After having some close safety calls over the years, adding a kid to my crew plus moving up to the Panga from a skiff we are spending more and more time out of cell range so I have bulked up our emergency kit/ditch bag. So I thought I would share a great kit I found plus some other stuff we are carrying that we hopefully never need. I also thought I would share this really good and small Marine emergency kit my in-laws got us.
I had initially figured the kit they got us was just bandaids and the like so I kinda built out my ditch bag(a 30 liter dry bag) and clipped this to it. The other day I went through all my gear and to be honest the bag from breakwater had nearly all the same items in it just in smaller quantities. I highly recommend it for a skiff where space and weight is at a premium as it’s smaller than your standard insulated water bottle, and weighs less to.
To add onto that kit I have:
ACR PlB
Zip stitch - wound closure bandaids in 2-3 sizes
Flares
Air horn
3 additional emergency blankets
Additional 50-100’ of bright orange paracord
Roll of survey tape (can be unrolled to leave a giant trail to help search and rescue find you
Pocket knife
One hand tourniquet kit
Whistles attached to most of the life jackets
At some point I will be adding a new handheld vhf or some type of removable boat mounted vhf system as our old handheld died.
That’s good–seems that everything is there to help in time of need. Maybe add a few things: Quickclot Combat wound dressing; hemostats; surgical scissors; safety pins; syringe (without needle); saline solution; individually wrapped common OTC medications; Betadine antiseptic. I also have a US Army First Aid Manual in my kit and a Garmin InReach.
Apart from emergency first aid/signal devices, I was think of getting, mostly due to domestic pressure a mini starlink but am unsure if it’s usefulness .
I’m not making long runs and am hardly in a place where I could be swept offshore by currents so my thinking in this is light and simple. Unless you have to conduct CPR, your best bet in any real severe first aid situation is to do what you can to stop any bad bleeding and get to a place where the person can be picked up and taken to a hospital.
You basically need quick clot and a tourniquet for those kinds of emergencies. You can also make a pretty effective tourniquet or splint out of a T-Shirt and something rigid (think fishing rod or a piece of push pole.) Add in the necessary signaling devices in case the motor won’t start, and some light stuff to address minor issues like cuts and that’s all I bring.
I will probably add the inreach this year. But more so because I do a lot of whitetail hunting solo and will be purchasing one for that. Might as well get some use out of it the rest of the year as well.
I got a PLB + First Aid + the standard stuff that USCG requires.
Alcohol is a factor in 34% of boating fatalities. So just getting that right is a huge advantage. I am now to the point that I will not get on someone else’s boat if I know they will be drinking.
Probably not a big deal in most of the U.S., but when I used to fish a lot in Baja — where help wasn’t coming fast and maybe not at all — I always figured there was a realistic possibility I’d be trying to survive ashore for while. So I added common sense food and shelter stuff like basic gear for handlining, sealed matches, a space blanket, paracord, etc. Drinking water also seems like a big one, at least in remote areas. And I always kept a mask, snorkel, and compact full foot fins in my bag, figuring that if I found myself without a boat several miles out, I’d have a lot better chance of making it to shore with fins and a mask, plus they’d be helpful if I ever needed to get in the water to clear line from a prop, address a hole in the hull, or whatever.
Besides required signal and safety gear, I keep a booboo kit, tourniquet, side cutters as well as anchor and line so I don’t drift out the sound if I break down. For communication I have a handheld VHF, InReach mini and of course the dreaded smartphone. USCG helo’s come out of Savannah and there’s a boat station in Brunswick so I’m pretty much in the middle. BoatUS isn’t far either. Also stow a collapsable paddle.
My wife is the “prepper” of the family. She’s got bug out bags in every vehicle. I honestly can’t tell ya what she has in em.
On the boat, I carry the basics. A small first aid kit, headlamp, paracord, lighter, whistle, knife, air horn, flares, water and snacks. All of that stays In my dry 20qt roto cooler.
I also don’t run deep into the glades or backcountry, otherwise I’d likely have more. 95% of the time, I could walk back to a shoreline.
I guess a good concealable pistol would be smart emergency gear for those out of the way boat ramps. I remember something about that from the other site.
Ruger SP-101 stainless, .357 mag is the standard. It’s a revolver and you can switch ammo from “greatest tarpon guide” to “snake/bird” with a quick loader.
I had several incidents back in the net war days, including almost getting run off the road and having two airboats threaten to ram me. I now include a Kel-Tec 9mm that is very compact and one of the lightest ever made in the boat bag.
Friend of mine used to frequent the Pepperfish Keys area and would launch his jon boat somewhere nearby, Cow Creek if I remember right. One morning on his way to launch he was greeted by a gentleman in the roadway holding an AR who told him the boat ramp was closed. Needless to say, he didn’t go fishing.
All of above is good. I carry a charged up mini charger which will start my 60 merc and also will charge my phone and has a light. Aome are fancier than others. Important to charge it once a month at home.
The company I work for just bought a company called BIOLIFE in Sarasota. Among other things , they make a WoundSeal powder. If I ever get to visit the site, I’m going to ask for samples.
a mini starlink but am unsure if it’s usefulness 
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