Design standards required by law

Under 60' without paying guest, you can do what you whant her in the US.
You have to follow rules (USCG) if you put a gas engine, beside that you are in your own.
Self responsability still exist thanks God. For how long? depend of the peoples.
Cheers
Daniel

 

yes, to an extent. the Feds have a habit of popping in to production faclities periodically to ensure ongoing compliance with the Type and Production Certificates.

 

Still have requirements for flotation (under 20'), nav lights, battery installation, exhaust systems, ventilation, internal compartments housing people, electrical systems, etc even under 60'.

 

You are rignt, for gas engine. For diesel it is let to recomendations, not law.
as for sail boat, as you know it is even more loose as long the engine is an auxiliary and diesel. Ads long of course the boat do not carry paying passengers.
As for the under 20' with outboard, or inboard gas engine you are absolutly right. And it is a good requirement. Sail boat are "free to go"!
But even if the boat as paying pasesengers, working with the USCG is very easy, interresting, and straightforward. As for the recomendations they are also good commun senses and easy to follow.
Cheers
Daniel

 

ABYC has a self regulatory structure. Basically, the USCG has found that the standards are adequate so they leave them alone. They are not law. Some things are regulated by law and some have standards under CFR and ABYC. Sometimes you can choose which to follow. If the boats will carry passengers for hire, check the CFR for applicable regulations.

 

Are you talking about a home builder or a manufacturer (Company producing boats for the express intent to sell them)? I am referring to the regulations governing Manufacturers. No vessel is "free to go" from a manufacturing POV. Even a 7 foot canoe is required to have calculations done to ensure USCG basic floatation requirements are met.

As for a home-built craft, the intended use will determine which regulations need to be complied with.

So again, to answer the OP; The USCG regulates the design and manufacture of boats intended for sale in the US. Additional voluntary standards are published by groups such as the ABYC.

 

The regulations are for boats regardless of who builds them. The USCG does not regulate the design and manufacture of boats, unless mandated by the legislature in some cases. The USCG does enforce the law. The regulations are in the CFR. You can read it for free online.

 

You are confusing legislation with regulations.

The laws passed by congress are codified in the United State Code. These are called Legislative Law.

The regulations decided on by the departments of the federal government are codified in the Code of Federal Regulations. These are called Administrative Law.

Basically, Congress will pass a broad law that assigns certain rights or areas to a Government agency. The respective Agency is then responsible for administering and enforcing the law as passed by congress. To this end, the agency will generally impose specific regulations to ensure total compliance with the Legislative Law. These regulations are created and decided on via the "Publid Rulemaking Process" which allows the citizenry of the country to make inputs on the proposed regulation to ensure fair application and best-practice compliance is achievable.

When talking about boats, the Agency tasked with regulating and enforcing these laws is the USCG. Most of the USCG's regulations, including enforcement actions, are codified in Title 33 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Specifically dealing with manufacture, the USCG regulations regarding design and construction of boats and there requisite systems generally apply only to boats being manufactured with the specific intent of selling them in the USA. In other words, a person making a vessel intended primarily for their own use (although they may sell it later with no legal penalty) are only subject to the regulations that detail design aspects (equipment) as a specific function of use (such as nav lights, horns, fire extinguishers, ect).

 

In the US and Canada road vehicles (cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc) do not require review by a third part or government agency before they can be sold. It is the responsibility of the manufactuer that the vehicle meets all applicable regulations and standards. In the US, NHTSA (safety) and EPA (emissions) randomly test vehicles and the manufactuer has a definate problem if a vehicle is found not to meet the regulations and standards.

I believe small boats are essentially the same in North Americal. It's the builder's responsibility to meet the applicable requirements.

In some other countries road vehicles have to be certified by a government agency or authorized third part organization before they can be sold. I don't know what the situation is with boats.

Also, no certification or registration is required of the engineers and others who design road vehicles in North America. (This is a fundamentally difference with some other areas such as bridges where a registered engineer has to sign off on the design.)

 

"Monohull boats less than 20 feet in length except sailboats, canoes, kayaks, and inflatable boats" have to meet the Safe Loading and Display of Capacity Information requirements. Nothing about an exemption if Diesel powered.

"Sailboats, canoes, kayaks, inflatable boats, submersibles, surface effect vessels, amphibious vessels, multi-hull boats and race-boats need not comply" with the floatation requirments. Other boats need to comply. Nothing about an exemption if Diesel powered.