Personal Flotation Devices (PFD) for Float Tubers
By Kent Hull
In her Gearing Up article, Betty Rentz points out that Type III PFDs are required by law for float tubers on Davis Lake. California DFG freshwater fishing regulations have mentioned the same requirement, though it has not been strictly enforced everywhere. Most of us think of a float tube as a really big PFD. In the past, some places have allowed a float tube to count as a PFD if it has at least two air chambers, each capable of floating a person. However, a leaking float tube will not buoy its occupant up properly. There's every likelihood that a rapid deflation will present a hazard to the occupant by falling off to one side or turning over so the occupant must first get out of the tube (unhook the stripping apron, at least) and then find a way to use what's left of the tube's buoyancy to stay afloat.
Even though wearing a PFD while float tubing seems a nuisance (if you even remembered to buy one, and didn't forget it at home), it's both prudent and a regulatory requirement for you to wear one.
Suppose you are floating one of the lakes at Mammoth, and your tube loses at least one chamber. You will be swimming in very cold water, probably in breathable waders, which fill with cold water. Although water-filled waders won't pull you down (you have the same buoyancy in the water inside your waders as you have with water outside your waders), you will get cold and get cold fast. You can't cope with much of anything when you've lost a lot of body heat. So a PFD will at least help keep you from drowning, though you will still be in serious danger from hypothermia.
Another realistic circumstance is float tubing a large lake (Crowley or bigger). If you're in the middle and your float tube deflates, do you really think you can swim that far with your waders and maybe vest on, and no doubt trying to tow the remains of your float tube? Swimming against hugely water-inflated waders (a big sea anchor) and all the drag of your other gear would be a pretty big challenge to a fit and skillful swimmer. You'd be low in the water, so winds which usually come up on bigger lakes wouldn't even do much to blow you to the downwind shore. A PFD would keep you afloat with little or no effort on your part, and you could concentrate on getting the attention of others on the water to give you assistance.
A Type III PFD must provide at least 15.5 lb buoyancy. That's enough to keep the head of an average person completely out of the water. A float tuber isn't an average person in this sense, because of the extra weight often carried. All of the things on your person that won't float (or at least sink slowly) add to your need for buoyancy. Only the die-hards who wear neoprene waders are ahead here, because neoprene waders provide buoyancy of their own,. In addition, they provide increased protection against hypothermia as long as they are close-fitting enough to restrict the amount of water that can get in. They are close fitting enough if they are a struggle to put on.
A Type III PFD is intended to be worn at all times. It is not suitable for use in rough water or where rescue may be slow in coming. Unlike a type I or II PFD, it will not usually turn an unconscious (whether due to hypothermia or other cause) person face-up in the water.
A Type III PFD typically uses closed cell foam for flotation. The inflatable PFDs many of us use are actually Type V inflatables. For float tube use, they are an acceptable substitute for Type III PFDs as long as they are properly worn at all times you are on the water, and their design includes a rapid inflation feature (i.e., you don't have to inflate them by mouth).
So what should you buy if you don't already have a suitable PFD for float tubing? A foam based canoeing or kayaking vest is probably best for safety reasons. Unfortunately,, extremely comfortable vests which allow excellent freedom of movement usually cost a bunch more than the clunky, restrictive kind that make you feel more like a vegetable tuber in its jacket (a potato) than a float tuber. However, a reasonable compromise between cost and comfort can usually be found, at a cost considerably lower than you'd pay for an inflatable PFD. The inflatable PFDs are generally the least restrictive, to your arm and body movements and are unquestionably preferable in warm weather. The only brand of inflatable that comes to my mind is the ubiquitous SOSpender.