(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]