CFR > Title 46 - Shipping > CHAPTER I—COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY > SUBCHAPTER Q—EQUIPMENT, CONSTRUCTION, AND MATERIALS: SPECIFICATIONS AND APPROVAL (parts 159 to 165) > PART 160—LIFESAVING EQUIPMENT > SUBPART 160.052—Specification for a Buoyant Vest, Unicellular Plastic Foam, Adult and Child (§160.052-1 to §160.052-9) > 160.052-6—Construction—nonstandard vests.

160.052-6—Construction—nonstandard vests.

(a) General. The construction methods used for nonstandard buoyant vests must be equivalent to those requirements in § 160.052-5 for a standard vest and also meet the requirements in this section.
(b) Size. Each nonstandard vest must contain the following volume of plastic foam buoyant material, determined by the displacement method:
(1) Five hundred cubic inches or more for an adult size;
(2) Three hundred and fifty cubic inches or more for a child, medium size;
(3) Two hundred and twenty-five cubic inches or more for a child, small size.
(c) Arrangement of buoyant material. The buoyant material in a nonstandard vest must:
(1) Be arranged to hold the wearer in an upright or backward position with head and face out of water;
(2) Have no tendency to turn a wearer face downward in the water; and
(3) Be arranged so that 70 to 75 percent of the total is located in the front of the vest.
(d) Neck opening. Each cloth-covered nonstandard vest must have at the neck opening:
(1) A gusset; or
(2) Reinforcing tape.
(e) Adjustment, fit, and donning. Each nonstandard vest must be made with adjustments to:
(1) Fit a range of wearers for the type designed; and
(2) Facilitate donning time for an uninitiated person.
[CGD 72-163R, 38 FR 8120, Mar. 28, 1973]