Re: [Paddlewise] Whistles or Pistols

> On the last occasion the question of carrying flares and mini rockets came
> up and someone mentioned that minirockets when fired went off with quite a
> pistol crack. Is this true? If so could it be a better alert system to
> supplement the whistle, on the other hand its a bit undesirable to set off
a
> minirocket just to attract the attention of someone in the group. Made me
> wonder if there was something akin to a cheap waterproof starter pistol
that
> could be used instead of a whistle?

Brochure "Safe Boating Guide" by Canadian Hydrographic Service in the
section "Distress signals --> Sound signals (without specifying boat type),
says: "Continuous signalling by any fog-signalling apparatus. Gun or other
explosive signal fired at intervals of about a minute"; and shows something
looking to me like elegant muzzle-loaded pistol, as an illustration.
Fog-signalling apparatus, like cruise ship horn, sounds good to me too
:-)... I wonder, if they are still hydraulic on those big liners, like used
to be on steamers, or electrical-driven? Some little steam engine could fit
into kayak, I guess...
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