Boat Safety Equipment Check
Keep an inventory of the safety gear aboard with the date each item expires, so the out-of-date ones are found at the dock rather than at sea.
TM-07 2 pages
Trailers and marine · TM-22
Lifejacket and Buoyancy Aid Inspection Register
A free printable lifejacket inspection register: each jacket by number and serial, and self-checks of cover, straps, bladder, cylinder and firing head, pass or fail.
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2 pages. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
See jacket by jacket which has been checked, which failed and which is due a service. A jacket that fails is withdrawn by number instead of going back in the locker.
Who it is for
Boat owners, sailing and paddling clubs, sea schools and anyone looking after more than one lifejacket or buoyancy aid.
How to use it
- List every jacket once on page one, and write its number on the jacket itself.
- Copy the cylinder weight and the expiry exactly as they are marked.
- For each self-check, look over the outside first, then inflate the bladder and leave it for the time the maker gives.
- Write a pass or fail and what was done; a jacket that fails is marked and kept out of use.
- Send jackets for service when the maker says, and write the date in the register.
What is on the sheet
2 pages, in this order:
Page 1
Printed under the title: Every lifejacket and buoyancy aid listed once, then each self-check on page two: the outside, the straps and light, then the inflation parts, with a pass or fail and what was done about it.
The label and the maker set the figures. No weights, test times or service intervals are printed. The full cylinder weight is stamped on the cylinder, the expiry is marked on the firing head, and the hold-test time and service interval come from the maker. A jacket that fails is marked and kept out of use until it has been serviced or replaced.
Write-on lines: Boat, club or household · Register kept by · Service station · Phone
Jackets — one line each; write the number on the jacket too
Table, 12 rows: No. · Make & model · Type · Rating · Serial · Owner or stowed · Made · Cylinder · Serviced
Page 2
Self-checks — one line per jacket per check; n/a where a part is not fitted
Also printed: Outside · Inflation
Table, 19 rows: Date · No. · Cover · Straps · Light · Held · Valve · Cylinder · Head · Expiry · Result · Action taken · By
Write-on lines: Jackets withdrawn: number, why, what replaced them · Reviewed by · Date
Questions
Why is no cylinder weight or hold-test time printed?
They differ between makers and cylinder sizes. The full weight is stamped on the cylinder itself and the hold-test time is in the maker's instructions; copy them from there so the check means something for that jacket.
Does a self-check replace a professional service?
No. The self-check finds problems between services; the maker says when a jacket should go to a service station, and the register keeps the date it last went. Check the rules where you sail, as some clubs and boats have their own.
How is this different from the boat safety equipment check?
That sheet is an inventory of all the safety gear aboard, with expiry dates. This one records the owner's own inspection of each lifejacket and buoyancy aid, part by part, with the result and the action taken.
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