Just now, MN Fisher said:

I dunno about TN - but in MN, long as the chase boat has PFDs in the boat, they're legal. Don't have to be wearing them.

"Subd. 4.Rowing team members; personal flotation devices.

Notwithstanding subdivision 1, a member of a rowing team that is sanctioned by an academic or nonprofit entity is not required to wear or possess, and no local ordinance or rule may require a member of a rowing team to wear or possess, a personal flotation device in a racing shell if a chase boat carrying the devices prescribed under subdivision 1 accompanies the racing shell."

https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/86B.501

I have no clue if they have them on board, I just have never seen anyone wear anything. And the boats are barely wider than a human 

11 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

I have no clue if they have them on board, I just have never seen anyone wear anything. And the boats are barely wider than a human 

I know exactly how narrow those things are - I was the caller when I attended Worcester Academy back in the early 70s.

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

The rowing team practices daily near my house and I’ve never seen a life jacket on any of them including the coaches in the power boats.

 

 

i have to disagree with the “what is your life worth, you have to spend $250” opinion. Foam floats and is cheap, also less likely to fail. It seems to me if your life is important, use one that doesn’t require inflating 
 

maybe it’s because I work in attics, crawl spaces, and on roofs in boots and pants all day but wearing a foam jacket in a boat is not uncomfortable to me 

This is my philosophy too. The old K.I.S.S. methodology is hard to argue against.  There are a lot of potential failure points in an inflatable PFD.  The valve could seize, the gas tank could leak, the bladder could have a hole in it.  There's no way to inspect it without inflating it which wastes money and time, making it something most people will rarely, if ever do.  With a Foam PFD, about the only potential problem is rot.  And that's easy enough to check every time you wear it.  

 

I'm not saying that inflatable PFD's are a bad idea.  The risk of failure on one is extremely low.  I'm just saying that if your life is worth $250 on something that's 99% effective, then how could you argue against it being worth $50 on something that's 99.9%.  So the difference between the two, let's be honest here, isn't really so much about safety, as it is about comfort.  And that's okay.  Either one will likely save your life if you need it to.  My point being, you just don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on a PFD to save your life unless you want to.  That's all.  

Just be sure you have one that will roll you over on your back. Many (most?) don't.