Flare Replacement

[markm]

I just inspected everything for this seasons boat operation. The Orion flares in my kit are expired by two years. I have a kit with a pistol and four shells, and four hand held flares. Is it cheaper to replace the flares or the entire kit. West Marine does not seem to have replacement flares. Any suggestions.

Thanks

Mark

 

[RProffer]

West Marine does carry replacement flares online, as does many other places (probably cheaper). I would suggest buying replacement flares. The old flares would probably work and you can carry them onboard, as long as they are separate from the un-expired flares. IMHO, it is better to have extra flares on-board that may work, than not have enough flares when you need them.

When I was in the Navy, we used expired flares for training. Many times the flares were two or three times older than their operational life and they still worked.

 

[tugfan]

Expired flares most likely are fine, but if you were to be subjected to a safety inspection, the old flares don't count and you would fail and could be subjected to a fine. I would buy the flares in person, for two reasons, if shipped, they are considered hazardous materials, so the shipping would be expensive, second, look at the expiration dates, if the flares are newly made, it will be about June, 2014. That gives you at least three seasons of use.

Bill

www.eclecticwonders.com - uncommon art

 

[JamesTXSD]

We bought our last replacement flairs at Wal-Mart. They had them behind the counter, with the shotguns and rifles. I looked at both sets they had - different expiration dates. Less $$ than West Marine. We still carry the outdated flares on the boat, in a plastic bag marked "expired." Last time we were boarded by the Coast Guard, one of them said, "Probably not a bad idea to keep those on hand."

Best wishes,
Jim B.

 

[K7MXE]

I found Cabelas has the freshest flares, maybe not the best prices but worthy of checking out if a Cabelas is close
Bob Heselberg near Eatonville Wa

 

[BILLR]

As a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, we conduct Vessel Safety checks and one the items we check is the expiration date for the hand held and aerial flares.
They are good for 42 months from date of manufacture.
We recommend you keep the expired flares on board and use them first.
In most cases they will still function.
If they don't work you will still have the newer, in-date flares availalble.

 

[SlackwaterJack]

I found this on the web under "US Coast Guard flare requirements...
"All vessels used on coastal waters, the Great Lakes, territorial seas, and those waters connected directly to them, up to a point where a body of water is less than two miles wide, must be equipped with U.S.C.G. Approved visual distress signals. Vessels owned in the United States operating on the high seas must be equipped with U.S.C.G. Approved visual distress signals."

Am I correct in reading this as meaning I don't need flares on the Snake River? While I can get to the Pacific from here, the river is considerably less than 2 miles wide at many points long before it gets here. I also take it to mean that they're not required on inland lakes other than the ones listed.
I'm not saying they wouldn't be a real good thing to have just that they may not be required to pass an inspection. (that could explain why in my annual CG aux. inspection here I've never had my flare kit looked at).

I've often wondered what my liability would be if I fired a flare on the river and it wind drifted onto the tinder dry river bank. 😱

 

[BILLR]

We have experienced the flare going in the worng direction.
Had a training exercise at a Coast Station in Oregon and the aerial flare was taken into dry grass by sudden winds at a lumber yard.
The CG station scrambled its fire equipment in quick time and put it out.
In inland waters, where there is a fire danger (trees, brush) a visual signal such as a light or flag is far safer.
In some states if may be illeagle to fire flares.

 

[abcandjrc]

Not all "flares" will cause fires ashore. Most of the flares small-boat owners use are hand-held flares similar to highway flares but USCG approved and carrying expiration dates. Here is a good place to see the requirements and some of the definitions and explanations. The nice thing about hand-helds is that they meet the legal requirement for day and night use on our boats. That, while being pretty easy on the budget, too.

http://www.usps.org/national/vsc/conduc ... MinReq.pdf

Here's another:

http://www.boatus.com/onlinecourse/docu ... tions.html

What one carries is really dependent on his environment as much as on the law. On our offshore boats we always carried 12 gauge flares and a flare gun in addition to hand-helds. We carried both starburst and parachute flares. (We never discarded expired flares of any sort.) Even in the days of GPS it is nice to let your rescuers know where you are visually. And some folks, rescuers and distressed, don't use GPS very effectively even if they carry it.

The USCG will always find you by GPS coordinates, but sometimes private or even commercial vessels are closer and will get to you more quickly. Always remember that if you are the vessel best able to render assistance, it is not only the custom of seafarers, but I am quite sure it is a legal requirement as well.

 

[SlackwaterJack]

I think I'll just make sure I have current hand held flares and not worry about the flare pistol (or it's "ammo")at all for around my local boating area ( big river meandering through a zillion acres of "fuel"). I can rotate some of the old hand held flares to the trunk of my car.

MarkM...
I guess the answer to your your question is, You may want to just update your hand helds for Coeur d'Alene Lake and update the shells if you take your boat somewhere that you'll need them. An old leather work glove for hand protection while holding the flares may be a good addition.

 

[markm]

Thanks to all for the very good advice on this subject. Mark