Boat Safety Scheme Certificate BSSC/BSC requirements changes

[jonathanA]

56 minutes ago, PeterF said:

I have reminded people previously that one of the BSS arguments for CO detectors was the BSS inspector is a third party as would any other visitors to the boat, hence it is there to help protect them.

I think that's a bit of a thin argument  for CO detectors and totally irrelevant for smoke detectors... I think even the most negligent bss examiner would be able to spot a boat on fire before they entered..

[ditchcrawler]

5 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

I think that's a bit of a thin argument  for CO detectors and totally irrelevant for smoke detectors... I think even the most negligent bss examiner would be able to spot a boat on fire before they entered..

According to the Broads Authority post where I copied this from it was to alert you that your boat was on fire so you could move it away from other boats so the fire didn't spread.

[IanD]

3 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

According to the Broads Authority post where I copied this from it was to alert you that your boat was on fire so you could move it away from other boats so the fire didn't spread.

Except that IIRC the advice from the fire brigade if there's a fire is always GET OUT! -- keep yourself safe, don't try and take stuff with you, don't try and heroically fight the fire (unless it's a small one), don't try and move a burning boat which might go BOOM! at any moment...

[BoatingLifeUpNorth2]

Some smoke alarms can bring a little colour to bland painted white ceilings. I have 3x of these fitted in different colours. CO alarms can be unobtrusive if placed accordingly, I would rather have than, have not.

 

Edited March 4 by BoatingLifeUpNorth2

[ditchcrawler]

26 minutes ago, IanD said:

Except that IIRC the advice from the fire brigade if there's a fire is always GET OUT! -- keep yourself safe, don't try and take stuff with you, don't try and heroically fight the fire (unless it's a small one), don't try and move a burning boat which might go BOOM! at any moment...

Don't soot the messenger

 

[agg221]

1 hour ago, Stroudwater1 said:

 

The changes  on ventilation have been recent  and the stipulations on battery security very recent? In fairness when the boat is upside down I will be so relieved that my batteries are secure to prevent an electrical fire.

I feel similarly reassured that, having spent many hours dismantling my entire fuel system and replacing the soft soldered joints with brazed ones, the joints will no longer melt through when my boat reaches 220degC but instead will hold up until it reaches over 600degC. This means that so long as all boaters in the vicinity of my boat only wear asbestos clothing their chance of survival is greatly enhanced.

 

Alec

[IanD]

1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

Don't soot the messenger

 

Don't see anything there about moving the boat away from others if it's on fire... 😉

[Momac]

36 minutes ago, IanD said:

Don't see anything there about moving the boat away from others if it's on fire... 😉

Not surprised.

 

If a boat on fire threatens a nearby boat  then surely you would move the boat that is  not on fire but even then only if it is safe to do so.

 

Boat fires can develop fast - like this one which did damage adjacent boats and took out the fuel island,

 

[DHutch]

On 03/03/2026 at 16:55, Momac said:

Smoke alarm being mandatory is not an issue as far a I am concerned. 

I agree.

 

For years when i was younger, teenager into early 20s, our boat had CO alarms but no smoke alarms. Wasnt even mentioned as an advisory by BSS and I didn't think to question it.

 

Cheap effective life savers. 

 

 

 

I've just completed the consultation form having come across it by chance. 

 

https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/about-us/consultations-reviews/smoke-alarm-consultation-bs-ssf/the-proposals/

[Momac]

2 hours ago, DHutch said:

I agree.

 

For years when i was younger, teenager into early 20s, our boat had CO alarms but no smoke alarms. Wasnt even mentioned as an advisory by BSS and I didn't think to question it.

 

Cheap effective life savers. 

 

 

 

I've just completed the consultation form having come across it by chance. 

 

https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/about-us/consultations-reviews/smoke-alarm-consultation-bs-ssf/the-proposals/

I see it is possible to object if that is what some people prefer to do.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Momac said:

I see it is possible to object if that is what some people prefer to do.

I have objected as I don't think it should be part of the BSS remit. What next, Kill cords for the steerer, compulsory life jackets, Breathalyser starter lockout. All have their merits for saving lives but should they be mandated 

[Arthur Marshall]

12 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have objected as I don't think it should be part of the BSS remit. What next, Kill cords for the steerer, compulsory life jackets, Breathalyser starter lockout. All have their merits for saving lives but should they be mandated 

Ditto.

[DHutch]

On 17/03/2026 at 14:13, ditchcrawler said:

I have objected as I don't think it should be part of the BSS remit. What next, Kill cords for the steerer, compulsory life jackets, Breathalyser starter lockout. All have their merits for saving lives but should they be mandated 

To me it makes sense to go hand in glove with CO alarm. Few quid, lasts ten years. Probably more important for saving lives in a fire and an extinguisher. 

[Stroudwater1]

10 hours ago, DHutch said:

To me it makes sense to go hand in glove with CO alarm. Few quid, lasts ten years. Probably more important for saving lives in a fire and an extinguisher. 

It’s surely advisable generally but not every boat necessarily needs or benefits from one. A small GRP boat always used as a day boat with little room to put anything and a single cabin seems to come under the same regs as a 70 foot livaboard where clearly a family of occupants would be unwise to not have a couple. 
 

That’s often the problem with regulations. Not everything fit into a neat pocket. There are often unforeseen exceptions were inflexibility in the regulations can’t overlook.
 

You’ve got to be thankful that so far the BSS allow fires on boats I guess? 

[Momac]

49 minutes ago, Stroudwater1 said:

It’s surely advisable generally but not every boat necessarily needs or benefits from one. A small GRP boat always used as a day boat with little room to put anything and a single cabin seems to come under the same regs as a 70 foot livaboard where clearly a family of occupants would be unwise to not have a couple. 
 

My first boat was a 25ft cruiser with very little interior  room . But it had a smoke alarm.

Clearly an open boat could not be fitted with a smoke alarm. So the requirements for smoke alarms  would be similar to those for CO alarms.

[Mike Todd]

12 hours ago, DHutch said:

To me it makes sense to go hand in glove with CO alarm. Few quid, lasts ten years. Probably more important for saving lives in a fire and an extinguisher. 

In our experience the life time of CO and Smoke/Fire detectors is around half that advertised but that does not dent my belief that they should be part of the BSS.

[Lady M]

Our CO detector didn't like getting too cold in the winter so we moved it to a slightly warmer area.

[LadyG]

14 minutes ago, Lady M said:

Our CO detector didn't like getting too cold in the winter so we moved it to a slightly warmer area.

Your oven?

[Momac]

I did have a CO detectors that expired much earlier than their expiry date  .

So I bought a replacement that has replaceable batteries  and that has been no problem.

 

I see smoke alarms are available from around £5

[Lady M]

45 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Your oven?

No near the low wattage heater than we leave on board during the winter to minimise the risk of frost damage to our water pipes and precious Paloma water heater.  Then it must go back above the bed before we stay onboard.

[LadyG]

9 hours ago, Lady M said:

No near the low wattage heater than we leave on board during the winter to minimise the risk of frost damage to our water pipes and precious Paloma water heater.  Then it must go back above the bed before we stay onboard.

Lol, you've only got one? The CO is pernicious, unlike smoke which will rise to tne roof. I have one at my bedhead and one, a fancy new one Kidde, in tbe main cabin,, it's sort of head height, I always crack open the window near the stove so that there will be some movement of air within the cabin, and if I feel drowsy, I open it fully to change the air.

[Lady M]

One is enough for my boat.

[Wanderer Vagabond]

Whilst I have full agreement with the currently mandated CO alarms, I'm not sure I'm quite so keen on a smoke detector. Whilst I have no confidence that I would detect CO without an alarm, I'm pretty sure I can smell smoke, and on some occasions, kind of live with it. I have a top feeding coal fire on the boat and when lighting it, to put more coal on it is necessary to lift the lid on it, which often releases small quantities of smoke into the cabin (it has never released enough CO to activate the alarm). A bit like the regular burnt toast in student accommodation, I would guess that this is going to often activate the smoke alarm, along with the likes of frying food on board. Since a boat is, by its very nature, a small environment, it will be difficult to protect the smoke alarm from unthreatening sources of smoke unless it is put somewhere that is kind of pointless (see below). I kind of get the feeling that after the first few activations the smoke alarm will end out living under the cratch cover, out of the way, until the next BSS examination.

[Momac]

3 minutes ago, Wanderer Vagabond said:

Whilst I have full agreement with the currently mandated CO alarms, I'm not sure I'm quite so keen on a smoke detector. Whilst I have no confidence that I would detect CO without an alarm, I'm pretty sure I can smell smoke, and on some occasions, kind of live with it. I have a top feeding coal fire on the boat and when lighting it, to put more coal on it is necessary to lift the lid on it, which often releases small quantities of smoke into the cabin (it has never released enough CO to activate the alarm). A bit like the regular burnt toast in student accommodation, I would guess that this is going to often activate the smoke alarm, along with the likes of frying food on board. Since a boat is, by its very nature, a small environment, it will be difficult to protect the smoke alarm from unthreatening sources of smoke unless it is put somewhere that is kind of pointless (see below). I kind of get the feeling that after the first few activations the smoke alarm will end out living under the cratch cover, out of the way, until the next BSS examination.

Clearly you do not have a smoke alarm on your boat now.

I suggest you object on the basis you describe but will you accept the majority decision if that makes smoke alarms mandatory ?

 

 

 

[Wanderer Vagabond]

3 minutes ago, Momac said:

Clearly you do not have a smoke alarm on your boat now.

I suggest you object on the basis you describe but will you accept the majority decision if that makes smoke alarms mandatory ?

 

 

 

I would undoubtedly buy a smoke alarm if required for the BSS, where it would be between the BSS examinations is another issue entirely (it would probably be in the storage box in the cratch with batteries out). Just to illustrate that I'm not being contrary just for the sake of it, I have smoke alarms throughout my land based address (though obviously none in the kitchen), I just don't see on a boat how you can protect the alarm from giving numerous false alarms because of innocuous activities (cooking, fire lighting, etc). As I say, I fully support the compulsory CO alarms.