The owner of Holiday RV in Steinbach is reminding boat owners about the safety equipment they need to have on board to comply with the law. Kevin Pankratz was reacting to what happened in Gimli last weekend. RCMP checked 28 boats in the harbour at Gimli and only two of them complied with all safety rules. Pankratz says it's easy for boaters to forget about some of the things they need to have with them.

"Some of the obvious stuff, flotation devices for everybody on board, bailing equipment, a sounding device, those types of things which are pretty common, people think about those things. One of the ones that I was made aware of as I was refreshing myself, and it's a good thing to do that, was to have your boater's registration with you. I reminded myself it has to be in the boat with you."

Pankratz notes flotation devices must meet Canadian standards.

"They have to be approved by the Canadian Coast Guard. It's important not to just buy the cheapest thing that you find online or in the States."

Furthermore, he says flashlights need to be waterproof and in working order.

"The best is to store them in a waterproof container as well and check them before you go out."

Pankratz says boat owners generally know the main rules but may forget some of the lesser known ones.

"The major stuff like life jackets and bailers and an oar, those are things that people think about pretty readily. It's other stuff like the flashlight with the batteries or a proper sounding device and stuff like that, those are the things that get overlooked."