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fast Help please on mystery paperwork in boat sale


Saani

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And depending on age etc quite legitimately not have RCD but this is late built , Its funny I’ve been told GET A HOUSE as I’m such a stickler, heehee just trying to be diligent! But very interesting and will no doubt begin to appreciate the casual boater attitudes which are charming if not unnerving.

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3 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

It could quite legitimately have no RCD plaque, manual etc. My boat hasn't.

But only if it was a 'home-build' for personal use and not sold within 5 years.

 

A watercraft needs to comply with the RCD if it was/is:

  • first placed on the EEA market after 16 June 1998; or
  • put into service in the EEA after 16 June 1998 (whether manufactured in the EEA or  imported from outside the EEA); or
  • a home built boat placed on the market within five years of completion; or
  • imported from a third country without CE marking; or
  • a major craft conversion (e.g. an experimental or racing boat being reassessed for compliance with the RCD)
4 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

Do what @Alan de Enfield does and offer them £80,000 less than asking price ... you'll take the boat as is if they give you thirty grand as well. :D

 

Or, to put it another way - 33% price reduction.

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1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

But only if it was a 'home-build' for personal use and not sold within 5 years.

 

Exactly. If built commercially and sold it makes no difference that it is now more than 5 years old, a criminal offence was still committed when first sold and the Trading Standards dept should be prosecuting. Trouble is, they generally claim CBA and 'bigger fish to fry' in my personal experience. 

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35 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Exactly. If built commercially and sold it makes no difference that it is now more than 5 years old, a criminal offence was still committed when first sold and the Trading Standards dept should be prosecuting. Trouble is, they generally claim CBA and 'bigger fish to fry' in my personal experience. 

Here is one example from a few years ago (in North Wales).

 

Found Guilty, fined and now has a criminal record.

 

This was his 3rd boat and it 'broke' him, the start-up company subsequently closed down

 

After being found guilty in April of two offences under the Small Craft Regulations - the UK implementation for the Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) - Billy Hughes, owner of Shotton, Flintshire, based Deeside Narrowboats, was fined £ 600 with £ 1,500 costs.

He also has a criminal conviction.

Hughes feels he has been treated harshly, having been convicted for non-compliance with essential safety items.

These include no means of re-boarding, through hull fittings with no shut-off valves, use of glass not of safety glass specification and installation of electrical and gas system and appliances that did not minimise the risk of fire or risk of explosion respectively.

 

The whole business ultimately put Deeside Narrowboats some £30,000 out of pocket and his customer £10,000. And Hughes is buying the boat back as he offered in the first instance.

The expense and the hours lost in court and in arguments over two years is a lot for a start-up firm to cope with in its early years of trading - many would go out of business.

Billy's case is not the first.

Trading standards officers in the surrounding NW area have brought several cases against other narrowboat builders.

In most cases, the builders have been found guilty of infringements. Lots of detailed technical charges have been brought, unproven in court, and the TSOs left with big court costs on their count.

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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2 hours ago, WotEver said:

I think the summation is pertinent:

 

It would seem the RCD is far too technical to be easily managed by both boatbuilder and trading standards officer.

Section 17 of the 1995 Waterways Act would appear to be similarly difficult to understand by either the 'authorities' or the users

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