Life jackets, or PFDs - Personal Flotation Devices - are standard issue for boaters today. Now made from technical materials, our contemporary life jackets are the result of nearly 3,000 years of design and material development.
Early Materials
Using inflated animal skins as flotation aids, Assyrian King Assur-Nasir-Pal's army crossed moats and water sources circa 870 B.C. With only stone carvings illustrating these goat skin PFDs, the early history of the PFD has proved hard to trace. Wood planks and barrels helped keep early Norwegian sailors afloat in capsizes and water emergencies.
Sailors and New Methods
With ships and sea vessels were made from wood, sailors used wood as flotation devices and aids through the 17th century. In 1757 A.D. an unknown Frenchman constructed a flotation device made of cork for use in emergencies.
Refining Cork
British arctic explorer Capt. John Ross Ward took the Frenchman's idea and refined it in 1851, making the first life jacket out of cork. By 1861, cork became the main material for life jackets. Cork was replaced with kapok, a fibrous and supple vegetable material, around the turn of the century. Kapok was easier to shape into vests and the kapok jackets were comfortable to wear. As a result, sailors kept the vests on all the time while at sea, even when sleeping.
Mr. Guerin's Patent
On November 16, 1841, a patent was issued to Napoleon Edouard Guerin of New York City for his life jacket design. The patent was given for "Improvement in Buoyant Dresses or Life-Preservers", according to the United States Patent Office. This design looked much like our modern life jackets.
From Kapok to Inflatables and Synthetics
Kapok vests were replaced by inflatables and synthetics with the outbreak of World War II. Called the "Mae West" by sailors and pilots of WW II, a CO2 cartridge-inflatable life jacket was issued to Navy personnel. The result of this military research and development in life jacket technology entered the consumer marketplace in the 1960's.
The Modern Era
Self-righting life jackets, those that keep the wearer's face above water, became standard in the U.S. in 1960. In 1973, the US Coast Guard issued standards for life jackets, PFDs, from Grade I to Grade V. Called "special purpose categories" these five standards are still in use today. Grades I, II and III are for recreational boating use. Grade IV is a PFD that can be thrown (such as a ring). Grade V is a special use jacket.
About The Author
A former Alaskan of 20 years, Eric Coufal now resides in California. He has written for publications including "Outside" and "Backpacker" and has written a book on life in small-town Alaska, "North by Southeast." Coufal attended Syracuse University and was a professional mountain guide and backcountry expedition leader for 18 years. He worked in Russia, Iceland, Greece, Turkey, Belize and much of Alaska.
