Taylor Made 24" Life Ring Buoy White | 16.5 lb Float

A life ring is one of those pieces of gear you hope never gets used. But when someone goes over the side, the 24-inch ring is the fastest, most instinctive thing to grab and throw. Taylor Made builds this one the way safety gear should be built. A closed-cell foam core wrapped in a molded polyethylene shell, ringed with a white polypropylene grab line so a swimmer in the water has something to hold onto the moment it lands.

The numbers matter here. This ring carries 16.5 pounds of sea water buoyancy, which is plenty to keep an adult's head and shoulders up while you bring the boat around. The 24-inch outside diameter is the full-size ring, the one you see mounted on cruisers, sailboats, and commercial boats. It's big enough to reach and grab in rough water, and the bright white shell shows up well against dark water when you throw it.

The polyethylene shell shrugs off dock rash, salt, and sun better than a soft foam ring. It won't soak up water if it takes a knock, and it wipes clean when it picks up grime in storage. The closed-cell foam inside is what does the floating, and because the cells are sealed, a scuff or a scrape won't sink its buoyancy. That said, no foam lives forever in the sun. We tell folks to give the ring a good look every season and press-test the foam. If it's gone soft, or the shell has a hairline crack letting water into the core, it's time for a new one.

The white polypropylene grab line runs around the outside of the ring, and it's the part most people forget to maintain. Polypropylene holds up well to water, but UV chews on it over a couple of seasons. Check it every year, and if it's chalky or stiff, swap in fresh 3/8-inch line. When you store or mount the ring, coil the grab line in a loose figure-eight so it pays out clean on the throw instead of tangling in the bracket. Speaking of brackets, mount the ring somewhere the crew can grab it without thinking, on a stern rail or cockpit rail within arm's reach of the helm. If your rails are aluminum, use stainless U-bolts or a proper ring bracket and keep an eye on galvanic corrosion at the fasteners.

One question we get a lot. Do I have to carry one? Requirements depend on your boat's size and where you run, so check your local and Coast Guard carriage rules for throwable devices. What we can tell you is that a 24-inch ring buoy is the standard full-size throwable, and having one rigged and ready is just good seamanship whether the rules require it or not.

Who's this ring for? Any boat that carries people offshore or in cold water, really. Sailboats in the 30 to 40 foot range have the rail space to carry the full 24-inch ring without blocking a walkway, and powerboats with open cockpits work great too. If you run a tight center console, measure your rail space first, because a 24-inch ring is a big hoop. For serious offshore man-overboard readiness, a lot of skippers pair the ring with a throwable horseshoe buoy and a floating strobe light so the person in the water is both supported and visible after dark. The ring is your first, fastest reach. The rest is backup.

Bottom line, this is honest, no-nonsense safety gear from a company that's been building marine equipment for decades. Mount it, inspect it once a year, and hope you never have to use it. But if you do, you'll be glad it's the real thing and not a bargain-bin ring that's been baking on the rail with a brittle line and a waterlogged core.