Emergency Flares kit provided by RT for new boat deliveries

[baz]

Subject: Emergency Flares kit provided by RT for new boat deliveries

Today was USCG Inspection day. The boat passed without much ado although the inspector frowned some at the emergency flares kit that RT provides with their new boats (at least for my new boat). 😱

For my previous R-25 and R-21EC the flares kit included a firing gun. 😀

The new kit provides simple flares much like one uses for auto incidences. 🙁 The inspector looked at them and kind of hummed a bit and described how they should be used in his opinion. He said , once the flare is lit, then what?.... do you stand and hold it or what?..... We discussed this some and both agreed that it would be best to duct tape the flare stick to the end of a pole and hold the flare aloft for others to see and for safety reason for not letting the flare fall into the boat etc.

I must admit I was not happy with the emergency flares kit that RT provided me with. I'd much prefer to have the gun as part of the flares kit as surely that will shoot the flare way up into the air for greater visibility at distance.

I will definitely be looking for a new flares kit.

 

[JamesTXSD]

Ever fired marine flares? As part of crew training over the years, I have used expired flares during our training exercises (after notifying the Coast Guard and local LE). The 12 gauge gun launched flares will last about 10 seconds. The hand-held flares will last a couple minutes.

There is a technique to using the hand-held emergency flares - if you hold them over your head, you are going to get burned by the melting slag. Rather, you hold them at a 45º angle, preferably over the downwind side of the boat. Flares are to get the attention of boats within sight. The orange smoke flares work well, too.

When having new crew light and hold a flare, they quickly understand WHY they have to be held away from you and downwind. For those contemplating what kind of flares will be best, understand that they all work, if you understand how and when to use them.

There is no requirement for a manufacturer to supply boats with flares. Great that Ranger does. The kind you have will do the job if the situation calls for it. Having been through many Coast Guard inspections, there are signaling devices for inshore, near coastal, and off-shore (I've run commercial boats with handheld flares only - no gun). Nothing saying you can't supplement what you have with a flare gun kit. For the record, as long as the flares meet the letter of the law, the only thing I've seen questioned during an inspection is the expiration date. As long as you have current date flares on the boat, it is not illegal to have expired flares onboard, too, as long as they are marked as such.

 

[Maggie Anne]

I also am not too keen on the handgun fired flares, in my opinion they're not very effective. After watching them in a live demo by our local safety group, my primary criticism is that they don't last very long, someone would have to be looking in the right direction at just the right time, in addition, they appeared fairly weak in brightness compared to the handheld flares.

 

[stwendl]

Recently, don’t recall where, I saw a reference to an electronic flare, replacing hand flares which do not have an expiration date and also do not represent a fire hazard

Anyone used or has them?

 

[SgtAlf]

From West Marine,
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/weems-pl ... ecordNum=2

I have one, never used it other than to test it to see if it worked.

 

[knotflying]

Recently, don’t recall where, I saw a reference to an electronic flare, replacing hand flares which do not have an expiration date and also do not represent a fire hazard

Anyone used or has them?

Yes, I have one. For daylight it is a bit passive. There is a large orange flag for daytime signaling and the night strobe is fairly powerful. It blinks an SOS. I have my reservations as to the average person seeing each and realizing someone is in distress. I carry my flare gun and expired flares as well. I feel fairly confident that any boater seeing a red flare going up will respond much quicker than a orange flag flapping in the breeze or a white SOS flashing light. Nothing wrong with having some redundancy. I figure for Coast Guard inspections, if my flares inadvertently have expired I still have the legal electronic flare. I just have to make sure I have good batteries in it, which I carry and are easier to get in a pinch.