A 43-litre Optimist buoyancy bag in polyurethane-coated nylon, around half the weight of a PVC bag and considerably stronger.
- Capacity 43 litres
- Polyurethane-coated nylon construction
- Around half the weight of PVC or PVC-coated nylon bags
- Twist-lock tube valve for fast inflation and deflation
- Deflated size 41 x 100 cm
- Radius 24 cm
- Colour red
- Optiparts part number EX1216
Every Optimist carries three buoyancy bags, and they are the part most often replaced because they take constant handling and eventually chafe or leak. This 43-litre bag uses polyurethane-coated nylon rather than PVC, which brings the weight down to roughly half while standing up better to the daily in-and-out of a training fleet. The twist-lock valve sits on a short length of tubing, so the bag can be topped up or emptied without wrestling the valve against the hull. Inflate until the bag is soft to the touch rather than hard: an over-inflated bag can burst if the boat sits in the sun, and a properly filled bag still does its job. Check the boat for sharp edges before fitting, since a snagged bag is the usual cause of a slow leak.
