Fuel Tank

Wrong again. I suggest you call the Office of Boating Safety and get it straight from the horse's mouth. They wrote these regulations. As I told you once before call Rick Gipe in the Recreational Boating Product Assurance Division at 202-267-0985 or Dick Blackman at 202-267-6810. Rick Gipes e-mail address at the Coast Guard is rgipe@comdt.uscg.mil and Dick's is Rblackman@comdt.uscg.mil. Or you can call their boss, the Divisiion Chief at 202-267-0984. His name is Phil Cappel. e-mail pcappel@comdt.uscg.mil

Again, tell them I sent you.

 

Keelhaul me. I read it wrong. ABYC recomendations are one of the ways to make an outboard installation legal.

 

I made a post on the fuel tanks thread concerning building gasoline tanks out of fiberglass. You may find it interesting. It's the last post.
http://boatdesign.net/forums/showthread.php?t=11238&highlight=fuel tank

 

What, if any, are the rules in Europe?

 

In Europe they use ISO rules. ISO rules are very similar to ABYC standards. In England they have the Recreational Craft Directive (RCD) which is taken right from ISO. So if you meet ABYC you will meet ISO in most areas. ABYC and ISO are in fact meeting next week to work on harmonizing the standards. The problem is getting a CE mark. To sell anything in Europe it has to have a CE mark. To get a CE mark you have to have the product certified by a Certified Body. The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) is the only Certified Body in the US.

 

Nmma

Some of the NMMA inspectors can also do inspections for CE certification. They require about a pound of paperwork per vessel, offset load incline tests and something they call "seacocks" on thru hulls. We use a guy out of Tennessee. He can direct you to an inspector in your area.

Clyde Head
615-824-7255

Clyde is a good man and although he won't do the engineering for you, he'll be a great help in getting the CE mark for your boats.

djs