For the past decade, the number of boaters in the state has hovered around 15,000 to 17,000, according to state Department of Land and Natural Resources statistics.

One out of every eight of them, Richards said, operates without enough life jackets for each person aboard.

"We find that appalling," he said.

It's not just life jackets that are lacking:

One in 11 boats boarded by the Coast Guard for random safety inspections doesn't have a fire extinguisher, he said.

One in four boats doesn't carry flares or other visual distress signals, as required by law. One out of nine doesn't have a whistle or other sound-signaling device to alert other boaters of an intention to overtake or pass.

"Most of them don't use them," he said, "but one in 11 don't have them on board."

Aaron Suzuki of Kane'ohe shows his "dead-man switch," which shuts down the engine if he falls overboard. Jeff Widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

In 2003, 35.4 percent of the boats on the water had at least one safety violation. Last year, he said, that number was down to 32.7, the lowest since 1996. The drop is modest, but he said he hopes it indicates a positive trend.

"What we normally see is after a year with a couple of fatalities, the following year, people are more safety conscious," he said.

In June of last year, in separate incidents two weeks apart, longtime Hawai'i fishermen Richard Shiroma and Roy Takatsuki were lost at sea.

Both men had gone out alone. Searchers found their boats, the engines still running. The men were presumed to have fallen overboard and drowned. Their bodies were never found.

The deaths, Richards said, tend to stick in people's minds, causing them to be less lax about safety.

This week, at He'eia Kea Boat Harbor on Kane'ohe Bay, several boaters said they carried the required safety equipment plus a few extras as added protection in times of need.

Aaron Suzuki, of Kane'ohe, said he has equipped his fishing launch with whatever was required, and then some. He has a GPS device that allows him to navigate the shallow reefs in Kane'ohe Bay when it's dark, and his ignition switch is hooked to his clothing, so that if he falls overboard, the engine shuts off.

Suzuki, who was heading out alone Wednesday to fish outside the bay, tethers himself to the boat so he can't be pulled overboard while fishing, something that has happened to other fishermen, Suzuki said.

"Fishing, or when catching a fish, that's when it's the most dangerous," he said.

David Woodman, 45, of Kailua, also carries extras, including a radio, fire extinguisher and life jackets on his motorboat. Woodman, a supplier of aquarium fish, said he also wants to buy a device that signals a satellite when a boats sinks.

Although he says he has never gotten into any serious boating difficulties, Woodman says the trouble others experience has taught him to be cautious.

"We being out there every day, we see more than the average person," he said, adding that he has towed in a number of people who have gotten into trouble.