motorized kayak safety equipment

Hello all,
Did some reasearch on weather or not a flare or other device is needed on a 12' kayak with a trolling motor.

Seems like I am finding some sites say yes some say no.

I really do not like the idea of a flare in my safety case stowed below....if it is required are there any non chemical alternatives?

Thanks
Troy

You only need them if you operate at night. Not a bad idea to carry if you launch in the afternoon, just in case. I wouldn't worry about carrying them inside the hull - flares are very stable when stored correctly.

Good Day to all, gotta say, as someone who needed a water rescue in the day time, it would have been way cool to have a flare gun on board and that is now standard equipment on my trips. It takes up very little room and gives me another level of signaling protection in an emergency situation. In this situation, I was not far off shore, I was fishing a spot I go to often, had my wife on the pier, so i did not have a radio (opps). My kayak is a narrow scupper pro and at the time I was not using a trolling motor. I also did not have my side floats on. The wind waves were three to five feet. After only a after a few minutes I decided to return to shore. A wind wave caught my kayak and I capsized, re entered to discover  I lost my paddle (I now carry two) and we just blew away. My wife saw this and called the Fire Department. They responded but because of wave hight and direction of the wind they could not see me from shore. They dispatched several staff to several locations to try to get a visual and no one could. At that point they had to call a helo to locate me. Lessons learned, I alway carry two paddles and paddle leashes are high quality, I alway use the side floats if I am fishing as this kayak is pretty narrow and needs to be moving forward with some speedn to be stable rough water. I always carry a radio out on the water and a MOB device for back up. In this case the flare gun used right away would have been the best possible solution as there were boats out of whistle range but they would have seen the flare and responded and of course the flare would have been visible in the daytime from shore or water. Sorry for the long explanation, I just wanted to emphasize how a simple chain of failures can lead to a much bigger problem, Ron.

I was launching at HMB a few years ago and the Harbor Master asked if he could do an inspection of my kayak, and gear. I said fine, and everything was in order except two items were missing.

First he said if I wanted to continue to launch there I had to carry flares. And the other was to place an orange sticker he gave me inside the kayak with my contact information. I now carry 3 handheld flares in my PFD.

Also, he mentioned that if I ever needed assistance to call the Harbor Master on radio channel 16.

I was launching at HMB a few years ago and the Harbor Master asked if he could do an inspection of my kayak, and gear. I said fine, and everything was in order except two items were missing.

First he said if I wanted to continue to launch there I had to carry flares. And the other was to place an orange sticker he gave me inside the kayak with my contact information. I now carry 3 handheld flares in my PFD.

Also, he mentioned that if I ever needed assistance to call the Harbor Master on radio channel 16.

I had a similar run in with hmb harbor patrol but he never mentioned anything about flares He did ask if I want the orange sticker like yours and take extra to pass to friends.

Interesting that he told you that you needed flares. Not arguing against having them, just that they aren't required per CG regulations.

The real advantage/purpose of flares isn't necessarily to announce that you are in distress, but to cue rescue boats/aircraft to your position once they arrive on scene.

I carry two radios, which I feel are FAR more valuable than any other piece of emergency equipment. I can call directly to the Coast Guard or other rescue agencies, tell them exactly where I am and what is wrong, and also talk directly to the people coming to rescue me once they get close.

Of course, immersion gear, PFD, a good knife, and some extra line should also be on your "don't go out without it" list. I also have the orange ID stickers on my kayaks.

Interesting that he told you that you needed flares. Not arguing against having them, just that they aren't required per CG regulations.

The real advantage/purpose of flares isn't necessarily to announce that you are in distress, but to cue rescue boats/aircraft to your position once they arrive on scene.

I carry two radios, which I feel are FAR more valuable than any other piece of emergency equipment. I can call directly to the Coast Guard or other rescue agencies, tell them exactly where I am and what is wrong, and also talk directly to the people coming to rescue me once they get close.

Of course, immersion gear, PFD, a good knife, and some extra line should also be on your "don't go out without it" list. I also have the orange ID stickers on my kayaks.

I figured the flares were not really required unless they have a local ordinance. I have 2 radios but only carry one on the kayak along with a PLB.