It's the Law: Required Equipment
for Your Vessel
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:
Use this arm action to indicate you need help if you do not have other visual distress signals available. |
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 2 miles wide to the first point where the distance between shorelines narrows to 2 miles). |
