Are you tired of your rusty old life jacket? (If your life jacket is actually rusty, you may have bigger problems.) Do you wish it were designed better? Now's your chance to make your voice heard. The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water and the Personal Flotation Device Manufacturers Association want you to vote on your favorite new design in this year's “Innovation in Life Jacket Design Competition” by going to either their Facebook page or the BoatUS website. The vote goes until July 8th and voters are encouraged to vote once a day.
Nearly 250 designs were submitted from such varied locales as New Zealand and Mongolia before being whittled down to the 14 finalists. “The judges want to know what the boating public is looking for in a new life jacket design or style, and your vote will also factor into the final overall score,” said BoatUS Foundation Outreach Manager Alanna Keating.
The competition was conceived as a way to rethink a design that has been around for nearly 100 years by incorporating new technology and design innovations. The prizes for winning are $10,000 for first prize, $3,000 for second and $2,000 for third.
For more information, go to www.BoatUS.org/design.