Facilities and fittings legal requirements for a narrowboat

[Atom Dan]

Hi. I have searched for an answer to this question, and I expect the answer is somewhere, but I just can't find it. 

 

I am renovating a narrowboat at the moment. It's currently little more than a shell. The thing is, an opportunity has come up to grab a rare mooring. I need to move fast, get a safety certificate and licence and get the boat prepared to get over to the mooring before I pay the money. All that is probably achievable, but I need to know if there is any minimum requirement for fittings and facilities on board before I can cruise on the canal.

 

I'm aware of things like navigation lights, a horn, a headlamp, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms... all that would come under the safety certificate. But do I have to have a toilet, cooking facilities, a water tank, a bed, a heater? That sort of thing. I will fit those later, obviously, but is anything like that a legal requirement before moving a boat on a canal? I just need to get going. 🙂

 

Thanks all.

[GUMPY]

If there are no "appliances" fitted then that's not a problem for the BSS.

Many boats never have them 😱

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, Atom Dan said:

Hi. I have searched for an answer to this question, and I expect the answer is somewhere, but I just can't find it. 

 

I am renovating a narrowboat at the moment. It's currently little more than a shell. The thing is, an opportunity has come up to grab a rare mooring. I need to move fast, get a safety certificate and licence and get the boat prepared to get over to the mooring before I pay the money. All that is probably achievable, but I need to know if there is any minimum requirement for fittings and facilities on board before I can cruise on the canal.

 

I'm aware of things like navigation lights, a horn, a headlamp, fire extinguishers, smoke alarms... all that would come under the safety certificate. But do I have to have a toilet, cooking facilities, a water tank, a bed, a heater? That sort of thing. I will fit those later, obviously, but is anything like that a legal requirement before moving a boat on a canal? I just need to get going. 🙂

 

Thanks all.

 

You can cross navigation lights off your list. Most narrow canal boats dont need or have them, as such they are not required for the BSS.

[Atom Dan]

8 minutes ago, Loddon said:

If there are no "appliances" fitted then that's not a problem for the BSS.

Many boats never have them 😱

Ah, yeah, I can see that it would pass the BSS if there are no appliances at all. 😃 I'm just trying to find out if any appliances or other facilities are actually required in the first place.

2 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

 

You can cross navigation lights off your list. Most narrow canal boats dont need or have them, as such they are not required for the BSS.

That's useful to know. 👍 Though one of the very few things my boat currently has is nav lights (though they aren't wired to anything at the moment).

[Bee]

My best guess is that you should be OK. What have you got though? Engine? That has some requirements, pipes, filters types, oil tight tray, battery leads, security. Some requirements for apertures. drains etc in hull, gas locker etc.  Not sure if you need fire extinguishers. Might have to treat it like an MOT, take it in, it might fail, then work through the list.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Take a look at the boat safety scheme requirements. If it has the thing fitted, then it has to pass. If it doesn't have the thing, then it isn't tested. Note that this is not the same as navigation requirements. CaRT and other navigation authority bylaws will require things like nav lights for certain routes, but they are not tested for the BSS. The BSS is only concerned with the safety of others around you. If the boat is an empty shell, with an engine, then only the engine, fuel supply and minimal electrical system will be tested. Plus maybe some ventilation requirements, escape routes and fire extuinguishers for the cabin. Any additions, or changes to the boat between tests need to be done in a compliant manner.

Jen

Edited September 8, 2021 by Jen-in-Wellies

[Atom Dan]

1 minute ago, Bee said:

My best guess is that you should be OK. What have you got though? Engine? That has some requirements, pipes, filters types, oil tight tray, battery leads, security. Some requirements for apertures. drains etc in hull, gas locker etc.  Not sure if you need fire extinguishers. Might have to treat it like an MOT, take it in, it might fail, then work through the list.

It's a very small boat (steel narrowboat, but only 23ft), so I have an outboard and a petrol tank. I'm hoping to switch that for an electric outboard one of these days, but that's another subject.

This topic isn't really about the BSS though. It's more about what facilities/appliances I have to have, whether they would then be covered by the BSS or not.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

2 minutes ago, Atom Dan said:

This topic isn't really about the BSS though. It's more about what facilities/appliances I have to have, whether they would then be covered by the BSS or not.

That is what we are saying. There is nothing you have to have to get a BSS, but what you do have needs to pass any BSS requirements for that item. There are things you have to have to meet CaRT navigation requirements. I helped a friend get his stripped to bare shell fibreglass boat,, with its engine through the BSS so it could be moved to its new home mooring. We only looked at the things that were fitted to make sure they would pass. Fenders, tunnel lights, nav lights, depending on waterway, but these are rarely checked and are not part of the BSS.

[Atom Dan]

2 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

There are things you have to have to meet CaRT navigation requirements.

Ah. That might be useful to know. Any idea where I can get a list?

Other than that, it sounds like I won't be pulled over by the canal police if the boat has nothing but a camp bed and a few snacks inside. That's what I was hoping. Thanks everyone. 🙂

[Jen-in-Wellies]

7 minutes ago, Atom Dan said:

Ah. That might be useful to know. Any idea where I can get a list?

Other than that, it sounds like I won't be pulled over by the canal police if the boat has nothing but a camp bed and a few snacks inside. That's what I was hoping. Thanks everyone. 🙂

I've not seen anything advertised on the CaRT web site and the only by laws are from 1965! However, just as a courtesy, I'd want to have the following.

• Bow and stern fenders. Saves damaging lock gates and other peoples boats in a coming to.
• A horn. Could be an air horn. Doesn't need to be electric. A warning to other boaters that you are there and what you intend to do.
• A tunnel light, if there is a tunnel on the route. Again, this could be a battery one. It is there mostly so other boaters can see you, rather than for you to see where you are going. Aim it to not dazzle approaching boaters.

You will need a minimum of ropes, mooring pins, hammer, windlass, BW key, handcuff key and whatever other cruising gear is needed, depending on where your route takes you.

None of this stuff is BSS tested.

[Atom Dan]

6 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

just as a courtesy, I'd want to have the following.

Great. Thanks. Should be able to scrape that lot together. 👍 

[Tony Brooks]

Has anyone mentioned third party insurance, required to get a licence and probably a condition of mooring

[Atom Dan]

2 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Has anyone mentioned third party insurance, required to get a licence and probably a condition of mooring

Good one. I do have that already. Required at the boatyard where I'm doing the work at the moment. 👍

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Take a look at the boat safety scheme requirements. If it has the thing fitted, then it has to pass. If it doesn't have the thing, then it isn't tested. Note that this is not the same as navigation requirements. CaRT and other navigation authority bylaws will require things like nav lights for certain routes, but they are not tested for the BSS. The BSS is only concerned with the safety of others around you. If the boat is an empty shell, with an engine, then only the engine, fuel supply and minimal electrical system will be tested. Plus maybe some ventilation requirements, escape routes and fire extuinguishers for the cabin. Any additions, or changes to the boat between tests need to be done in a compliant manner.

Jen

 

The problem with nav lights on Narrowboats is that it is pretty well impossible to fit them in a way that complies with the regulations. Just plonking them on the cabin as builders normally doesnt.

 

Technically according to the bye laws we were suposed to have them on the North Eastern waterways like The A&C and NJC but we never had them, not many did.

[Atom Dan]

5 minutes ago, The Happy Nomad said:

Technically according to the bye laws we were suposed to have them on the North Eastern waterways like The A&C and NJC but we never had them, not many did.

 

We're talking about the red and green sidelights here, right? I thought pretty much everyone had those. My boat was built in the 1980s, and it looks like the lights have been there from the start. Have they gone out of fashion? Or are we talking about different things?

[Tony Brooks]

16 minutes ago, Atom Dan said:

 

We're talking about the red and green sidelights here, right? I thought pretty much everyone had those. My boat was built in the 1980s, and it looks like the lights have been there from the start. Have they gone out of fashion? Or are we talking about different things?

 

No, not different things, but I doubt yours are the size and placed to accord with the SOLAS regulations. To do that is hard on a narrowboat and requires masts and things for the steaming light.

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, Atom Dan said:

 

We're talking about the red and green sidelights here, right? I thought pretty much everyone had those. My boat was built in the 1980s, and it looks like the lights have been there from the start. Have they gone out of fashion? Or are we talking about different things?

 

No the same things. Some narrowboats have them but they really are nothing more than decoration. People do use them and I suppose they are better than nothing but they dont meet the regs. when fitted to a std. narrowboat.

 

[Neil2]

3 hours ago, Atom Dan said:

It's a very small boat (steel narrowboat, but only 23ft), so I have an outboard and a petrol tank. I'm hoping to switch that for an electric outboard one of these days, but that's another subject.

This topic isn't really about the BSS though. It's more about what facilities/appliances I have to have, whether they would then be covered by the BSS or not.

 

Have you got a Waterbug by any chance?

[Atom Dan]

13 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

No, not different things, but I doubt yours are the size and placed to accord with the SOLAS regulations. To do that is hard on a narrowboat and requires masts and things for the steaming light.

 

Understood. I imagine most narrowboats never or very rarely cruise after dark, and judge distance and position in a tunnel by the headlight?

2 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

 

Have you got a Waterbug by any chance?

 

It's not a Waterbug, but not dissimilar. The boatyard owner referred to it as a pontoon with a lid welded on. I like it though. 🙂 

[Tony Brooks]

3 minutes ago, Atom Dan said:

 

Understood. I imagine most narrowboats never or very rarely cruise after dark, and judge distance and position in a tunnel by the headlight?

For the majority of canals, only a tunnel lamp is mandatory. Different after dark on some rivers and the northern canals (possibly)

[MtB]

4 hours ago, Atom Dan said:

The thing is, an opportunity has come up to grab a rare mooring. I need to move fast, get a safety certificate and licence and get the boat prepared to get over to the mooring before I pay the money.

 

Why?

 

As I understand it, there is nothing stopping you (in principle) from signing a rental agreement on the mooring now if you want it, then putting your boat on it whenever you are ready.

[Atom Dan]

1 minute ago, MtB said:

 

Why?

 

As I understand it, there is nothing stopping you (in principle) from signing a rental agreement on the mooring now if you want it, then putting your boat on it whenever you are ready.

 

Well, here's the thing. I don't have much spare cash as I'm doing up the boat, and paying for space at the yard. I also need a BSS and licence in hand in order to secure the mooring. The boat has neither at the moment. 

 

Combine those two things, and I end up needing to get the boat documented and into a fit state to cruise to the mooring, and then I can continue fitting it out as and when cash becomes available. 

 

Or I could just miss out on the mooring and take my time doing up the boat. Which I still might have to do anyway if I can't get the boat ready quick enough. But this thread has at least given me hope that I can make it in time. 🙂

[Neil2]

10 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Why?

 

As I understand it, there is nothing stopping you (in principle) from signing a rental agreement on the mooring now if you want it, then putting your boat on it whenever you are ready.

 

I once had a mooring for six months even though I didn't have a boat.  I used to go and visit it from time to time.  Long story.

[MtB]

4 minutes ago, Neil2 said:

 

I once had a mooring for six months even though I didn't have a boat.  I used to go and visit it from time to time.  Long story.

 

Same here, I took a CRT mooring just before my boat came out of the water for a quick survey and blacking. Six months later and many, many £k later, boat still on the bank and undergoing work. I then gave up the mooring as by then I'd changed my mind about where to keep it!

[Neil2]

2 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Same here, I took a CRT mooring just before my boat came out of the water for a quick survey and blacking. Six months later and many, many £k later, boat still on the bank and undergoing work. I then gave up the mooring as by then I'd changed my mind about where to keep it!

 

Back in the days before marinas started to spring up everywhere a lot of BW moorings were quite sought after, even the towpath ones with no facilities.  The way things are just now we might be heading back to those days.