rcd requirements for a self build boat

[oldfordy]

I have just finished fitting out a narrowboat shell in my garden. (it took a long time). It seems I now have to certify it against the new RCD (Recreatinal craft directive) or get some form of exemption if I intend to keep the boat for personal use for 5 years.

Has anyone done this? or know how I go about it?

P.S I have already applied for a craft identification number and stamped this onto the hull.

I would appreciate any help as I seem to have 15tons of boat shaped steel in my garden that I cant put in the water.

[Biggles]

There is a company called Small Craft Consultancy. Link later. I am doing mine through them.

 

You can put it in the water but there's a limitations on how soon you can sell it. "Apparently"

[dor]

If you have only just found out about the RCD requirement, how do you know you comply? I think you need to get someine in to look at it as soon as possible.

[BoatinglLifeUpNorthIII]

Have a look at the following link http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/regssafety/Pages/recreationalcraftdirective.aspx

 

Even if you keep the boat for 5 years the elec wiring/gas/ventilation etc must still comply to current marine safety standards as it will just get picked up by a surveyor/boat safety examiner once you try and sell the boat, so your best getting everything right now before it goes into the water and get a Decloration of Conformity.

Edited August 29, 2011 by mickeyduff

[Ally]

There are a wealth of threads on the forum about this exact subject. Have a look at those and then get yourself someone in to go through the whole boat and see if it complies....someone qualified, eg a marine surveyor who 'does' RCD's.

It may well have taken you a long time to build, but it could still take you a long time to correct, if you have built it without any idea of the requirements.

Please read through other threads....just search for RCD and you'll keep yourself busy reading for some time.

[nb Innisfree]

I have just finished fitting out a narrowboat shell in my garden. (it took a long time). It seems I now have to certify it against the new RCD (Recreatinal craft directive) or get some form of exemption if I intend to keep the boat for personal use for 5 years.

Has anyone done this? or know how I go about it?

P.S I have already applied for a craft identification number and stamped this onto the hull.

I would appreciate any help as I seem to have 15tons of boat shaped steel in my garden that I cant put in the water.

 

If you don't sell the boat for 5 years you are only required to have a Boat Safety Certificate.

[soldthehouse]

As Innisfree says,

Keep it for five years and you only need a boat safety cert.

If you need to sell within five years you will need to go the Rcd route from the start unless you declare it as being five years older than it actually is of course

[Ally]

As Innisfree says,

Keep it for five years and you only need a boat safety cert.

If you need to sell within five years you will need to go the Rcd route from the start unless you declare it as being five years older than it actually is of course

Which would be fraudulent of course..............

either way you will need at LEAST a current boat safety from the beginning to be licensed, and most marinas, if you intend to use one, ask to see that you have insurance/boat safety or RCD cert.

Perhaps the most important point though, is that for your own safety and those around you in other boats, you should ensure the boat is both fit for purpose and safe!

[soldthehouse]

Which would be fraudulent of course..............

either way you will need at LEAST a current boat safety from the beginning to be licensed, and most marinas, if you intend to use one, ask to see that you have insurance/boat safety or RCD cert.

Perhaps the most important point though, is that for your own safety and those around you in other boats, you should ensure the boat is both fit for purpose and safe!

Yes I agree. When does the five years start for exemtion from RCD, is it on completion?, is it from the laying of the baseplate? I think it is a very grey area that is abused daily

[ditchcrawler]

Yes I agree. When does the five years start for exemtion from RCD, is it on completion?, is it from the laying of the baseplate? I think it is a very grey area that is abused daily

The RCD gets abused as well.

[bottle]

As I understand it (but who am I) on completion, then it will comply with all the latest requirements.

[ChrisPy]

when it is 'put on the market' - you decide

[oldfordy]

This is the first time I have used a discussion forum and I am impressed with the speed of replies.

Just to further clarify my situation I bought the shell way back in 1998 from colecraft and at that time even the boat safety scheme was in its infancy.

I have built the boat in accordance with the BSS, ventilation, fire safety,fuel supply etc and have generally gone way over the top to ensure I complied. There is no gas as the boat is all diesel and all cabling is generously over specified and protected with RCDs and MCBs.

The new Recreational craft directive however has caught me on the hop as it specifies engine emmission standards and noise and on top of that I read somewhere that boat safety examiners are not allowed to issue BSS certificates on new boats. Is this true?

P.S One of the replies suggested that there were a multitude of threads on this subject I could look at ,can anyone advise me how I access them? - I'm a bit of a forum beginner.

Thanks for the advice so far

[blackrose]

The new Recreational craft directive however has caught me on the hop as it specifies engine emmission standards and noise and on top of that I read somewhere that boat safety examiners are not allowed to issue BSS certificates on new boats. Is this true?

 

I don't know anything about the RCD. I bought a new sailaway which came with an RCD Annex 3 Declaration of Conformity for a Partly Completed Craft. That covered me for a year and then could have gone one of two ways: complete the boat to the RCD or just get a BSC. I got a BSS inspector in who issued the boat with a BSC, but that meant I couldn't sell the boat for another 4 years. If you bought a shell and installed the engine and windows, etc yourself then I don't think you'd have got the Annex 3 (because it wasn't a partly completed craft), but surely you should have got some RCD related document from the builder? It may be worth contacting them and also ringing a BSS inspector in your area to have a chat.

Edited August 29, 2011 by blackrose

[Ex- Member]

I don't know anything about the RCD. I bought a new sailaway which came with an RCD Annex 3 Declaration of Conformity for a Partly Completed Craft. That covered me for a year and then could have gone one of two ways: complete the boat to the RCD or just get a BSC. I got a BSS inspector in who issued the boat with a BSC, but that meant I couldn't sell the boat for another 4 years. If you bought a shell and installed the engine and windows, etc yourself then I don't think you'd have got the Annex 3 (because it wasn't a partly completed craft), but surely you should have got some RCD related document from the builder? It may be worth contacting them and also ringing a BSS inspector in your area to have a chat.

 

 

our boat wasn't finished to a sail away standard, the builder still had to issue us a declaration of conformity. All they are in affect doing is confirming that the work or construction they have undertaken thus far has been done so to the requirements of the RCD

 

This was given to us along with a full account of the work they completed. About a year later we needed to licence the boat with BW but had to get a BSC before we could. The boat by then had an engine and stove fitted along with some electrics and lining out, A BSS examiner inspected the boat and passed it. However I do recall he had to see the original Dec of conformity before he could pass the boat.

 

 

 

[oldfordy]

If I need a declaration of conformity on the bare shell before I can even get a BS examiner to test my boat then I am in difficulties because my shell predates any requirement for the builder(colecraft) to supply one.

[Ex- Member]

If I need a declaration of conformity on the bare shell before I can even get a BS examiner to test my boat then I am in difficulties because my shell predates any requirement for the builder(colecraft) to supply one.

 

Then I would imagine there's an exemption for such a shell or some other route to obtain a RCD awkward though non the less.

 

 

 

[ChrisPy]

suggest you phone your local inspector (you can find a list of them on the BSS website) and ask.

I'm not sure RCD was in force in 1998, so that may be a reason not to have an Annex 3.

[Ally]

To find all the other threads, put your search words (eg RCD) into the search bar top right, drop down to the appropriate section (all forums etc) then press search button next to it.

The Annexe 111a is NOT the same as the full RCD, but a part of it that the hull builder must conform to. An appropriately qualified surveyor will be able to confirm if it has been built in compliance....I would expect a colecraft to be compliant, they may help you out themselves if you contact them.

[blackrose]

If I need a declaration of conformity on the bare shell before I can even get a BS examiner to test my boat then I am in difficulties because my shell predates any requirement for the builder(colecraft) to supply one.

 

In that case couldn't you get a letter from Colecraft to confirm this and show it to your BSS inspector? (Or do you have something else to confirm the date of the shell build?)

 

It certainly does seem like a long fitout!

Edited August 29, 2011 by blackrose

[The Pipe]

If you got the shell in 1998 then the boat is 13 years old?

Start on that route first before getting bogged down in paper.

Edited August 29, 2011 by Jim Evans

[ditchcrawler]

In that case couldn't you get a letter from Colecraft to confirm this and show it to your BSS inspector? (Or do you have something else to confirm the date of the shell build?)

 

It certainly does seem like a long fitout!

I feel sure you can get your BSC without it. If you were building the hull yourself you probably wouldn't have any RCD paperwork, but you could still get a BSC, likewise if you have had a boat on the Broads since 1989 and then moved to the Middle Level for a couple of years you would be able to get a BSC done on the boat before getting a BW licence for the canals.

[Graham Bowers]

All in all I agree with others who've said that your alternatives are to keep it for 5 years or get it certified to the RCD. The trouble with deciding when the clock started ticking on the 5 years is that you have to decide what the evidence trail is to prove it. The buzzphrases in the legislation are "placed on the market" and "put in to service".

 

Some new info:

Your shell does not necessarily pre-date RCD requirements as there has been more than one. The original RCD was known as 94/25/EC (the 25th directive done in 1994). This was enacted in the UK by the Recreational Craft Regulations 1996. Note that the craft placed on the market before 15th June 1998 were excluded. http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1353/contents/made

So, I expect you should be able to get some documentation from Colecraft if you bought it before 15th June.

 

There is a government guidance document that explains the relationship between the two directives, as one did not simply replace the other, they are complementary.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/files/file11294.pdf

 

For completeness, the Recreational craft regulations 2004 consolidate the old and new RCD

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2004/1464/contents/made

 

Graham

[Riversway]

Firstly I’m pretty sure that a hull over 10 years old is exempt from a certificate of conformity but you may be asked to prove it’s age within reason (letter/sales invoice from builder). Before you can create a DOC (declaration of conformity) as a whole there are other things you need. You will need the manufacturers signed DOC for: windows, bilge pump, fresh water pump, shower pump, gas regulator, engine and any other appliance's that you install, if you intend to sell the boat you have to (by law) supply the new owners with a RCD boat manual and an RCD technical manual a copy of which must (by law) be kept by the builder (person who affixes the CE mark to the craft) for a minimum of 10 years. The cost for drawing up the DOC and manuals costs £450 for the first and £350 thereafter should you consider building another?. The HIN number you have stamped into the hull has to be in a certain place if you are working to the RCD (starboard side near the edge of the horizontal swim plate about 400mm back from stern tube). It is also a requirement that you write the HIN number 2 or 3 times in various locations in permanent marker in a place that is not lightly to be removed during a refit ie: base plate, hull side or roof plate. The locations should only be known to you and you should be able to direct the authorities to these positions should the craft be stolen.

I know there are a lot of little bitty things and I hope I haven’t put you off, but when you sign a DOC you are putting your head on the block and you must be 110% sure that you have built to the RCD’s recommendations, it is there for your and others safety!!. Should you need the number of the surveyor who does the manuals etc let me know, (he is part of the RCD board).

[RebeccaPheiffer]

Hi Riversway

 

I am looking into potentially selling my boat which is under 5 years old and which I bought as sail away with additions (90% built really) and fitted out myself. Unfortunately, the information that we found in regards what should the RCD and Owner's manual include and what not is rather blurred. Also, I am not sure of how to proceed with the CE plate and CIN number. Does the surveyor you mention in your post supply these documents and plates? Could you please give me their contact details?

 

Many thanks

Becky