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A vessel safety checklist will help keep you and your boating friends safe out on the water. Here you'll find a list of items that the U.S. Coast Guard requires for every vessel in Southeast Alaska waters.

Item 1 - Display of numbers

Registration number must be permanently attached to each side of the forward half of the boat. A space or hyphen must separate the letters from the numbers.

Item 2 - Registration or documentation

Registration or documentation papers must be on board and available.

Item 3 - Personal flotation devices (PFD)

Acceptable PFDs must be U.S. Coast Guard approved, in good serviceable condition, readily available and of suitable size for each person on the boat. Boats 16 feet or longer must also have one Type IV PFD.

Item 4 - Visual distress signals (VDS)

It is recommended, but not required, that boats operating on inland waters should have some means of making a suitable day and night distress signal.

Item 5 - Fire extinguishers

For boats less than 26 feet with no fixed system, one B-1 is required. For boats more than 26 feet and under 40 feet with no fixed system, two B-1s or one B-2 is required; with a fixed system one B-1 is required. For boats 40 to 65 feet with no fixed system, three B-1 or one B-1 and one B-2 are required; with a fixed system two B-1s or one B-2.

Item 6 - Ventilation

Boats with gasoline engines in closed compartments, built after Aug. 1, 1980, must have a powered ventilation system. Those built prior to that date must have natural or powered ventilation. Boats with closed fuel tank compartments built after Aug. 1, 1978, must meet requirements by displaying a "certificate of compliance." Boats built before that date must have either natural or powered ventilation in the fuel tank compartment.

Item 7 - Backfire flame control

All gasoline-powered inboard or outboard motor boats must be equipped with an approved backfire flame control device.

Item 8 - Sound producing devices or bell

All boats must carry a sound producing device capable of a 4-second blast audible for ½ mile. Boats larger than 39.4 feet. are also required to have a bell.

Item 9 - Navigation lights

All boats must be able to display navigation lights between sunset and sunrise and in conditions of reduced visibility. Boats 16 feet or more in length must have properly installed, working navigation lights and an all-around anchor light capable of being lit independently from the "running" lights.

Item 10 - Pollution placard

Boats 26 feet and longer with a machinery compartment must display an oily waste "pollution" placard.

Item 11 - MARPOL trash placard

Boats 26 feet and longer in length must display a "MARPOL" trash placard. Boats 40 feet and longer must also display a written trash disposal plan.

Item 12 - Marine sanitation devices

Any installed toilet must be a Coast Guard approved device. Overboard discharge outlets must be capable of being sealed.

Item 13 - Navigation rules

Boats 39.4 feet and longer must have on board a current copy of the navigation rules.

Item 14 - State and/or local requirements

These requirements must be met before the "Vessel Safety Check" decal can be awarded.

Item 15 - Overall vessel condition

Includes, but is not limited to deck free of hazards and clean bilge, safe electrical and fuel systems, and safe galley and heating systems.