Posted by Laurence Monkhouse on May 30, 2003 at 18:50:53 from 62.252.224.7 user Laurence_.
In Reply to: Boat Safety Certificate posted by Jonathan Labaree on May 30, 2003 at 02:00:17:
I heartily dislike the things so my comments may be unfair but:-
The inland water authorities in the UK - basically the British Waterways Board (which runs the Canals), the Environment Agency (which runs the Thames and other big rivers) and the Broads Authjority (which is self explanatory) either conceived a love of interfering in other peoples' affairs or got fed up with having to pick up the pieces when boats exploded because of faulty gas installations or petrol (gasoline) leaks and removing wrecks caused by inadequately sealed holes in hulls. They instituted a system whereby every five years (I think) you have to take your boat - any powered boat or boat with a cabin - to an examiner (usually a boatyard) who check the thing for safety against a rather random set of crireria. Without the ensuing certificate you can't register the boat on any of these waterways (not yet the Broads but it is coming)and so effectively they beach the boat.
You can, however, still take even a second hand iron bathtub to sea and nobody can say you nay (although if you got to the Continent the authorities there might well interfere)
I actually don't object too strongly to ensuring that people's gas systems are safe - you do see a lot of burnt out wrecks. I do object to having to pay £30 to learn that my steam launch which carries neither gas nor petrol is safe (which I already knew since the boiler is inspected every year), and I object to carrying a fire extinguisher when I am already floating on millions of gallons of the only stuff which could possibly put out my coal fire if it got out of control.
I am interested to learn that you don't have these things in the US. I have a copy of 'The Boatman's Manual' dated 1942 which quotes 'the Motorboat Act of 1940' which seems to give the US Coastguard the power to interfere in every conceivable issue relating to any boat over 16 feet in length. When I read it I thanked my lucky stars that I have had 50 years boating without this sort of thing and indeed that I can still take my boat freely to sea, even if I have to have bits of paper when inland. Has US legislation really been toned down?