L D'Bonnie wrote in news:47f3f083$0$517$6c5eefc5
@news.maximumusenet.com:

My boat is a 21 foot weekender. I'm not
concerned with sinking,

A recipe for disaster. Without a survival suit for every person aboard,
you won't last 15 minutes, maybe not 10.

http://www.mustangsurvival.com/integrity/
http://www.mustangsurvival.com/produ...p?id=421&mc=13

http://www.mustangsurvival.com/resou...icles/hypother
mia/index.php

"THE 4 CRITICAL PHASES OF COLD-WATER IMMERSION

I. First 5 minutes - Immediate Shock
The subject experiences the gasp reflex – the sudden gasp of air as
result of the shock, the inability to hold breath, hypertension and
increased cardiac output. Most casualties in this phase succumb to
drowning or heart attack before hypothermia can even begin to set to in.

II. Next 15 minutes – Inhalation of Water
The subject fails to keep afloat or swim and has little ability to grasp
or climb into things such as overturned vessels or life rafts.
Typically, these individuals drown due to excessive inhalation of water.

III. 30 minutes - Onset of hypothermia
Stages of Hypothermia:
37° C is considered normal body core temperature. When core temperature
drops to 36.1° C, muscle tone becomes affected. Most people have
experienced this feeling of tension in their back and neck when they’ve
become chilled. At a core temperature of 35° C, one is considered mildly
hypothermic. Most immersion experiments with human test subjects are
terminated at this point for ethical reasons. At a core temperature of
33.9° C, subjects experience amnesia, but of course don’t remember it!
Another 1.1° C drop down to 32.8° C; apathy that is a lack of sensation
or feeling can be experienced.

At 32.2° C one is considered profoundly hypothermic and starts to lose
the ability to shiver. At 31.1° C, shivering ceases. Shivering is a
human’s only method of increasing their internal heat generation, thus
once it stops, and core temperature starts falling rapidly. At 30° C,
heart arrhythmias occur. Death follows at 25° C; however the majority of
people would have drowned before ever getting to this point.

IV. 30 minutes – Risk of Re-warming Shock after Rescue
Upon removal from the water, there is a continued drop in a subject’s
core temperature and a collapse of arterial pressure due to hydrostatic
squeeze. Extreme care and proper re-warming procedures must be followed
to effectively attend to the subject.

HOW CAN HYPOTHERMIA BE PREVENTED ?
In-water Tactics
When you’re in cold water, don’t swim unless you can reach a nearby
boat, fellow survivor or floating object. Even good swimmers drown while
swimming in cold water. Swimming lowers your body temperature.

If a nearby floating object is large, pull yourself up onto it. The more
of your body that is out of the water, the warmer you’ll be. Don’t use
drownproofing methods that call for putting your face into the water.
Keep your head out of the water to lessen heat loss and increase
survival time.

Use of the HELP position will lessen heat loss. If there are others in
the water, HUDDLE together for warmth. Keep a positive outlook; it will
improve your chances of survival.

Always wear your PFD. Even if you become helpless from hypothermia, your
PFD will keep you afloat."

The difference is they find a cold, dead body floating in his
PFD.....or, they find a barely alive cold body floating in his
rudimentary survival suit that saved his ass....Your choice.

It CAN happen to YOU....