thanks ray guess i need some flares......do they have to be coast guard approved.....i'll get some from my stepdad he works for the railroad and gets them to start fires with

do it right
 

I have a small water proof duffle bag that contains 3 flares , a 12 guage aireal flare gun w/ 3 flares . a freon horn . up to date fire extingisher.
copy of my boat registration and any thing else i may think i need.
Keep this under my center console on top of my throwable device.
If you get inspected by the USCG and you pass, Ask them for a yellow sheet. They will give you a piece of paper that you can carry w/ you and if you get stopped again within one year you can just show them the yellow sheet and not have to go thru the full inspection.

I think that is correct. It has to be for a wet marine environment with an internal trigger. Not the strike on top type.
Some kits have one ariel and 2 hand held ones.
Some have 3 hand held ones.

West Marine have the best,but they are high.
Walmart, Kmart and Academy have some smaller ones, but they are a lot cheaper.

We got inspected by Coasties 2 weeks ago in LNG. Everything was Ok but they checked the life jackets very carefully for tears and made sure the zippers worked. They wanted the fire extinguisher and the throwable life cushion out where it could be reached easily. They also looked at the boat registration. That was it.

They have 15 boats at the USCG dock. 4 of them are always on duty and 1 of the 4 is strictly for boating compliance. They are going to be doing a lot more compliance checks this year.
They made me keep my throwable in a more accessible place also. Plus, my life jackets are in a nice clear bag. They said they were not as accessible as they would like in that bag. They checked each of my life jackets, which are less than a year old. They pulled on all the straps to see if they tear easy.
I was wearing a Mustang floatation coat, they noticed that right away. They liked that I was wearing a PFD full time. I wear it to keep warm.