which flare pack
- Thread starter russ
- Start date
DougH
Well-Known Member
Where do chandlers store flares: In strong steel boxes.
Where do the coast guard store out of date flares: In strong steel boxes.
Where do the bomb desposal teams that collect the old flares from the coast guard store the flares: In strong steel boxes.
Where do most folks store flares on the boat (or in the car ) in PLASTIC BOXES.
Is a boat a dangerous place to be in the event of a fire?
FishyInverness
Well-Known Member
I want to play Devil's Avocado here:
How do flares get transported on the roads? In thick Cardboard Boxes.
In fact, that kind of dispels the "flares in a vehicle are very dangerous on a road vehicle" - As at any given week, there must be at least 30 or 40 road vehicles carrying a consignment of flares around the country, haven't yet heard of one combusting...
gjgm
Well-Known Member
If you buy them online ,its collection only isnt it ?
prv
Well-Known Member
That's because they have to be prepared for the possibility that someone will bring in a rusted, decaying, phosphorus-oozing, 3" illume mortar shell that they've been saving since National Service. Assuming you don't let your flares get to that point before you dispose of them, the same issue does not apply to you.
Someone in the saily forums occasionally posts their pictures of the expired flare collection point in a French marina. It's an open plastic box on a shelf next to the waste oil tank.
You still haven't actually quoted any statistics or other evidence to support your assertion that in-date flares sitting in a box in a car or boat are "very dangerous". I certainly don't remember any stories of flares spontaneously igniting or exploding during storage. There is one well-known case of a faulty rocket flare backfiring during launch, but that's a slightly different question.
Pete
prv
Well-Known Member
FishyInverness
Well-Known Member
Nope, we send them by approved courier
It isn't that cheap, but they take them, all legal.DougH
Well-Known Member
OK Guys I give in.
It is safe to carry flares in a car/van/motorcycle whatever, and also safe on a grp boat.
Good luck and safe boating.
Each to his own, we are all different.
It is safe to carry flares in a car/van/motorcycle whatever, and also safe on a grp boat.
Good luck and safe boating.
Each to his own, we are all different.
oceanfroggie
Well-Known Member
After 15 years the primary reason I removed flares from our boat is not so much their instability but the danger they posed to visiting crew and children on our boat especially if something happened to me and they attempted to use them, or set them off by accident. The secondary reason is they are explosives and in the unlikely event of a minor boat fire, electrical short, gas problem, etc, I do not want volatile incendiary/explosives on board however small to add to the cocktail. There have been a number of boat fires here in recent years caused by accidental or incorrect flare use, not to mention the burn and eye injuries caused in other accidents. Apologies but for me EPIRB, PLB, DSC VHF fixed + HH, torches, lights, flags and mobile phones are safer and more effective options. Carrying fireworks on a leisure boat in the 21st century doesn't make much sense anymore.
Elessar
Well-Known Member
you should carry some floating smokes. They remain relevant. As do hand held reds if you boat at night.
"Yes Mr helecopter, over here. Yes the white one........."
gjgm
Well-Known Member
I guess if you are on fire, a flare is a little redundant ...
Over here, next to black smoke and flames
Over here, next to black smoke and flames
DougH
Well-Known Member
I carry two Odeoflares with 4 sets of spare batteries.
Each flare last for several hours on one set of batteries.
How long do flares last?
The Red Odeoflares shine horizontal and vertical and show up clearly in daylight.
Yes Elessar I realise you are only making reference to helicopter rescue but the question of safety on the grp boat remains.
I'm with Oceanfroggie on this one, time to move ahead with modern technology.
Lets face it we are all happy to rely on plotters etc and even if we carry charts just how many people use them.
PS Yes I read the RNLI advice about carrying flares and am happy to disagree with them on this instant, but if they were to inspect my vessel they would be most impressed with the overall level of safety.
Elessar
Well-Known Member
Laser flares can't indicate wind direction and strength to the helicopter.
I have never heard of a floating smoke or a hand held flare causing a fire.
You do what you like, but I would continue to carry at least a floating smoke if I had the choice. I wouldn't carry rockets, but I'm obliged to.
BTW do you not have a life raft?
Elessar
Well-Known Member
I make sure I go out with all electronics off and use only a chart and hand bearing compass a few times a year. Just so that I know I haven't forgotten how.
DougH
Well-Known Member
Yes, 1 x Avon 4 man lightweight valise and 1 x 8 man OS Safety , Ocean canister.
Both with the flares removed.
Grab bag has 2 x Odeoflares, 1 x Icom Dsc hand held with 4 x fully charged batteries, 1 x McMurdo GPS EPIRB and 1 x McMurdo SART Rescue plus of course first aid kit etc etc.....
All lifejackets are fitted with the Kannard AIS devices and for when we go offshore McMurdo PLB's (GPS) for all persons. If there is only SWMBO and myself we wear PLB's all the time.
ALLTHE ABOVE ARE SERVICED YEARLY BY OS SAFETY IN MALLORCA WITHOUT FAIL.
Over the top, maybe, but that is the sort of person I am. But I still hate explosive type devices on a boat.
PS I saw you coming with the life rafts
prv
Well-Known Member
That at least used to work for me. "The black one, with two masts and four red sails". Even in the Solent there were unlikely to be any duplicates on any given day. Now we're two white triangles just like everybody else, albeit the hull is blue.
I still have the previous owner's stock of flares - he obviously liked them. Half a dozen rockets, three floating smokes, and I think ten hand-held reds. All with the same expiry date (still ok) so presumably bought together. I don't think I'll be replacing them on such a generous scale when they run out! I couldn't even fit all the hand-helds into the grab bag, so I put one in the dinghy bag (attract help if drifting away with a broken engine) and gave another to a mate running a small speedboat on a shoestring budget, just in case he ever needs to make himself obvious in the Solent one day.
Pete