"Tim" wrote
Thanks, Tom. I really wasn't disputing carrying the flares. I was
agreeing with Earnest that it would be best in everyones interest not
to do the cha-cha with barges.

I carry some expired flares with me. Never had occasion to use one.

All I was trying to say was that you shouldn't expect flares to serve as
barge repellent. We had an accident near here recently, three guys in a
houseboat, all below decks messing with a dodgy engine when the barge ran
over them. So many ways it could have been avoided.