SOS Distress Light

aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
Just ordered one from defender on sale for $63.99 . Will be nice not having to worry about expired pyro flairs. Just have to remember to replace the batteries every few years. I’ll keep an old set of pyro on board also.

2008 330EC

Comments

  • aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I can’t get the link to work for some reason, here’s a couple of screenshots.



    2008 330EC
  • SpyderwebSpyderweb Member Posts: 879 ✭✭✭
    I got a Weems and Plath one for Xmas.  Will also keep some backup flares onboard but sure like the idea of a safer “flare” with no expiration date.
  • TonyG13TonyG13 Member Posts: 1,282 ✭✭✭✭
    Also got a Weems & Plath a few years ago (at the time they had the only USCG approved version). I just put in a fresh set of batteries for the season and also kept my expired (2018) flares as a back-up.
  • WillhoundWillhound Member Posts: 4,183 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Man I wish they'd get off their a$$ and adopt these in Canada. They've been "studying" it for 3 years now.  So a note to any of you that visit Canadian waters, not yet legal here.
    "Knot Quite Shore" - 2000 FV270
  • YYZRCYYZRC Member Posts: 4,896 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My boat came with 7 packs of flares. All expired.  :|
    2008 350 EC on Georgian Bay
  • WillhoundWillhound Member Posts: 4,183 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I ordered some 3 weeks ago and just got word yesterday they are on back order. May have to take a chance with my expired (in April) set the first few times out.
    "Knot Quite Shore" - 2000 FV270
  • aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Received it today. Very happy with the size, was expecting it to be bigger.


    2008 330EC
  • reneechris14reneechris14 Member Posts: 3,134 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Don't look at it you will see spots for days!!
    2005 Rinker FV342  Pawcatuck river,Ct
  • aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Don't look at it you will see spots for days!!
    I made sure it was pointed away when I turned it on 😅
    2008 330EC
  • mattiemattie Member Posts: 1,250 ✭✭✭✭
    Looks good, gonna put it on the list.

    I literally have a big ziplock bag in the basement of expired flares.

    246BR, 276BR, H310BR current
  • aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
    mattie said:
    Looks good, gonna put it on the list.

    I literally have a big ziplock bag in the basement of expired flares.

    Yea, I have an old ammo box full.
    2008 330EC
  • Dream_InnDream_Inn Member, Moderator Posts: 7,552 mod
    aero3113 said:
    mattie said:
    Looks good, gonna put it on the list.

    I literally have a big ziplock bag in the basement of expired flares.

    Yea, I have an old ammo box full.
    I've lit a few off at home in my driveway.  First off, not like someone is going to come running to help :) , I'm on acres of very wooded land not visible to my neighbors.  I really did it to get a feel what it would be like if I had to light one off.  I'm glad I now have the SOS light as well (although I do keep spare flares too).  I couldn't imagine holding that thing lit on a boat.

    Dream 'Inn III -- 2008 400 Express

  • raybo3raybo3 Administrator Posts: 5,455 admin
    edited June 2020
    @Dream_Inn you dont hold it in your boat. Tape it to a boat hook and hold it outside your boat............... Just say'n
    2002 342 Fiesta Vee PC Point Of Pines YC Revere MA. popyc.org     raybo3@live.com
  • LaReaLaRea Member Posts: 7,504 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Agree - I once lit a pyro flare in my driveway, and that's what convinced me to add the LED to my safety kit.

    As I've said before:  while the LED is safer to use and store, I don't think it's as reliable in terms of getting somebody to notice.  In a world full of blinking lights, the S-O-S blink pattern might not raise attention, but a pyro flare is unmistakable.    
  • YYZRCYYZRC Member Posts: 4,896 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I’ve been reviewing the Canadian regulations as I went up a size class (now over 30’) and apparently I need a life buoy now. Is this consistent with USA?
    2008 350 EC on Georgian Bay
  • aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I think we’re required to carry a throwable. I keep a throwable cushion under the captains seat.
    2008 330EC
  • Aqua_AuraAqua_Aura Member Posts: 2,531 ✭✭✭✭
    Just ordered one of these as I'm getting a voluntary inspection on Saturday from the USCG Auxiliary. I was notified today of this and I remembered seeing this post before so I looked it up to see what light it was. 

    Even these old simple post are very helpful. 
    1997 Bayliner 3988
  • Aqua_AuraAqua_Aura Member Posts: 2,531 ✭✭✭✭
    I just watched a YouTube video for this light and thought......I figured it would have been more of a strobe.......then I realized it was actually flashing Morse code SOS 🤦
    1997 Bayliner 3988
  • Dude_HimselfDude_Himself Member Posts: 596 ✭✭✭
    One bit of input from a SAR volunteer: floating orange smoke flares are incredible. They leave a trail that leads to you, burn 3x longer, and the smoke is visible to IR/FLIR from a great distance, even through fog. I have one of these + PLB + LED flare. I've thought about an EPIRB too, but we're almost always within site of land in water not deep enough to sink below the surface. 
  • Liberty44140Liberty44140 Member Posts: 4,318 ✭✭✭✭✭
    We invested in a PLB years ago and I’m glad we have it. Was around $250 and it’s great peace of mind. Was a requirement from the admiral for a long trip. 
    07' Cruisers 390 (Previous Rinker's: 06' 342EC & 01' 310FV)

  • mattiemattie Member Posts: 1,250 ✭✭✭✭
    Any follow up experience on these electronic distress flares?? 
    Everybody happy with them?

    US/CAN requirement: RTCM Standard 13200.0

    246BR, 276BR, H310BR current
  • aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So far happy with it. Luckily haven’t had to use it for any emergencies. Next time I get on the boat, I’ll try to remember to test it.
    2008 330EC
  • TonyG13TonyG13 Member Posts: 1,282 ✭✭✭✭
    Have had one for a few years now. Never used in an actual emergency, but fresh batteries and test at beginning and mid-season. Sucker is super bright. Beats worrying about expired flares and how to dispose of them properly.
  • LaReaLaRea Member Posts: 7,504 ✭✭✭✭✭
    My thoughts from a couple years ago haven't changed.  Although the LED is a partner to pyro flares, it does not replace them.  The smart money says carry both.  

    The LED is great if you already have professionals inbound to your emergency.  Hang it up high and get back to saving your boat/crew.  But if you're trying to grab the attention of the nearest unaware Joe Boater, a pyro flare is the best tool for the job.  It's unmistakable, even in urban light clutter. 
  • aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I still keep my expired pyro’s onboard. I have a gun and think the shells will last much longer since they’re like a shotgun shell.
    2008 330EC
  • MH342MH342 Member Posts: 65 ✭✭
    I think it depends where you boat and a safety assessment of your needs.  I purchased it as a CYA first to avoid a violation for expired flares (just keep in mind the electronic flare only meets nighttime requirements - it’s not intended for daytime use so you have to keep the visual distress flag to meet daytime requirements). 

    Our lake boating is near-shore and usually with friends alongside and it is rare not to have some passerby in the area. Safety is always paramount but in our lake the biggest killer is drowning from lack of throwables or medical emergencies and not sinkings.  After doing a similar pyro flare driveway test and being very surprised by the dangers involved, I decided that life jackets, throwables, a throw line, good first aid kit and a working radio would be my top priority in the types of emergencies we would likely face.  Offshore would be an entirely different scenario and would be worth the expense/hassle to have pyro visuals onboard. But it would be great to hear other’s experience or suggestions on other “safer” visuals than handheld flares … are flare guns or smoke safer or easier to dispose?  Are there scenarios and risks I am not considering?
  • aero3113aero3113 Member Posts: 8,777 ✭✭✭✭✭
    When you order the Sirius it comes with the distress flag. I don’t think the flag will help much, that’s why I still keep my expired shells onboard if needed. But same as you @MH342 I’m mostly inshore. I feel that a gun is way safer to use than handheld flairs.
    2008 330EC
  • YYZRCYYZRC Member Posts: 4,896 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I have only ever used a flare gun, not handheld. I shot off some expired flares on Canada Day to get a feel for how to use the flare gun if ever needed. Interesting experience. 
    2008 350 EC on Georgian Bay
  • Dream_InnDream_Inn Member, Moderator Posts: 7,552 mod
    edited January 2023
    Well, if you’ve never lighted the flares, you should try one.  I have them as back up but I would not want to light it on a boat!  As a matter of fact, I’ve been in distress and said heII no am I lighting one of those!  Could’ve been cause I already had a fire aboard as well.  But one of those could burn your boat down if it wasn’t!
    Post edited by raybo3 on

    Dream 'Inn III -- 2008 400 Express

  • LaReaLaRea Member Posts: 7,504 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sadly, I have used a flare gun and handheld flares in a life-or-death emergency.  It was at night, and I was trying to vector first responders to my location.  In some situations, they are the best tools for the job. 

    At the time, I was anchored in the middle of 1000 drunk boaters at a fireworks show.  There's no way an LED could be useful in that situation.  

    The drunk a-holes around me started yelling "woohooooo" like I was celebrating Independence Day.  They were ready to start firing their own flares until I pelted them with a cloud of obscenities so vile that is probably still floating somewhere over the middle Potomac.    :/  I will never forget that moment as a demonstration of how dumb boaters can be.  

    Yes, my signaling kit includes an LED.  But also gun flares, handheld flares, smokes, dye markers, and signal mirrors.  Bring it all, and hope you never need it.  
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