Someone mentioned people getting tickets for not having a visual distress signal onboard, which I had never heard of before. I checked it out and sure enough it is a law whether I agree with it or not. I went to wallyworld and they never heard of the flags (for daytime only), they only had the flare guns at close to $40 compared to the flag at $7. Finally found the flag at a marine shop. If someone was in distress, which would you notice first, someone waving thier arms and screaming "HELP" or someone waving that stupid little flag? Anyway, I was told that there was an ambitous new woman in charge at Cof E enforcing the little known law. BTW, it only applies to 16' or longer boats on federal controlled lakes. 15' under boats never need rescued I guess. I got a boat handbook and didn't find the rule about having a 50' rope tied to the throw device but have been told it is a new law also. See how far you can throw a cushion with 50' of tangled rope tied on. Hope this will save someone a fine.