Eric Sonett wrote: > > Ralph, > > I agree with you about the USCG but some states require that an approved PFD > be worn in boats such as kayaks. Yes, local regs may be tougher than those of the Coast Guard. > > Further, it was local law enforcement (Deputy Sheriffs?) that forced the > 1998 West Coast Symposium to pull all demo boats (operating within 100 yards > of the beach) off the water until someone could purchase and distribute > whistles for all (even though there were rescue boats and expert/advanced > paddlers swarming all over). Well, that is a fed requirement i.e. boats have to have x number of emergency signaling devices and one of these is a whistle. There is no reg that it has to be on a PFD, just somewhere in the boat. The local officials were in their right to call people on that. I see far too many rental boats going out without any semblance of signalling gear. While it may be too much to risk or ask that the boats come with flares etc (a bit dangerous) certainly a whistle would pose no danger to a new or inexperienced paddler other than the possibility of swallowing (all the more reason for a big storm whistle). > > Also, local cops might also insist that an approved PFD be "accessible" or > on the deck so throwing a cheapie into a your kayak might not work... Accessible is never defined anywhere, so a cop who wants to play hard ball could say that it was not accessible if inside the cockpit with you. However, before we get lost in some more specious arguments, remember the point here was that of making changes in a PFD and the likelihood that no law enforcement officer, be he/she federal or local, will have any clue whether reflective tape was on the PFD originally or not. ralph -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - All postings copyright the author and not to be reproduced outside PaddleWise without author's permission Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************Received on Wed Oct 27 1999 - 19:55:56 PDT
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