Weight Distribution and Stability Testing

Givens Double Ballast Self-Stabilizing Buoy Life Raft Will not Capsize! Divers in survival suits attempted to intentionally capsize a Givens Buoy Life Raft and were unable to do so. The Givens Buoy Liferaft remained upright and would not capsize!

Competitors' lightly ballasted raft capsizes! This photo illustrates how a single diver is able to capsize a competitors lightly ballasted raft by simply attempting to board it!

"Survivors" wearing exposure suits were able to capsize unballasted and lightly-ballasted rafts. Those rafts also capsized when two or more raft occupants were positioned on the same side of an un-ballasted raft. The testing teams were unable to capsize a Givens Buoy Life Raft, even with 800 pounds of body weight on one side of the raft. Click here to see a comparison explanation of the ballast systems on life rafts.