Design regulations for plans enforced or not

Morning,
I was just wondering are design specifications as set out by the relevant authorities such as USL,DNV,ABS or any other authority relevent to a particular country manditory for someone to abide by when selling plans for a boat. For example if someone is selling plans on the internet for a 20ft fishing boat which is supposed to be designed to fish offshore to be built using the stich n glue method. Would the person selling the plans be obligated to make sure the boat meets certain requirements in regards to minium build standards eg scantlings,ply thickness and so on.
Or has the internet opened up to the world the oppurtunity for anyone to design a boat draw up some plans and put them on the market without any real Idea as to whether the boat will be stable, structurally sound and be able to cope with adverse sea condions it may encounter.
Stay Safe
Gary

 

An interesting question. Any generalised internet search will bring up Tolman skiffs, http://www.fishyfish.com/tolmanskiff.html Bateau, http://boatplans-online.com/ Devlin boats, http://www.boatbuilder.org./ Glen L, http://www.boatdesigns.com/departments.asp?dept=2.
and Tom Lathrop, http://bluejacketboats.com/.

You will find others, however the above sites enjoy very good reputations.

Mandatory regulation of boat building has resulted in the Recreational Craft Directive within the European Union. Self build boats may not be sold within 5 documented years of construction without the RCD. I guess they figure if the boat has not sunk it will be ok.

Other sites. http://www.bruceroberts.com/

http://www.brayyachtdesign.bc.ca/

IMO, your only concern will be "What boat do I build. The choice is enormous!"

Properly equipped and sensibly used, your vessel will deliver years of enjoyment and pleasure.

Pericles

 

The internet didn't change anything - people have been able to sell bad plans by mail for decades.

A person selling plans would probably be found to have some obligations to the seller in a court case, but I'm not sure how a judgement would be collected. All goods have an implied warrant of merchantability that they are fit for their intended use, and the existence of standards would probably be seen to be criteria for fitness.

 

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"The internet didn't change anything - people have been able to sell bad plans by mail for decades." I would be interested in knowing the names of these people. I suspect others would also appreciate the information.

As in all things Caveat Emptor, however you can research more comprehensively and solicit opinions from forums like this. The sites I mentioned are known to many who post here and represent successful designs that have sold well and when built, have pleasesd their owners and gained the oprobation of many other admirers. In studying the designs on offer, a reasonable understanding of the merits of the various boats is achieved in far quicker time than before the internet when the prospective purchaser had little information on which to base a decision.

I would be lost without the net.

Pericles

 

For Europe, the certification is responsability of the builder of the boat, if he wants to sell one.

The plans by themselves, being a paper print or a CD, have never killed someone (It is the boat built that may be dangerous). So the designer can sell what he wants. He just have to follow normal bussiness laws.

If the designer sells you a plan for a category A boat, and the boat, built strictly per plan, is not certifiable categrory A: It is just a bussiness fraud that follow standard bussiness law.

If he makes no assumption about the suitability and certification of the boat, he can still (try to ...) sell his plan. It will be up to the builder to take care of all certification burden, and perhaps, to choose another designer.

 

I asked the Norwegian representant (Mr Eivind Amble) and the Norwegian Boatbuilder Association (www.norboat.no) a somewhat similar question: What's my responsibility towards teh customer and CE regulations if I sell boat plans and precut plywood boat kits. The answer is not simple I have very little legal responsibility if I sell just the plans. However this change dramatically if we call it a "kit". Even if most authorities then will assume a moulded hull for outfitting by the client, it seems like the manufacturer of any kit should offer support during the build and check the results and maybe even put a CE mark on the boat if the builder can document (within reason) that he has followed the instructions!

 

In the US the Federal regulations for recreational boats apply to boat manufacturers. Persons building commercial vessels that have to be inspected have to submit plans for approval to the Coast Guard.

So it's caveat emptor. Make sure the plans you buy come from a reputable designer.

 

To recap therefore on the question of reputable designers, the sites mentioned earlier will deliver the opportunity to build a better boat than you can buy.

It's much like the automobile industry. There are no really bad new cars on sale now, there are just better cars for your money.

Pericles