Infant PFD

Anyone know of a PFD for an infant?? We'd like to take him on a little ride in calm water but probably need some kind of a PFD in case the Game Warden or lake patrol stops us. My wife thinks it is better not to take him (4 mo) but if he doesn't go she won't get to see our 6 year old board for the first time. I am thinking an hour in the boat probably isn't the worst thing in the world.

http://www.salusmarine.com/bijoux.html
That's comfortable and safe. You are not required to have a vest on an infant so they don't have set standards and there are no vests approved because they have no standard set.
That one does everything a life jacket is supposed to and keeps you baby comfortable.

"You are not required to have a vest on an infant..."

Depends on the state.

"...so they don't have set standards and there are no vests approved because they have no standard set."

Complete bullcrap.

I guess I can hold up one of those dorky orange ones if a lake cop stops us (or stick Barret in one of the storage compartments )

I was also wondering if it is best to hold the little guy or strap him in a car seat or something. We sold our VLX when our daughter was born so we didn't have to deal with this issue. We aren't going to be driving double-ups or anything. We are going to ride around when the lake is very calm.

Actually most states say that the infant doesn't have to have the PFD on as long as the person holding the infant has a PFD on. 4 months old is plenty old. Your wife doesn't need to worry. Just keep him out of the direct wind. wind in their faces give em crazy gas. We had my daughter on the boat when she was 3 weeks old. Still loves the boat.

Hey guys, thats the 2nd time I've hurd the infant isnt required to have a vest. Can someone show me the laws? I've googled. If so when is an infant a toddler? By weight or age? Just wondering.

Rob - We've had our daughter out since 2 months old. The life jackets suck and will swallow them in the beginning, but we just held her most of the time and she was fine. She actually slept for the 3 hours we were on the boat her first time out. I think most babies will really enjoy it...if they aren't too hot.

oh yeah and don't buy the Neoprene PFD they don't breath it will cook your kid. We got a cheep one from Walmart and she was way more comfortable. Again my kid was only like 6 pounds when she was three weeks old so she didn't fit into anything. As soon as she could fit in to a PFD she wore one. The sooner the better as far as when you can get them in it because they will get use to it. She knows now that as soon as the boat hits the water she has to put it on.

AL

"Actually most states say that the infant doesn't have to have the PFD on as long as the person holding the infant has a PFD on."

That's not even logical, and it's certainly not the case in your state, Allen:

"State law requires that all children 11 years of age or younger wear a Type I, II, III or V U.S. Coast Guard-approved life jacket while on board a vessel that is 26 feet or less in length
while the vessel is under way. Exceptions:
on a sailboat, if the child is restrained by a harness tethered to the sailboat, OR
if the child is in an enclosed cabin."

Check your state's park and rec web site. I bet you'll find the answer there. In CO, all children under the age of 12 are required to wear a CGA vest while on the water at all times, except while in an enclosed cabin, or below top deck. And yes, there are CGA vests for infants. The amount of flotation required in a CGA vest is based on weight, not age.


(Message edited by swass on September 05, 2008)

what we did was we just took our baby carrier out on the boat with us and set it in the floor of the boat. to the baby, it is almost no different than riding in a car as long as you have a bimini for shade. we did not have him in a vest but thought we definitely needed to have one on the boat for him.

if you do want and infant vest for now or next year, i have one i could sell for $10 + shipping (about $4). i'll send you pics if you like, it is nylon (breathes) has the flotation collar and all and is good up to 30lbs. just p.m. me.

Here in TN we had a customer get a $80 ticket for taking his infants vest off at the ramp waiting to load up. All he was doing was change it's diaper.

It's not worth the chance, one good wake and your child could be gone.

We have taken our kid out many times. He is now 9 months but his first trip was probably 6 month (he was born in Dec so we had to wait for the weather to cooperate. The infant pdf' do kind of suck, they are just hard to make comfortable on a tiny kid. We have a nylon Hyperlite one for him. He did get hot with it a time or two and I cant imagine how hot he would have been in neoprene. All the vests we have seen ride up to their faces, we just unzip his most of the way and secure it with the waist and crotch belt. We always hold him in the boat and he usually enjoys it and sleeps. Heat is the biggest enemy to him having a good time. Also if you do put them in a carseat by all means DONT strap the kid in! The seat is basically an anchor. My wife is ultra protective but now that we have the system down and he enjoys it, she can enjoy it. Which mean we get to go out more often!

http://www.greenhouserideshop.com/shop/product.php?productid=18402

Here is the jacket my son has (except his is a light grey)... he is almost 4 months. Like vlx4me says, if we zip it up all the way, it rides up on his face and he gets mad. It looks pretty uncomfortable.

We usually just strap him in the jacket and he chills in the opening under the steering wheel. We will put a bunch of towels in there and lay him on them. He will usually just sleep or look around for a couple hours - as long as the boat is moving.

Swass and skull, my apologies. The infant weight range for USCG is 30# and under. In Canada, and some other countries the minimum rated vest is down to 21# because the normal vests don't fit below that.
That Salius vest is recommended by the Canadian Coast Guard but they don't have legislated standards to approve it. My two older kids were around before it and the nylon vests were best because they fit loose enough to allow some air flow. We always buckled them in the vest and set them in an infant car seat (unbuckled) to keep them steady. All three of my kids loved to ride in the boat from very young. They would snooze most of the time.

We took our son on the boat at five months and he absolutely loved it. He slept most of the time or just looked around.. cried very rarely. We put a vest on him.. didn't look too comfy but he didn't seem to mind.

O'Brien has a really nice toddler jacket with a seat in it vs a crotch strap,we sell a lot of them.

There is a section at the bottom of this page with a little info. If you only keep the baby in a car seat, at leat strap a live vest to it so it couldn't sink if the worst happened.

http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg5/cg5214/pfdselection.asp#faq

(Message edited by slob02 on September 05, 2008)

Rob, come move to Washington State No life jackets required on any boat longer than 19 ft.

Our little one watched her daddy wakeboard for the 1st time when she was 3 weeks old. I bet we've had her out 20-25 times and she loves it, puts her right to sleep. We take the car seat most times but have had her out with just one of us holding her many times. We do try to avoid rough water, but I've never been uncomfortable or worried for her safety. Don't worry about it too much, have a good time out there!!!

Same in Idaho No life jackets required on any boat longer than 19'. 14 and younger need one if boat is under 19'.