This string is typical of why I don’t post on “paddling.com” any more.
I lurk here every so often and this one gave me a chuckle
To all of you that claimed you must obey the law; what speed to you drive at when the posted limit is 55 ???
Jack L
64 mph
Following safety laws is a good thing. Imagine if there were none?
Red felt is good doesn’t rip and bright. Tie it on anything that sticks out.
good to know you are still paddling and kicking… Thanks for stopping by!
I should have used a “Nom de plume” !
But thanks, I saw your post on getting lost in the mangroves or whatever, and I was thinking you would love it here. We have mini reefs in the various mangrove tunnels where you can actually get out of your yak or canoe making sure where you step in the waste deep water and make friends with the undersea critters. We have Parrot fish, mangrove snappers, school masters, Sargent majors and gray snappers that meet us each day for lunch. We have two four Eyed Butterfly fish that have greeted us for the past five years and if the tide is right we say hello to one of several baby Moray Eels that pop their heads out of their little caves.
Oops I am screwing up the red flag situation, so I better go
Jack L
2 Likes
I’m using bright orange terry cloth washcloths. May not comply with the letter of the law, but it’s easily seen and handy to have when wiping down a boat. Deb sewed a button hole in them and I added a carabiner to them.
1 Like
Good to hear from you again, JackL!
Next time you see one of those again, I dare you not to to think of Dean Martin singing:
“See that thing on the reef
With the bright shiny teeth?
That’s a moray”
And as long as I’ve jumped in I’ll try to be helpful. If you’re tired of taking extra load flags every time you go to the lumber yard (they’re a pain to tie and untie from your grab loops and paddling with a fake flame is sooo cheesy), Dick’s Sporting goods sells 1’ sq red flags with a grommet and a small biener. They last quite a while. .
2 Likes
My wife made mine from heavy weight red Cordora nylon. It has a heavy nylon loop in one corner. I keep a Nite-Ize giant twist tie thingie attached to the loop for very easy on and off of the boat. I expect it will last forever.
1 Like
Laws vary, but I use the flags any time my boats overhang the rear of my vehicle more than 3’. I got mine from a full service truck stop. I bought an orange caution flag that truckers use and cut it into 3 strips to get multiple flags from 1. Years later and they are still in good shape. If you look closely enough along the sides of highways you might be able to pick one up for free…and help clean roadside trash.
Sorry, engineers tend to fret over little details that wouldn’t bother normal people. So, for long hauls, I don’t want a substantial flag flapping back and forth and yanking on my rudder hardware for hours and hours. I found that using some of that 1 inch wide plastic marking tape tied into a bunch of narrow streamers works well. The streamers flutter around and attract attention, but the whole bundle pulls straight back nice and evenly. I did have to replace some torn streamers half way through an 800 mile highway trip. And no, it’s not regulation size or red, but it is very visible.
So I decided to address this in a video. Flag That Kayak | Why Put A Safety Flag on A Kayak or Surfski? - YouTube
1 Like
After reading this thread I started looking around for something red to hang off the canoe as it will be hanging back about 3’. I couldn’t find anything suitable and broke down and bought one off Amazon. I came in yesterday and she said Alexa just notified her that my Toe Tag had arrived and what the heck do I need toe tags for. I just grinned and said you never know when you will need a toe tag.
When I ordered it I felt stupid paying 8 bucks for a piece of red material, but this thing is really nice it is tough and will hold up forever and has a white reflective strip sewn in and has a strap loop that will be easy to hook to my grab loop.
One thing not mentioned about running one of these is it hangs down and can be seen looking out the rear window reminding you where the back of the boat is when backing up. 
2 Likes
@bud16145
Actually I and someone else mentioned it meant backing up safely. I suspect I am hardly the only one who uses it for that.
1 Like
Sorry I had read the thread over several days and then watched Dave’s video and was mainly addressing that comment that it could be some information Dave could add to his instructional video.
Sorry, my bad. I did not capture that.
Finding the back of the boat is especially helpful for me, I back the car into a 16 ft wide back yard when I come home from a paddle. The north side is a house wall all the way to the alley so I have to make sure to miss that.
For my flag I bought the cheapest, most minimal highway safety vest my hardware store had–about $8, I think. I don’t recall the details, but I had to cinch two ends of it together with a zip-tie to form a loop. Run it around something on the back of the boat, run it through itself and snug it up. It’s big, and fluorescent orange.
@bud16415 Very good point. That flag dangling down in your rearview mirror is definitely a nice reminder that you’ve got a boat on top when backing up.