NEW EU VESSEL STANDARDS WILL TELL US THE CONDITIONS A BOAT IS DESIGNED TO TAKE

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AT BOAT NUT WE ALWAYS TALK ABOUT REVIEWS AND HOW WELL A BOAT WILL DO ON A BAD DAY WELL THE EU SYSTEM MAY GIVE US MORE OF AN IDEA AS TO A BOATS REAL ABILITIES

New design and operation technology will change the standards that boats will have to conform to. I think this type of information should be mandatory for new boats every were at least the consumer would have an idea as to the conditions that a boat would be safe to take on.

 

 

Countdown has started…
On 18 January 2016 the new EU rules on boats, personal watercraft, engines and components will start applying.

creation and use of notified bodies (notified bodies were unknown in the recreational

boating field, even if some Member States involved Classification Societies in their

applicable national regulations);

 

18 January 2016 - New EU Watercraft Directive becomes applicable 

The new EU Watercraft Directive 2013/53/EU, formally known as the Recreational Craft Directive or RCD, started to apply today, Monday 18 January 2016.
European Boating Industry has been working on this new piece of legislation since 2008, participating in the meetings and advising the European Commission and Member States on the various changes to be introduced. For instance, the obligations and responsibilities of all economic operators - be they manufacturers, commercial and private importers or distributors - that have been further defined in the new Directive. They include updated
identification and traceability requirements as well as recommended templates for the Declaration of Conformity.
The essential safety and environmental requirements were also modernised in line with the latest developments and nautical knowledge. Design categories are now solely based on meteorological conditions 
(wind and waves); means of re-boarding the craft must be accessible from the water; holding tanks or onboard treatment systems became mandatory for boats equipped with toilets; and engine exhaust emission levels have been further reduced and aligned with the US EPA levels

To obtain it, the products shall meet essential requirements for safety, health,

environmental and consumer protection.

In first place of the Directive’s essential safety requirements for the design and the

 

construction of craft are boat design categories, defined this way4:

A. OCEAN: Designed for extended voyages where conditions may exceed wind force 8

(Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights of 4 m and above but excluding abnormal

conditions, and vessels largely self-sufficient.

 

B. OFFSHORE: Designed for offshore voyages where conditions up to, and including,

wind force 8 and significant wave heights up to, and including, 4 m may be

experienced.

 

C. INSHORE: Designed for voyages in coastal waters, large bays, estuaries, lakes and

rivers where conditions up to, and including, wind force 6 and significant wave heights

up to, and including, 2 m may be experienced.

 

D. SHELTERED WATERS: Designed for voyages on sheltered coastal waters, small

bays, small lakes, rivers and canals when conditions up to, and including, wind force 4

and significant wave heights up to, and including, 0,3 m may be experienced, with

occasional waves of 0,5 m maximum height, for example from passing vessels.  

1.3.1. Meaning of the Directive’s existing definition

   

These four design categories are all defined the same way, which is: a boat given a certain

design category is designed for “a type of voyage” where “conditions” include or exceed

“wind force” and “significant wave height”.

They are then defined on three criteria:

1) type of voyage (intended use);

2) wind force;

3) significant wave height.

The intended use, first criterion, is defined by the capacity of a boat to:

 

- face safely environmental conditions (wind and waves) of the concerned

design category;

 

- offer a protection and a shelter for the crew, which is adapted to the type of

navigation and allows people onboard to sleep, rest, warm up, change

clothes, have a hot meal;

 

- have energy autonomy to make the intended navigation: e.g. sufficient

amount of fuel for the main engine on motor boats but also for generators

producing electricity, sufficient amount of electrical batteries, aero or hydro

generators, desalination system, etc.;

 

- have fresh water and consumables autonomy for the total time of the voyage

(e.g. tank capacity for fresh water, food storage capacity, etc).

The second and third criteria, respectively wind force and significant wave height, are

linked. The wave height is mainly a function of the wind, depending on:

- wind force: the stronger the wind, the bigger the waves;

- duration of the wind: the longer the time, the bigger the waves;

- fetch size, which is the distance of sea on which the wind blows: the longer

the fetch, the bigger the waves;

- and depth of water: the shallower the depth, the bigger the waves.

So, the capacity of a boat to safely face wind and waves depends on the following

parameters, which are:

- essentially stability characteristics; the boat’s stability is linked to its

dimension, shape, tightness, degree of protection, weight, height of centre of

gravity, windage area, etc.; it is these characteristics that will allow the boat

to resist to flooding and capsize or knock-down and make it able to progress

in such conditions, but also;

- scantling and construction which guarantee that the hull,

 

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