It's the Law: Required Equipment

Visual Distress Signals (VDSs)

• Vessels less than 16 feet in length must carry at least three night signals if operating between sunset and sunrise on coastal waters.
• Vessels 16 feet in length or greater must carry at least three day signals and three night signals on coastal waters. A total of three combination day/night visual distress signals may be substituted for this requirement.
• It is prohibited to display visual distress signals on the water except when assistance is required to prevent immediate or potential danger to persons on board a vessel.

Pyrotechnic Visual Distress Signals
Orange Smoke: Day Signal	Red Meteor: Day and Night Signal	Red Flare: Day and Night Signal
Non-Pyrotechnic Visual Distress Signals
Electric Light: Night Signal	Orange Flag: Day Signal	Arm Signal: Although this signal does not meet VDS equipment requirements, wave your arms to summon help if you do not have other distress signals on board.

Coastal Waters

Vessels must observe the VDS requirements when on Florida’s coastal waters (coastal waters are the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and all bays, sounds, harbors, rivers, inlets, etc., where any entrance is over two miles wide to the first point where the distance between shorelines narrows to two miles).