for 28 hours,'' he said in a report published in Motor Boating & Sailing Magazine.

Inflatable PFD were approved by European marine safety agencies well before the U.S. Coast Guard acted.

``We have been selling thousands of jackets without the U.S. Coast Guard approval on them,'' Swanby said. Some boaters in this country have preferred to wear an inflatable PFD while having a backup, foam-filled Coast Guard approved devises aboard just to meet boating regulation requirements.

``Now they don't have to buy two,'' Swanby said.

Sales are expected to boom with the recent approval of inflatable devices in Type I, Type II, Type III and Type V categories. They will not cover the throwable Type IV category. Nor do any of the approved models meet standards for children under 80 pounds or younger than 16.

LENGTH: Medium:   79 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  1. The inflatable life jacket could be a fashion 
          statement (above) before it's needed, but when you hit the water, 
          it's there for you. 2. Some models are activated when a lanyard is 
          jerked, others are triggered automatically when immersed in water.