Florida Boaters Died...Had no Radio??

[Wolakrab]

Seems to me that the last thing you want to do in the marine environment is vacuum bag anything you want to keep dry. Vacuum means that the pressure on the inside of the bag is lower than the pressure on the outside of the bag and so there is a tendency for air/water on the outside of the bag to go into the bag to equalize that pressure difference. If vacuum was a good thing in a marine environment, electronic makers would use it to keep electronics dry. Instead they use dry nitrogen pressure to keep moisture out.

Flare makers like Orion sell WATERPROOF and FLOATING flare containers. If your boat goes over and the flares go into the water, this is what you want. Vacuum packed flares would probably sink to the bottom.

True dat about the negative pressure, but if the seal is broken it's quite evident the bag is no longer waterproof. I do have an Orion container for my flares & smokes, but just because it's called waterproof doesn't mean it is. I left one out in a rain storm once, and it filled up with water. Although it was supposed to be waterproof....it was far from it. Also, my ditch bag floats. A ziplock would probably work OK, but like I said before it's easy to determine if the vacuum seal is intact. I have seen many things stored in ziplocks wick moisture from outside the bag and get saturated if it wasn't sealed properly.

I have 3 old flares stored in a vacuum bag in the trunk of my car.....they have been fine for the year I have had them there...I just checked them and the seal is fine.

Anyway, I try to take something from this tragedy that may help me if I find myself in a similar situation, and reading about the wet flares made me think of a possible solution.

[Trollnheel]

Followed this story since its creation. A tragedy by all counts, but a lesson in preparation.

[Jup31]

The May issue of Soundings has an article on the ordeal, 1st of many I expect to see. The cover has the very distrubing picture of the 1 survivor sitting on the hull with the CG approaching.

[Jup31]

St. Pete Times has an article today detailing how the CG went about trying to figure out where to look for the boaters, "good old detective work".

http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/article989438.ece

[r.waddill]

It doesn't matter if you are going 1 mile or 100 you need to have the proper gear and know the drill ahead of time. I fished a 100 miles off shore last Sunday in my old Pursuit diesel express and even though I keep everything in top mechanical shape its very comforting having an EPRIRB and a life raft that up to date along with flare etc. I have a regular crew that knows the drill but always take the time to give the new guy safety brief before departing.

One of the things I enjoy the most about long range fishing is the mechanical challenge of making everthing work correctly and having no problems we have been very fortunate over the years and attribute the luck to solid prep work before hand. it seems when I am fishing on a friends boat wondering if the guy has his ducks in row for safety even though the boat might be newer and faster than mine and his gear is in top shape..../anything can happen at anytime a good prep work before hand can mean life or death

[makosteve]

vacuum bagging works fine on a boat. If the bag has leaked - you know it. This is not a joke, but it is an example of how it works. for years we have kept a roll of toilet paper on board - vacuum sealed. when needed, the paper has always been fresh and not damp.

I see no reason why it would not work for flares. the principle posted about negative pressure is quite true, but as long as the vacuum remains sealed, the flares will stay dry. the moment you open it, it may "pull" some air into the bag, but you will be using flares (lets hope it never is needed) right away and they should work fine