I was doing a vessel courtesy exam this past summer and, as one of the mandatory items, I was checking on the throwable life ring. The owner assured me that he had one, and seemingly happily showed it to me, under a lift-up seat next to a table. It was not a good spot.
We need to think about the extremely dangerous situation where someone falls overboard. In a split second many things have to happen, and one of them should not be sending someone to find the life ring under a seat! Coast Guard rules require that the life ring be immediately accessible, and for good reason and see below for comments about attaching the life ring to a line. In as few seconds as possible after someone falls overboard, that life ring should be thrown to the MOB. (See our MOB article for more details on actions to take when someone falls overboard.) The more time it takes, the further the person in the water is from the life ring. That certainly seems obvious, but think about it – how far do you want to make the person swim to get to it? This is even more problematic if you are in the ocean and there are swells for the MOB to deal with.
It is important that the life ring be attached to your boat so that it can be retrieved and then thrown again if need be. It is difficult to throw a life ring accurately and a life ring in the water and the MOB can be too far apart for the MOB to get to it. Additionally if the person on board the boat is not able to maneuver it skillfully, it might be difficult or impossible to get close to the MOB without running him or her over, or simply close enough to reach them. If the MOB is holding onto the life ring, he or she can be pulled alongside, and the rope can help pull the MOB back aboard.
Do not think of the life ring as something that does not go with the decor of your boat and therefore to be put out-of-sight. Think of the life ring as the critical piece of life saving equipment that it is, and the necessity that it is because of the environment in which boats operate. At all times, hope for the best, but always plan for the worst.