Think about he practical aspects of saving your life on a small boat with an inexperienced crew. On my boat I probably have one inexperienced person on board (my wife). I'll take care of grabbing the EPIRB and deploying - only takes seconds. Hopefully the other person can grab life jackets and ditch bag while I work the problem. It's called channeling. In an emergency the Captain gets focused on the problem at hand trying to save the boat ignoring everything else. Someone has to deal getting distress calls out and safety equipment deployed. I have seen GW boats go down in seconds.
Ask yourself how is this all going to unwind on your boat. Ditch bag, valise raft, USCG VHF/DSC alerts, trigger EPIRB, life jackets and flare pack.
On the tournament boat I fish (8 to 12 people) we orient everyone that morning. Assign raft deployment, where everything is and what has to come off. My job is to work the problem with the Captain while the safety equipment is deployed. It's still scary to put your life in someone elses hands. On a small boat it's much worse!
Safe travels!