RCD - Recreational Craft Directive

Does anyone have the full "Recreational Craft Directive" text?

Do I really have to buy it?

Anyone with ideas?

Erik

 

Close:

http://europa.eu.int/comm/enterprise/maritime/maritime_regulatory/doc/rsg_guidelines_2002.pdf

Useful

http://users.skynet.be/sky34301/rcdeu.html

Hope you have your 10,000 Euros for "inspection"

Just a quick observation on this... I have to conform if I have a boat built from 2.5 m to 24m. BUT if its over 24m - and less than SOLAS ??? Unless I am mistaken the MCA code is only applicable if I want to charter! so I can do what I like as long as its more than 24m long - how mad is that !!???

Paul

 

Dear ErikG,

you do not have to buy the text of the directive because like every other directive, law and regulation it is free for everybody on the server of the europion union normally in all languages of the applicant countries - if not they are working for it.

You can find the recreational craft directive here:

http://europa.eu.int/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexapi!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=en&numdoc=31994L0025&model=guichett

if thies link does not work you will have to look for the directive at the eur-lex-server -> there search for 'recreational craft'...the directive is available as a html or a pdf-document.

This directive is my every-day-business. My company has hundreds of vesels certified during the last years and solved many problems of our costumers with the interpretation of the normative standards of this directive.
It depends on the certification modul, the type of the boat and the length of the hull but the certification process will never cost 10.000,- EUR - just name the type of boat and the hull lenght and I can calculate the costs.

greetings from Hamburg,
Udo

 

wrong url regarding the Directive

I think because of the cgi's it is not possible to post the link (I can not handle it) - so try the search-function: it is difficult to find but if you use the 'advanced search function' and then 'search by word' with the key words 'recreational craft' you will hit the best result!

- sorry, the login-process did not work before the last posting! (my mistake!)
greetings, Udo

 

Thanx UDO, more questions...

Ok, so if I have a sailing yacht 10m LOA Displ 2.900 kg
Category A, what would the approximate cost be to get a "licence"
Truth to be told this wouldn't be an oceangoing vessel, but they (the legislators) might decide sometime in the future to actually make it against the law to travel xx NM from a safe haven. As I understand it today it's more of a recommendation. Or perhaps I'm mistaken.

I have searched the net and found some useful things, one thing that puzzeled me though... I read somewhere that there are specific regulations for the production itself. I mean regarding work areas and things to do with the workers and ventilation and so on. Does the RCD specify this as well or is that up to local legislation?

It won't be built today and not tomorrow but eventually (I hope).

Erik

 

Hi Udo
Hmm... well I am building a 14.9m custom boat for offshore use - that unless I can make fit under the definition of "home built" needs to be RCD approved before I can use it in the EU

So that's 3 visits during build and lots of calculations and messing around (the designer is USA where they dont have all this Bull****). Last quote I had was 6,000 stg. -10,000 Euros

If you have a sensible price option please email me because right now I am just never going to bring it into the EU.

BTW am I correct that if I made it 24m long I don't have to conform to anything unless I want to charter???

 

one other interesting fact about the RCD (Paul gets up on his soap box...) .
If I was daft enough to think that I had the skills to weld up my own boat (I don't, and my hats off to those that do!) myself - then its a "home build" and I am exempt from the RCD, ....however if I am a prudent mariner and decide to pay an expert to do this, that potentially disqualifies me from the exemption and for my prudence I get a bill of 10K that would otherwise buy a lot of safety gear.
I though regulations were supposed to promote responsability not punish it.

I agree with the principle of the RCD. I disagree with the broadbrush application.

 

RCD

@ ErikG:
-> Erig, it is difficult to name the price without a knowledge of the plans and technical data sheets of the components which are built in but 2.500 € for the examination of the boat including all calculations, the survey of the boat and the certificate; excluding the travelling expenses! Usually we do for our costumers always a service package of survey (up to 3 times during building the boat), the process of certification, printing the owner's manual for the boat and sometimes we take on the role of the authorized representative who shall keep a copy of the declaration of conformity for a period ending at least 10 years after the last product has been manufactured
It is against the the directive that the government reduces the cruising range depending on the design category of the boat - e.g. Italy has a regulation that for cruise from onshore the the island Elba the design category A is required. But the directive 94/25/EC is implemented by a national law in every apllic. country of the EC and in this law it is possible to set/name some other requirements.
The working conditions and safety reqiurements are regulated by your national government and the industrial law - it has nothing to do with the requirements of the RCD.
It should be visible for everybody that a vessel fullfills the requirements of the directive by
-> the hull ident. number (HIN)
-> the owners manual according to the international standard
-> the CE-Sign on the Bulder's plate with the number of the notified body if reqired (not required for design cat. D and C)

BTW a actuall note: the requirements for the design catogories will change in 2004: e.g. the max. wave hight for the category will reduce from 0.5 metres to 0.3 metres.

@ Polarity: a 'homebiult' boat has not to be certified if it will not be selled for five years after finishing the vessel. If you want to sell it earlier you have to certify it.

The fee for the process of certification for your boat won't be so high if the surveyer would only check the boat once during the cert. check. But by several visits the faults are already recognized and avoided before the ship is fitted. So it is easy to avoid more costs by clearing all mistakes before the boat is finished.
It seems to me that 6.000 for three times of survey is o.k. but 10.000 is a bit high but it depends on the service you get and the qualification/skills of the surveyor....is the owner's manual included?

your idea is good if you want to built a boat of more than 24 metres without having it in charter service but don't forget the national requirements - for those boats you often need a crew and then you will have to fullfill a lot more requirements than for a recreational craft.
I designed a boat regarding the safety requirments of the new European Service Craft Directive and it takes you ten times more to overview all the needs of this directive than hte RCD does.

So guys if you have further more questions just post here. My homepage is very informative for CE-newbies BUT it is only in german language. If there is time enough I will translate and upload an English version - this seems to be very important for me.....

Udo

 

When I worked for a couple of production builders, I helped with the CE certification of a number of boats. Frankly, I think in some ways homologation made more sense and the rules in some cases were stronger (RINA for instance). That being said, I am amazed that the people of the EU will tolerate such over-regulation of their lives and businesses. I predict all these rules will drive even more of the small builders out of business and the consumers will be no safer, but they will pay more for boats and have fewer choices. We complain here in the states about regulations, but the EU seems to have raised regulation to a new art form.

I wonder if any statistics have yet to be compiled showing any real gains in safety since these rules came into effect. We have voluntary rules here and our boating death rates have been falling steadily for close to 30 years, while the number of boats and boaters has risen dramatically. Oh well... I'll step down off my Libertarian soap box now!

 

Firstly, boats under 12m, only need to involve a Notified Body in demonstrating the Stability Aspects of the Directive as an Aa submission, complience to the rest of the directive must still be completed, but this could be done in-house or you could shop around. Generally if a boat is built to plans and scantlings by a competent designer and fitted out using good practice you should have no problem.

Secondly, it is easy to criticise the RCD for being over prescriptive, but we don't complain when standards are applied to other consumer items such as cars.

I recently surveyed a 42' home build yacht for a potential new owner, the yacht had a coaming with no clearing ports (& 2 * 1" drains), with a companionway hatch let into the sole with no sill, the coaming could contain 4 tons of water, the only way for it to go is down the companionway. This would have been allowed to go to sea prior to the RCD, but this defect would now be picked up. I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT IN THIS CASE THE RCD SAVES LIVES.

If you want a bit more info, check out my RCD page at boatsurvey.biz

 

RCD - SAVING LIfES

it is true that the RCD saves lifes - during the process of biulding the boat or also during the survey we often noticed safety mistakes which could cause accident with fatal results. But it is also true that the RCD rises the costs for small boat yards which only biult asmall number of boats a year. So we try to support them in different ways - e.g. to offer a full service pack for small costs to interpret all requirements set up by the governement and to find easy and usefull solution whikle interpreting the rules of the RCD. Often some boats do not fullfill the requirements of the RCD but e.g. then there is still the possibility to argumente with some special safety advises for the crew - a craft can be certified without fullfilling alll required standards of the RCD.

Today we have certified boats of more than 100 shipyards with more than 300 types.

Udo

 

one more

...for all the germans here: visit http://www.ibrm.de - our companies homepage with a lot of onformation about the RCD.

I'm sorry that it is only in German but during the next weeks we will launch an English version.
But if you are interested in our monthly ger./engl. infoletter with the latest facts acc. the RCD just mail to info@ibrm.de and you will lso get the old ones (July & August 2002).

Greets Udo

 

A lot of RCD information can be found on the following web sites;

www.ecb.nl => a notified boy that can dor the required insoections and issue a certificate.

www.rsg.be => an organisation that gives explanation to the directive as the directive is sometimes very vague. you can also download the guidelines here which contain quite some usefull information.

Good luck!!

 

Surely if she is your boat, and you have had her built wherever, you can sail her wherever? As long as you dont sell her within the five years, then you can build and sail what you like?

One of the American contributors to this thread said he is amazed at how we tollerate all this regulation.... So am I.

Every small builder in the UK has been affected by it (the RCD) which doesnt help when it comes to costs. However, most (not all) of the regulations are sensible, and I suspect the better designs of yesteryear would have passed with no problem. One aspect that I always find amusing for small boats is if you make them less than 1m beam, it's classed as a canoe and no rules apply!

 

RE

"Surely if she is your boat, and you have had her built wherever, you can sail her wherever? As long as you dont sell her within the five years, then you can build and sail what you like? "

.......

NO!!!!

Not according to the regs, (and you all can correct me if I am wrong here....) but the words..."you have had her built " are the crux of the matter, if you hire a welding team, some carenters, electrician, a rigger, etc etc. Then it is NOT a home built boat and it comes under the same regulations and huge costs for inspection as if you were going to sell 500 of them to the general public.
Of course if you cobble it together in your back yard, then no one cares, except you can't sell it until you have abused it for 5 years...

... Unless of course you make it 24m long then you can make a 100 of them and sell 'em cheap if you like! (as long as the new owner does not want to charter it).