Kayak visibility is a safety issue.

At night there are navigation and running lights, and SOLAS tape, to consider. Maybe a radar reflector. Anything else?

In daylight there are kayak flags, outerwear in safety orange. Anything else? Other colors?

When efforts at visibility fail, there are last resort sound signals: whistles, air horns, etc. Anything else?

Thanks for your thoughts

I know very few people who have had problems that weren't the result of some drunk/careless jerk in a powerboat or on a PWC. So we definitely encourage people who will kayak in areas with heavy boat traffic to consider yellow or orange colored kayaks.

But that and the things you suggest will only get you so far. Keeping to very shallow water near shore keeps the somewhat vigilant away, but the kids and their jetskis will run almost anywhere.

Unfortunately, the smart thing to do sometimes is to just stay off the water. We call holiday weeks "Amateur Hour". The wife and I definitely won't go kayaking on those weekends. And we won't go sailing unless it's so windy that the rough water keeps the powerboats off the lake.

Brian C

Hey there DW..how ya going..?
I was thinking you could buy bright red flashing L.E.D. cycling tail lights that come with a clamp and run many hours on double AA batteries. They have several different flashing modes , last many many hours , can be easily mounted with zip ties to the mast , bow, stern etc and are fairly water proof for riding your bike in the rain at night. These should only run between $12 to $18 dollars and can be seen from a long way off. If you really want some heavy duty spotlight power you could always invest in a Nite Sun H.I.D. (high intensity discharge) or similar brand, front end cycling headlight that is really very bright. These can be mounted to a helmet/headgear or clamped to the handle bars, and really provide some amazing illumination at night . When two or more people have these on our night rides it make the road seem almost like it was daytime. They are expensive $300 to $500 and would have to be recharged at some point depending on what mode is used..hi-beam--lo-beam..long run..etc but would maybe be of some interest for any night traveling or in the case of the flashing tailights, as an inexpensive safety light during the day. Check your local bike-shop for advice or info.
-kepnutz-

I have noticed that using an orange flag will attract boaters thinking someone is in distress. The only close call I've had was just a few weeks ago. 4 fisherman were all looking in the same direction, scouting out a fishing area and started drifting in my direction. The horn that I used to carry but never used, was sitting at home. It now goes everyone I go. Good thing I can whistle loud because the boater was 25' away, still heading right at me, before the whistling caught someone's attention and they took evasive action. Going where there are boats? Put a tall brightly colored flag on your kayak. Going out at night - reflectorize your boat. Going near boats, carry a horn and keep it available to use at all times.