How often must lifeboats, rescue boats, and rigid-type liferafts be stripped, cleaned, and overhauled?

• A. At least once every two years.
• B. Every six months.
• C. Every five years.
• D. Every year.

Answer: (A)

Regular, thorough maintenance of life-saving appliances is essential to ensure reliability when needed. Stripping, cleaning, and overhauling lifeboats, rescue boats, and rigid-type liferafts is required at least every two years. This interval allows a complete disassembly to inspect for corrosion, wear, or damage, service or replace worn parts, and verify that launching and rescue gear, release mechanisms, and buoyancy integrity are all in proper working order. It balances safety with practicality: more frequent overhauls would add unnecessary downtime and cost, while waiting longer than two years could let hidden faults develop that compromise performance during an emergency.