Every canoe and kayak in Canada must carry a Canadian-approved lifejacket or PFD of the right size for each person, plus a short list of safety equipment. Leave a sail plan with someone you trust, know who to call, and give someone ashore a live link. VesselSOS does that last part: a live browser link, and an SOS screen that calls the Coast Guard rescue centre for your waters, or 911 inland, with your position ready to read.
Under the Small Vessel Regulations a human-powered pleasure craft carries a PFD or lifejacket of an appropriate size for each person on board (SOR/2010-91, s. 209). Transport Canada’s Safe Boating Guide lists the rest: a buoyant heaving line of at least 15 m, a bailer or manual bilge pump, a sound-signalling device, navigation lights if you paddle at night or in poor visibility, and a reboarding device when the climb back in is more than 0.5 m. In white water, the PFD must be inherently buoyant, not inflatable. If everyone in a sealed-hull, sit-on-top kayak wears a PFD, the list shrinks to a sound-signalling device and, after dark, a watertight flashlight.
The Safe Boating Guide: “Canadian waters are cold most of the year. About 94% of Canadian boaters who drown were in water less than 20C.” Its 1-10-1 Principle names the stages: 1 minute of cold shock, 10 minutes of cold incapacitation, 1 hour to hypothermia. A capsize far from shore in May is a different event from one in August, so dress for the water, not the air, and wear the PFD.
Transport Canada: “Marine VHF radio is generally the best way to send a distress alert.” Channel 16 reaches the Canadian Coast Guard and every boat nearby. With only a phone, the Coast Guard asks you to call “your regional 24 hours emergency line”, the search and rescue centre for your waters; on inland waters the Coast Guard doesn’t serve, Transport Canada says to call 911. The app picks the right one from your position. Some carriers connect *16 on a cell phone to the Coast Guard “where available”, but Transport Canada says it is not a substitute for a marine radio. More in how to make a Mayday call.
Transport Canada asks every boater to file a sail plan, “even if it’s only for an hour or 2”, with someone you trust, and to tell them to contact a Joint Rescue Coordination Centre if you’re late (sail plans and a live link). A live link adds your actual position, speed and battery, in any browser. Set a return time too: if you’re late, the app asks whether you’re OK. Automatic texts to Canadian (+1) numbers don’t work yet, so send your link yourself and make sure the person ashore knows when to call.
Skills come first: a PFD you actually wear, a rescue you’ve practised, and good judgement about the forecast and the water temperature. VesselSOS is an aid, not a rescue service: in immediate danger make a Mayday on VHF channel 16 if you carry a radio, or call the Coast Guard rescue centre for your waters (911 on inland lakes and rivers).
Your position, the Mayday text and your boat details work fully offline. Calls and texts need a cell signal; a text often gets through where data has already dropped. Positions recorded without signal are sent when coverage returns. Transport Canada’s point stands: cell phones can lose reception and won’t alert nearby vessels, so they don’t replace a marine radio.
Not for paddling. Proof of competency is required to operate a boat with a motor, and Transport Canada says that includes electric trolling motors, even when the motor isn’t running.
Tracking runs only during a trip. At the default 30-second interval we estimate about 4% battery an hour; choose 1 or 5 minutes for long days, and below 20% it drops to every 5 minutes on its own. The person watching sees your battery level.