USCG Required Safety Equipment

Prerequisites

• Knowing the basic parts of a keelboat and where gear is usually stowed.
• Knowing how to measure a boat's length (overall, bow to stern, not counting bowsprits, outboard brackets or rudders hung off the transom).
• No legal background is needed. This lesson covers the federal minimums. Your state may add more.

Learning Objectives

This lesson covers the safety equipment part of the ASA 101 Keelboat Sailing 1 standard. By the end of it you will be able to:

• Name the USCG length classes and explain why your boat's class matters.
• Say how many life jackets and throwable devices a boat must carry, and who must wear one.
• Choose the right visual distress signals for day and night, and check that they are in date.
• Say which sound-producing device your boat needs.
• Work out how many fire extinguishers a boat needs, and check that one is serviceable.
• Explain why gasoline engine spaces need ventilation and a backfire flame arrestor.
• Run a pre-departure equipment check on a training or charter boat.

Why the Rules Exist

The US Coast Guard sets a federal minimum for every recreational boat in US waters. The rules are in Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations, mainly Part 175. They are a minimum, not a recommendation for a full safety kit. A Coast Guard or state officer can board your boat and check that the required items are aboard, accessible and in good condition. Missing gear can end your day on the water and bring a fine.

ASA schools go further. In ASA sailing classes everyone wears a life jacket at all times, and ASA encourages sailors to carry more than the legal minimum.

Length Classes

Most of the rules depend on the boat's length. The Coast Guard uses these classes:

A typical ASA 101 training keelboat of 20–27 ft sits in the 16–26 ft or 26–40 ft class. Check which before you go through the list below.

Life Jackets (PFDs)

Under 33 CFR 175.15:

• There must be one wearable, Coast Guard-approved PFD for each person aboard. It must be the right size for that person and used according to its approval label.
• Boats 16 ft or longer must also carry one throwable device (a ring buoy or cushion, formerly called Type IV). It must be immediately available, not buried in a locker.
• A child under 13 must wear a PFD while the boat is under way, unless below decks or in an enclosed cabin. Some states set a different age, and the stricter rule applies in state waters.
• On boats under 16 ft, a throwable cannot replace a wearable PFD.

Older PFDs are labelled by Type: Type I (offshore), Type II (near-shore), Type III (flotation aid, the common sailing vest), Type V (special use, including many inflatables) and Type IV (throwable). Newer labels use performance levels and icons instead. Both are legal as long as the device is Coast Guard-approved and in good condition.

Inflatable PFDs count only if they are worn when the label says so, and only if the cylinder is full and the indicator shows green. Check them before each sail.

Visual Distress Signals

Under 33 CFR 175.110, boats must carry visual distress signals (VDS) on coastal waters, the Great Lakes, territorial seas and connected waters wider than two miles.

• Boats 16 ft or longer need signals approved for both day and night use.
• Boats under 16 ft need night signals only, and only between sunset and sunrise.
• Open sailboats under 26 ft with no engine, and manually propelled boats, need night signals only.

A common way to comply is three hand-held red flares, which are approved for both day and night. Other options are orange smoke (day only), aerial red meteors or parachute flares (day and night), an orange distress flag (day only) and an electric distress light (night only).

Pyrotechnic signals carry an expiry date and must be in date to count. Keep them dry, in a known place, where they can be reached quickly. Expired flares do not count towards the requirement, even if they might still work.

Sound-Producing Devices

You need a way to make the sound signals in the Navigation Rules: in fog, when manoeuvring and to warn other boats.

• Under 12 m (39.4 ft): any efficient sound device, such as an air horn or a loud whistle.
• 12 m (39.4 ft) and over: a whistle or horn that can make a 4-second blast audible for half a mile.

Carry a spare. Canned air horns run out, often at the moment you need them.

Fire Extinguishers

Fire on a boat is serious because you cannot walk away from it. The rules are in 33 CFR 175.310 and 175.320.

When one is required. A boat needs extinguishers if it has any of the following: closed compartments where portable fuel tanks may be stored, double bottoms not sealed or filled with flotation, closed living spaces, closed lockers holding flammable materials, or permanently installed fuel tanks. A cruising keelboat with a cabin and an inboard engine always qualifies. An outboard boat under 26 ft built so that fumes cannot be trapped does not.

How many (boats of model year 2018 or newer):

One 20-B extinguisher may replace two 5-B units. Older boats (model year 2017 and earlier) may still carry B-I and B-II rated extinguishers that were legal when installed, as long as they are in good condition.

Serviceable means:

• The extinguisher is aboard, readily accessible and of an approved type.
• The lock pin is in place and the seal is intact.
• It has not been used, discharged or damaged, and has no significant corrosion.
• The pressure gauge, if fitted, reads in the green.

The 12-year rule. Since April 2022, a disposable (non-rechargeable) extinguisher is treated as expired 12 years after the date of manufacture stamped on the bottle, and must be replaced.

Ventilation and Backfire Flame Arrestors

Gasoline vapour is heavier than air and collects in the bilge. One spark can cause an explosion. Diesel is much less volatile, which is one reason most cruising sailboats use diesel engines.

• Boats with gasoline engines in closed compartments need at least two ventilation ducts to move fumes out.
• Boats built after August 1980 with gasoline engines and a starter motor must have a powered exhaust blower, controlled from the helm. Run it for at least four minutes before starting the engine, and sniff the bilge.
• Every gasoline inboard engine installed after April 1940 (not outboards) needs an approved backfire flame arrestor on the carburettor, marked SAE J-1928 or UL 1111.

Navigation Lights

Every boat under way between sunset and sunrise, or in restricted visibility, must show the lights in the Navigation Rules. A sailboat under sail shows red and green sidelights and a white sternlight. A sailboat under 7 m may instead have a white flashlight or lantern ready to show in time to prevent a collision. When the engine is running, a sailboat is a power-driven vessel and must also show a white masthead (steaming) light. Lights are covered in full in the navigation rules lessons.

The Vessel Safety Check

The Coast Guard Auxiliary and the US Power Squadrons offer a free annual Vessel Safety Check. An examiner goes through the required gear with you. There is no fine if something is missing. You get a list of what to fix. A boat that passes gets a decal. It is a good habit before each season, and it often turns up expired flares and extinguishers.

Beyond the Minimum

The legal list leaves out several important items. A well-equipped coastal keelboat also carries:

• A VHF radio, fixed or hand-held.
• An anchor with enough chain and rode for local depths.
• A first aid kit, bucket and manual bilge pump.
• A knife within reach of the cockpit, a flashlight and spare batteries.
• Jacklines and tethers for night or rough-weather sailing.

Worked Example: Pre-Departure Check on a 27 ft Keelboat

You are taking a 27 ft sloop with a small diesel and a cabin out with three friends.

1. PFDs: four wearable PFDs, sized to fit, plus one throwable, because the boat is over 16 ft. Check the inflatables' indicators are green.
2. Distress signals: the boat is over 16 ft, so it needs day and night signals. Three hand-held red flares, date checked: in date until next year. Good.
3. Sound device: the boat is under 39.4 ft, so the air horn will do. Test it and check the spare can.
4. Fire extinguishers: the boat is 26–40 ft with no fixed system, so it needs two 5-B units. You find one in the cabin and one in the cockpit locker. One has a manufacture date 13 years ago. It is disposable, so it no longer counts. Replace it before leaving.
5. Ventilation: diesel engine, so no blower or flame arrestor is required. Check the bilge anyway.
6. Lights: switch them on at the dock and check all are working.

Common Mistakes

• Carrying enough life jackets, but in the wrong sizes, especially for children.
• Keeping the throwable cushion in a locker instead of in the cockpit.
• Leaving expired flares aboard and not noticing that no valid ones remain.
• Forgetting that disposable extinguishers expire 12 years after manufacture.
• Starting a gasoline engine without running the blower first.
• Assuming the charter or club boat is legal without checking it yourself. The skipper is responsible.

Summary

• The federal rules (33 CFR Part 175) depend on the boat's length class.
• Carry one wearable PFD per person, plus one throwable on boats 16 ft and longer. Children under 13 wear theirs under way.
• Boats 16 ft and longer need in-date day and night visual distress signals.
• Under 39.4 ft, any efficient horn or whistle will do.
• Extinguishers: one 5-B under 26 ft, two from 26 to 40 ft, three from 40 to 65 ft. A 20-B replaces two 5-B. Disposables expire after 12 years.
• Gasoline engine spaces need ventilation, a blower and a flame arrestor.
• Get a free Vessel Safety Check every season.

Check Your Understanding

1. A 22 ft sailboat has five people aboard. How many PFDs must it carry? Five wearable PFDs, one per person, plus one throwable because the boat is over 16 ft.
2. Do three in-date hand-held red flares meet the visual distress signal requirement on a 30 ft boat? Yes. Hand-held red flares are approved for both day and night use.
3. A 34 ft cruising boat with no fixed fire system needs how many 5-B extinguishers? Two, or one 20-B instead.
4. A disposable extinguisher's bottle shows a date 14 years ago, but its gauge reads green. Does it count? No. Disposable extinguishers are treated as expired 12 years after manufacture.
5. What must you do before starting a gasoline inboard engine? Run the exhaust blower for at least four minutes and check the bilge for fumes.

Sources

• https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/175.15
• https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/175.110
• https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/175.130
• https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/175.310
• https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/175.320
• https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/33/175.380
• https://www.boatus.org/equipment/
• https://floatplancentral.cgaux.org/resources/safety.htm
• https://www.wsmag.net/featured/2019-05-08/safety-essentials-every-boater-should-have-on-hand/