Just did mine this year, and as another precaution since I will be in a kayak I have added a replacement cylinder and arming pin in my safety kit in kayak.


Hopefully the first post will be the last on this thread.

Officials identify man killed in boating accident in Long Island Sound in Milford
http://fox61.com/2017/04/15/man-pronounced-dead-after-falling-into-long-island-sound-in-milford/

CT man dies after falling out of canoe in Maine
http://www.wcsh6.com/news/local/man-dies-canoeing-as-boating-deaths-spike/445386402

My wife and nephew flipped the kayak yesterday thankfully no one got hurt and had their PDFs on. I had to drag my wife back to shore. All it took was a second for it to flip.

I will add my 2 cents. I have awaken on the bottom of a lake after blacking out from heat exhaustion and rolling my canoe in 100 degree heat. That was 22 years ago. Luckily I was in 3 feet of water. I had no life jacket on and had I been in deeper water would not have survived.

The memories of the day have made me extra cautious when I fish alone. This week I ordered a boarding ladder after having multiple slips or trips in the boat this year that have caused me to lose my balance. Things happen fast on the water and it doesn't take much to fall out of a boat on a windy day or when being rolled by boat wakes. I have been in boats on more than one occasion where someone has lost their balance and fallen in. I have also seen how difficult it is to pull someone in who is fatigued and out weighs you. I fish alone more than half my trips and if I fall in on my own I will now have a ladder to get back in the boat.