SAFETY
SECTION
2
© 2003-2018 Ken Cook Co.
2 - 20
l Bass
• Life jackets can be equipped with whistles, strobe lights, handheld VHF
radios and personal locator beacons.
• Life jackets are recommended for open water.
• Test life jackets for wear and buoyancy at least once each year. Discard
waterlogged, faded or leaky jackets.
• Properly stow life jackets but make them easily accessible.
• A life jacket, especially a snug-fitting flotation coat or deck-suit style
jacket, can help people survive in cold water.
Life Jackets Must Be:
• USCG-approved
• In good and serviceable condition
• Appropriately sized for the intended user
• The best life jacket is the one you will wear
Accessibility
• Wearable life jackets must be readily accessible.
• Boaters must be able to locate and put them on in a reasonable amount of
time in an emergency.
• They should not be stowed in plastic bags, in locked or closed
compartments or have other gear stowed on top of them.
• Throwable devices must be immediately available for use in emergency
situations.
• Though not required, a life jacket should be worn at all times when the
boat is underway. A life jacket can save a boater’s life, but only if the
boater wears it. Set the example and wear it whenever near the water.
Child Life Jacket Requirements
Some states require that children wear life jackets at all times; check with the state
boating safety authorities.
• Applies to children of specific ages
• Applies to certain sizes of boats
• Applies to specific boating operations
Child life jacket approvals are based on the child’s weight. Check the “user weight”
on the label, or the approval statement that will read something like “Approved for
use on recreational boats and uninspected commercial boats not carrying
passengers for hire, by persons weighing XX lbs.” They can be marked “less than
30,” “30 to 50,” “less than 50,” or “50 to 90.”
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