boat safety certificate

[solitude2]

Hello everyone. I am now the proud owner of a narrowboat - since January last year. The boat safety certificate is due to be renewed in May. I've had a quick look at the Boat Safety Scheme requirements but soon got bored! As I am not safe to be let loose on electrical/gas/engine things at all should I just hand the boat over for inspection? Also how does it all work - do most examiners do retesting at reduced rates if youve failed the initial test?

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

Tony

[steelaway]

Hello everyone. I am now the proud owner of a narrowboat - since January last year. The boat safety certificate is due to be renewed in May. I've had a quick look at the Boat Safety Scheme requirements but soon got bored! As I am not safe to be let loose on electrical/gas/engine things at all should I just hand the boat over for inspection? Also how does it all work - do most examiners do retesting at reduced rates if youve failed the initial test?

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

Tony

 

 

Hi Tony

 

They are usually very understanding and fair

BUT

They are very picky about type and condition of gas hoses and fuel hoses - the must be stamped with the correct code numbers.

They are very picky about ventilation but will advise you if any thing is suspect.

They will test your gas circuit for leaks.

Costs around £100

If these are correct you should be OK.

 

Alex

[alan_fincher]

It's actually quite easy for a careful "amateur" to work there way through all relevant sections of the guide, and do a pre-check on many things before you get an examiner there.

 

Make sure you get the 2005 revision of the documents that relate to a privately owned boat. Some people get into difficulties by wrongly referencing the 2002 version that now only applies to hired and other commercially used boats.

 

This thread

 

Old thread link

 

and specifically this post

 

Old post link

 

give you an idea of our preparation for the exam, and what happened on the day.

 

Obviously though all boats (and probably all examiners!), differ, so it is only a flavour.

 

No regulations have changed since then, and none added, I believe, so the information in there should still apply today.

 

If you want opinions on specifics, lots of people on here are likely to have a view, (whether it's a shared view will be another matter! )

 

Good luck - it's not rocket science, as canal boats don't have to be very complicated things.

 

EDIT

 

Examiners I approached offered a free re-test as part of the deal - seems to be fairly common, but not universal. I guess you might have to pay travel costs for a repeat visit. They don't all charge the same, BTW!

Edited February 3, 2010 by alan_fincher

[Smelly]

Check whether anything's been changed since the last survey, if so concentrate on that.

 

Change all the flexible gas hoses, ring your surveyor and ask his opinion of the sheathed hoses behind the cooker as they seem to have fallen into ill favour as they can't check the condition of the pipe.

 

Have a good shufite at the condition of the fuel pipes.

 

Make sure you've metal stoppers on any fuel filters, they often come with plastic ones. I've found an M8 bolt will replace a lot of plastic drain cocks; a trick I pinched off a forum member, I can't remember who but it's a good 'un.

 

Don't panic about ventilation, it's only advisory now; they shouldn't fail you.

 

Finally there Rob@BSSoffice who's a member. Try a PM if there's anything you're unsure of, although I don't see him about much anymore.

 

Congratulations on the new boat

[Québec]

Also how does it all work - do most examiners do retesting at reduced rates if youve failed the initial test?

Recently bought our boat after full survey, so had pretty good idea of what we were taking on.

Rather than try to second guess the safety inspection by undertaking safety related work (i.e. following the 2005 BSS guide) we were advised to get the inspector in, so we'd know exactly what was required/what needed doing.

Safety inspection picked up some things the survey missed (!).

Got the work done.

Passed on second visit.

£150 including second visit.

[Chris Williams]

Hi Tony

 

What can I say!

 

Regards Chris Williams

[Pie Eater]

Hello everyone. I am now the proud owner of a narrowboat - since January last year. The boat safety certificate is due to be renewed in May. I've had a quick look at the Boat Safety Scheme requirements but soon got bored! As I am not safe to be let loose on electrical/gas/engine things at all should I just hand the boat over for inspection? Also how does it all work - do most examiners do retesting at reduced rates if youve failed the initial test?

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks

Tony

I would use the previous examiner as he has records of the previous test and will know if any advisory recommendations that he made have been done.

 

My examiner advised that my gas hose would need to be replaced before the next test.

 

Steve

[arpeeuk]

Here's my advice

 

- ask other local boaters who they used and what they felt about them.

 

- use an independent tester - they're unlikely to be looking for remedial work for which they can charge.

 

- contact examiners and ask then some technical questions about the survey before you book.

 

The question I like to use, and I think gives a feel for the type of surveyor they are, is about the rubber hose tails used to connect the gas bottles. The question is "I think the rubber hoses on my gas bottles are over 5 years old but they don't seem to have perished at all, do I need to get them replaced before the survey?" The surveyor can answer in two ways. He may say "yes they need to be replaced" or he may say "if they're not showing any signs of perishing they'll be ok" - this is because the replacement of tails over 5 years old is the Calor and Gas Safe recomendation but, as I understand it, isn't a stipulation of the BSS.

 

Now you pay your money and take your choice, Type 1 probably has a fine tooth comb and type 2 may miss something.

 

One other thing - NO petrol cans, petrol generators or other petrol engines on board or obviously associated with your boat!

 

Rik

[Machpoint005]

I'd echo what Alan says - there is nothing complicated about the regulations, just work through the boat steadily and work out what is where, and how it works. You have until May, so it's a great opportunity to find out how your boat is put together - and they're all different. But there are lots of things you can do to save the examiner's time. Make him happy before he starts!

 

It's a safety scheme, so the examination is all about making sure you don't blow yourselves up, suffocate, asphyxiate, or burn to death. Anyone can look at fire extinguishers, for example, and see if they are compliant with the latest standards. If not, buying new fire extinguishers is a small price to pay for your own safety.

 

Low-level ventilation will likely be a 'warning' - but how do you get low-level airflow into a boat whose floor is beneath water level? Just make sure there is enough higher-level ventilation. Take the brass grilles off and find out how big the holes really are. Take the grilles off under the mushrooms and make sure the airway is clear.

 

Gas system - you're in the examiner's hands, but he should know more about LPG appliances than you or I. You may need a gas test point if there's none, and pipes may well have to be replaced. Take all the crap out of the gas locker and chain your cylinders down.

 

If your boat passed its BSS exam in 2006, the electrics should still be compliant provided nobody has 'modified' them.

 

Go here BSS guide linky if you haven't already.

 

Enjoy!

[bag 'o' bones]

The BSS is a bit like a cars MOT in that you could go through the boat checking for problems and still miss something.

Our tester was Russ Smith who gave the boat a quick once over prior to the full test and highlighted a few problems that we rectified before the 'official' test. Didn't mess about and was very fair we thought.

 

Russ Smith 07976412658

 

Covers Shropshire Union and the Midlands I assume.

[gilby]

The BSS is a bit like a cars MOT in that you could go through the boat checking for problems and still miss something.

Our tester was Russ Smith who gave the boat a quick once over prior to the full test and highlighted a few problems that we rectified before the 'official' test. Didn't mess about and was very fair we thought.

 

Russ Smith 07976412658

 

Covers Shropshire Union and the Midlands I assume.

 

We used Russ as well. Didn't charge 2nd or 3rd visit. (He'd missed something 1st time round so it would of been pretty poor of him to charge for extra trip).

He's very thorough, (and rightly so) but he does explain exactly what needs doing and why, should the boat fail.

We did have a couple of problems regarding the previous bs that came with the boat. Turns out that examiner was struck off as such for more or less 'selling' a certificate without actually examing the boat! I did wonder why it stated I had a BMC engine instead of the mitsubishi that sits under the boards.

[solitude2]

Thanks everyone for all your advice - I'd better start making some phonecalls me thinks!

Cheers

Tony