Onyx Type IV Throwable Cushion, USCG Approved, Red

Every boat needs one, and most of us don't think about it until the day we do. The Onyx Type IV throwable safety cushion is the flotation device you keep within arm's reach at the helm, ready to toss to a passenger who has gone over the side. It's U.S. Coast Guard certified as a Type IV throwable, which means it's built to be thrown to a conscious person in the water, not worn like a life jacket. Grab it, throw it, and the person in the water has something buoyant to hold onto while you bring the boat around.

Here's the part a lot of first-time owners miss. Federal law requires most recreational boats 16 feet and longer to carry at least one Type IV throwable device on board, on top of a wearable life jacket for every person aboard. Canoes and kayaks are the usual exception. So if your boat is 16 feet or more, this cushion isn't optional gear, it's the piece that keeps you legal on a Coast Guard safety check and, more importantly, gives you a way to help someone fast. One of these tucked under the console covers that requirement.

The build is straightforward and made for the job. A durable red polyester cover wraps a block of buoyant foam. Red matters here, because a bright cushion is easy to spot on the water and easy for the person overboard to swim toward. Two webbing grab straps run across the top. They give you something solid to grip when you throw, and they double as carry handles when you're moving the cushion around the boat or stowing it at the end of the day. There's nothing to inflate, nothing to service, and no cartridge to replace. Foam floats, plain and simple, which is exactly what you want from a device that has to work the instant you grab it.

When it's not doing rescue duty, this cushion earns its keep as an actual cushion. The foam and fabric make a comfortable place to sit on a hard bench seat or a casting deck, so a lot of boaters keep one at the helm and another in the cockpit. That's a smart setup. The gear you sit on every trip is the gear you'll always know the location of, and knowing exactly where your throwable is when seconds count is the whole point. Just don't bury it under a pile of bags. A Type IV only counts toward your requirement, and only helps in an emergency, if it's immediately accessible.

Using it is about as simple as gear gets. If someone goes in, throw the cushion toward them, aiming slightly upwind or up-current so it drifts to them rather than away. They hug it or hold on by the straps while you circle back and get them to the boat. Because it isn't a wearable PFD, it's meant as a supplement to the life jackets on board, not a replacement, and it works best for a conscious swimmer who can actively hold on. For kids, weak swimmers, or anyone who might not be able to grab and hold, a properly fitted wearable life jacket is still the first line, and this cushion backs it up.

This Onyx throwable measures roughly 15 by 16 by 2 and a half inches, so it stows easily in a console cubby, under a seat, or in a cockpit locker without eating up much room. It's a single cushion, sold one to a package. For most 16-foot-and-up runabouts, center consoles, bass boats, and pontoons, one meets the Type IV throwable requirement, though carrying a spare never hurts on a bigger boat with more people aboard. Give it a rinse with fresh water now and then, let it dry, and check that the fabric and foam are still in good shape. If it ever gets waterlogged, torn, or the foam has gone flat and hard, retire it and put a fresh one aboard. It's cheap insurance for the one moment you hope never comes.