Flares

[shortie]

Just a quick warning guys.

Check the Date on your flares. Mine were well and truelly out of Date.

some companies sell an offshore kit. This kit does not cover you in your compulsory safety equipment.

It contains 2 red flares and 2 parachute flares.

What you need is 2 red and 2 orange flares.

Me personally think at least 1 parachute flare should also be carried.

There are also mixed thoughts on weather or not you should also keep your out of date flares onboard as well as your new in Date flares.

My opinion is keep them if your in an emergency situation you pull out all stops and use em if you have to.

Richard.

[mick fillet]

good pick up shortie that could have been costly.

years ago yes you would recieve a fine for having out of date flares on the boat (i once had a warning issued to me about having out of date flares on board).i believe the law is more relaxed about it now and i still carry a set of out of date flares as well.

also white flares are very very usfull there about $18. white flares are definatly a non distrese flare and should not be stored with the distrese flares and you can crack a white flare any time of day/night for any reason pritty much with out raising a distrese alarm.they are a signaling device or to improve vision you can use a white flare to signal ya mates accross the bay if you like. also to avoid collision if a slight hick up occurs with engine and you drift near the sipping chanel. also they are extremly bright illuminating the water about 4m down 60mtrs out so a great emergency search light for with in the imediate serch area. a good alrounder to have on the boat.

and because you can crack one with out raising a distrese alarm its a great idea to sacrafice a few and let other regular deckies eg. kids wife etc learn how to handle and set a flare off to boost there confidence for the real emergency if it ever arises.

[jeff f]

i use one of those yellow flare bottles, just write the expiry date on the bottle in permanent marker

[shortie]

Thanks Mick Fillet. I will go get a couple of white flares for the next trip.

I have never set off a flare myself. It will be a good lesson for my boy as to what to do in an emergency. ITs a fantastic idea.

thanks

[waldo]

Pretty sure you can be pinged for having out of date flares on board even if you have good ones also. Same goes for damaged life jackets which you might only be using for cushions even though you have enough good ones on board.

I guess the argument is if in an emergency someone grabs an unusable one by mistake.... :blush:

[rayke1938]

There are free stickers available at most Chandler outlets and fishing tackle stores.

Stick it in front of your steering position.

Record your flare expiry date.

epirb expiry date

Inflatable PFD expiry date.

Cheers

Ray

[big al]

also you have to re-register your epirb i think every 2 years it should be on your epirb the expiry date:) al

[Homer4duff]

Pretty sure you can be pinged for having out of date flares on board even if you have good ones also. Same goes for damaged life jackets which you might only be using for cushions even though you have enough good ones on board.

I guess the argument is if in an emergency someone grabs an unusable one by mistake.... :blush:

The law really lacks common sence sometimes. If an old flare doesn't work when required you simply grab an in date flare and use. Why fine somebody for having safety back ups? Sheesh if somebody used up all the in date flares in an emergency without getting a response it's possible that the "spare" out of date flares COULD work and save lives.

You have absolutely nothing to lose in trying them.....

[shortie]

Pretty sure you can be pinged for having out of date flares on board even if you have good ones also. Same goes for damaged life jackets which you might only be using for cushions even though you have enough good ones on board.

I guess the argument is if in an emergency someone grabs an unusable one by mistake.... :blush:

The law really lacks common sence sometimes. If an old flare doesn't work when required you simply grab an in date flare and use. Why fine somebody for having safety back ups? Sheesh if somebody used up all the in date flares in an emergency without getting a response it's possible that the "spare" out of date flares COULD work and save lives.

You have absolutely nothing to lose in trying them.....

Except your hand or your face. LOL

There are many many arguments for this. ITs a topic that can go around in circles forever.

[Homer4duff]

I wasn't aware an out of date flare was considered an explosive hazzard? I thought they would simply not work. Hmm fair enough.

[aussie123]

Many years ago when I did my OH&S At Sea and Marine Survival Tickets I took along a box full of old flares to let off.

These flares were up to 15 years out of date so probably 20 years old for the oldest ones in the box.

The majority of the parachute flares that were just out of date and up to about 8 years out of date failed deployment.

Some never went off,some did but the parachute didn't ignite or if it did the burn time was drastically reduced rendering them pretty much useless.

All of the very old style flares that were 10 to 15 years out of date had a 100% successful deployment and decent burn times.

I always have and always will keep a set or 2 of old flares on the boat but in a separate waterproof container to what I keep the current safety gear in.

[tugger]

I've been of the opinion not to keep old flares onboard as they are a pyrotechnique and could become unstable as they age and would not like one going off in the boat without me holding it. As Mick said the out of date flares are a good way of learning how to use them i have used plenty at work for demonstrations and could see how some people would get a bit of a scare as you set them off. The parachute flares go off with a bang and the red hand helds give off a lot of sparks and heat

[Homer4duff]

I'm not sure how accurate this info is but this is all I can find about safety of expired flares.

/>http://www.safety-marine.co.uk/spages/expired-distress-flares-what-should-you-do.htm

Once a distress flare has passed its expiry date the chemical compounds inside will begin to degrade. The problem with this degradation is that you will never know to what degree the compounds inside have deteriorated and as a result the way it behaves when it is ignited will be totally unpredictable.

One possibility is that the distress flare may fail to ignite properly when you pull the cord or push the lever. NEVER, hold a distress flare close to your face to see what is happening once you have activated the firing mechanism. It may just be burning slowly and could instantaneously ignite causing terrible injuries.

If a distress flare fails to go-off in the way you are expecting then place it in a bucket of water for 24hrs.

[Terry H]

Just a quick warning guys.

Check the Date on your flares. Mine were well and truelly out of Date.

some companies sell an offshore kit. This kit does not cover you in your compulsory safety equipment.

It contains 2 red flares and 2 parachute flares.

What you need is 2 red and 2 orange flares.

Me personally think at least 1 parachute flare should also be carried.

There are also mixed thoughts on weather or not you should also keep your out of date flares onboard as well as your new in Date flares.

My opinion is keep them if your in an emergency situation you pull out all stops and use em if you have to.

Richard.

Cheers Shortie.

Hopefully this reminds me to check my flares next time I go to the kayak!

[JarrydA]

I think its a very very good idea to teach people to use flares, especially parachute flares, if they are in a position that they may need to use them. Parachute flares in particular can be very dangerous because of the speed its projected. I have seen a misfire of a parachute flare come within mm of my old mans head! :ohmy: Could've been very bad.

edit. Spelling

[tomca]

I keep a couple of out of date flares from the boat in the yak, but they are only as out of date as the next lot to replace the ones that are just going out of date in the boat.

[Do$tylz]

yeah I recently found my flares are out of date as well.

Time to pony up for a new set.

Maybe I'll stand at the front gates of a soccer game and sell off my old ones for $10 a piece.... (I'm kidding Booty... )

[tomca]

Do-boy

I'm suprised you didn't have one of them stuffed in your crack on Saturday running around Supafest yelling "I'M A ROCKET MOFO'S!!!!"

[Do$tylz]

haha.. man you could have snuck anything into that festival. Lowest police presence I've seen at a fastival for a very long time.

[mick2me]

What a great thread... I've never set off a flare before and hope never will need too, but this thread has actually made me a little aware of what to expect if I ever needed too, does anyone know if there is a place where demonstrations are held...

Mick