Required safety gear, rule by rule
Muster the gear before you cast off.
Tell Gear Muster about your boat and your trip. It lists the life jackets, distress signals, fire extinguishers, ventilation, lights, sound gear and papers the federal rules (and Ohio law, on Ohio waters) require, how many of each, and the rule behind every line.
Free to check. No account. Up to 65 ft, power, sail or paddle.
22 ft gasoline sterndrive · Lake Erie · after dark · 4 aboard
- 4Wearable life jackets33 CFR 175.15(a)
- 1Throwable flotation33 CFR 175.15(b)
- 3 + 3Day and night distress signals33 CFR 175.110
- 1 × 5-BPortable fire extinguishers33 CFR 175.320
- ✓Working ventilation33 CFR 175.201
- 1 per engineBackfire flame arrester46 CFR 25.35-1
Six things to have aboard and in order
The sample boat above needs 10 items across these six groups. Yours will differ: length, engine, water and the time of day all change the list.
- 2Life jackets
- 1Distress signals
- 1Fire extinguishers
- 2Engine space
- 2Lights and sound
- 2Papers and placards
Describe the boat
Length, model year, how it is driven, the fuel, and the closed spaces that can trap fuel vapour.
Describe the trip
Lake Erie, inland or the ocean coast; back before sunset or not; how many people, and the children's ages.
Muster the gear
Tick each line as you check it aboard. Every line names its rule, with a link to the official text.
Sample muster list
22 ft gasoline sterndrive, Lake Erie, after dark
Model year 2015, four aboard including children aged 8 and 12, Ohio waters, more than 10 hp. Computed live by the same code as the carriage check.
Open it in the checkLife jackets
-
One Coast Guard-approved wearable PFD for each person aboard, readily accessible, the right size and fit for its wearer as marked on its label, in serviceable condition, with its approval marking legible.
Why: You said 4 people aboard.
33 CFR 175.15(a)33 CFR 175.1933 CFR 175.21Ohio R.C. 1547.25 -
One throwable PFD (Type IV, such as a ring buoy or cushion) in addition to the wearables, immediately available.
Why: Your boat is 22 ft, and boats 16 ft or longer carry one.
33 CFR 175.15(b)33 CFR 175.19(b)
Distress signals
-
Signals for day use and for night use (or devices good for both), readily accessible. Any of these sets, Coast Guard-approved or certified, marked, serviceable and not past the date on them: three hand-held red flares (day and night); one orange distress flag (day) plus one electric distress light (night); three orange smoke signals (day) plus one electric distress light (night); three aerial red flares (day and night, with the launcher if they need one).
Why: Your boat is 22 ft on the Great Lakes, so it carries day and night signals at all hours.
33 CFR 175.11033 CFR 175.13033 CFR 175.12533 CFR 175.11333 CFR 175.120
Fire extinguishers
-
1 Coast Guard-approved 5-B portable extinguisher, readily accessible, not expired or used, gauge in the operable range, pin in place, nozzle clear, no serious corrosion or damage. Model year 2017 or earlier: extinguishers already installed with a lower rating (such as B-I) may stay while in good condition; ones installed after August 22, 2016 must meet the current rules.
Why: Your boat is 22 ft.
33 CFR 175.32033 CFR 175.31033 CFR 175.380
Engine space
-
An operable ventilation system: an exhaust blower for each compartment with a permanently installed gasoline engine (unless it is open to the air), natural ventilation ducts and cowls, and the "operate blower" label near the ignition switch. Run the blower before starting.
Why: Gasoline inboard engine on a boat of model year 2015 (the rule covers boats built after July 31, 1980).
33 CFR 175.20133 CFR 183.61033 CFR 183.620 -
A Coast Guard-accepted backfire flame arrester (or approved air and fuel induction system) on each gasoline engine, clean and in good condition.
Why: Gasoline inboard or sterndrive engine.
46 CFR 25.35-1
Lights and sound
-
Some means of making an efficient sound signal, such as a horn or whistle, to use in fog and to signal other boats.
Why: Vessels under 12 m (39.4 ft) need not carry the Annex III whistle but must have an efficient sound signal.
33 CFR 83.33 -
Sidelights (red to port, green to starboard) plus either an all-round white light, or a masthead light and a sternlight. Anchor lights are not listed here.
Why: Power-driven under 12 m, between sunset and sunrise and in restricted visibility.
33 CFR 83.2333 CFR 83.20
Papers and placards
-
The Ohio watercraft registration certificate, aboard and available for inspection whenever the boat is out (valid three years). A federally documented vessel carries its Certificate of Documentation instead of a state number.
Why: Ohio registers every watercraft, powered or not.
Ohio R.C. 1547.54Ohio R.C. 1547.531 -
Anyone born on or after January 1, 1982 who runs a boat with more than 10 hp on Ohio waters must have passed an approved boating course or proficiency exam and received a certificate. Exception: a holder of a Coast Guard merchant mariner credential with a master or operator endorsement, who must carry that credential aboard and show it to an officer on request.
Why: More than 10 hp on Ohio waters.
Ohio R.C. 1547.05
Not required for this boat 2
- Children wearing life jackets. Ohio's child-wear law covers vessels under 18 ft; yours is 22 ft. On Ohio waters the state law replaces the federal under-13 rule. A life jacket only works when it is worn. Ohio R.C. 1547.2433 CFR 175.25
- Oil and garbage placards. Required from 26 ft; yours is 22 ft. 33 CFR 155.45033 CFR 151.51
Pricing
The check is free. Keep your boats for $1.95 a month.
A muster board keeps your boats behind a private link, works each list out again on every visit, and warns when the flare or extinguisher date you saved has passed.
Free
$0
- Carriage check, any boat, any time
- Muster board with 1 boat
- Trip musters
Muster Pass
$1.95 / month
$19.50 a year, or $1.00 for 7 days
- Up to 5 boats on a board
- Printable Muster Card per boat and trip
Free during preview: nothing is charged.
What it covers, and what it does not
Covered
Recreational boats up to 65 ft under the U.S. federal carriage rules (33 CFR 175, 83, 151, 155, 159, 173; 46 CFR 25), and the Ohio Revised Code's life-jacket, registration and boater-education rules on Ohio waters.
Not covered
Personal watercraft, boats over 65 ft, boats carrying passengers for hire, other states' own rules, anchor lights, and anything a boarding officer finds about the gear's condition. Rules & sources