STOOPID BOAT TRICKS BY BUILDERS

I was once admonished by a prominent industry insider for having the temerity to oppose the opinion of a contractor who had been building boats for thirty five years and knew what he was doing. That prompted this feature of "Stoopid Boat Tricks By Builders".

Most new boats sport a sticker saying "NMMA Certified using ABYC Standards". Note the significant semantic difference between " using ABYC Standards " and " to ABYC Standards ". Others have a label saying "Proud Member of ABYC". Does this mean they build to the standards ?

All the photos below are from surveys I have performed.
Take a look around your boat, ever see one of these labels ? They are extremely rare.
Just like your car, every boat in Canada is supposed to have a label like this one where the builder states that the vessel was constructed in conformity with the legally required Transport Canada Small Vessel Construction Standards. Boats without this label should
never have been allowed across the border and I have only ever seen one boat (excluding canoes etc.) that met all the legally required standards. Would you or our government accept this from GM or Mercedes ?

Sure some of these non-conforming issues are small potatoes but some are significant safety issues.
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Transport Canada TP1332E and ABYC "AC & DC Electrical Systems" Standards require that battery disconnect switches be readily accessible. Transport Canada defines
readily accessible as "means capable of being reached for inspection, maintenance or usage under emergency conditions".
Do you think these switches under four heavy hatches are "readily accessible" ? If there is an electrical fire in the engine room (most common source of fire on boats) do you want to open those hatches to turn off the battery switch ?
Mounting battery chargers over batteries is also prohibited due to the corrosive and explosive hydrogen gas produced while charging .The builder of this boat knew better.
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My buddy Ted posed on this boat when it was on the hard. Imagine this .............
You loose power in rough water at a harbour entrance. What are your chances of getting to the bow to get the anchor down before you are on the breakwall ?
This dangerous design shows a complete disregard for the crew safety.
Equally as bad are the express type cruisers with steeply angled, rounded cabin trunks and no side decks. Let's see you get over that windshield to get to the anchor in rough water, Hell, most can't do it in calm water to dock the boat !
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February 2007 - This brand new 2007 boat in the showroom with an illegal fuel filter. This filter does not have a heat shield and is not fire rated as per Transport Canada, United States Coast Guard, National Marine Manufacturers Association or American Boat & Yacht Council Standards but it does appear to meet the builders standards !

This boat had neither the required fire port (alternate to fixed extinguisher in the engine compartment), carbon monoxide, smoke or propane fume detectors.

Why does someone laying out 200 - 500k put up with this nonsense.

but they built it that way !
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Gasoline engine compartment ventilation. If nothing else.....get this one right, it can kill you 2 ways. Your choice ........ Carbon Monoxide poisoning or an obituary written from the
Sunnybrook Burn Center. Click on the diagram at right to link to a separate and more detailed article on this issue. The early symtoms of CO poisoning are virtually identical to sea sickness so when you were feeling nauseous were you really poisoning yourself ?

I'll never understand why more gasoline powered boats don't blow up !
Easily 80% of the gas powered boats I survey do not have proper ventilation of the engine compartment. This one deserves an article on its own so click on the diagram at right to learn more and see how it should be done.
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This one at the Toronto Boat show sported labels saying it complies with NMMA standards which in turn claim to use ABYC Standards for ventilation. ABYC Standards prohibit engine compartment ventilation on the stern due to the high potential for CO poisoning.
The same standard prohibits intake and output vents from being within 18" of each other but this boat had one intake duct and one output duct connected to the same plenum shared by the three round vents (near center). The other two round vents share another plenum and even if they were used would still be adjacent to the output vents.

Just below the transom door is another label warning of the dangers of CO ..... They should have called this one the ......
IRONIC 2665
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The builder put those lovely curved engine compartment vents around the stylish stern where they should not have been in the first place Then came along the "marine" canvas expert and covered them up with some beautifully stiched canvas. I am convinced there were no fatalities only because the boat never left the dock.
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The builder of this sailboat thought it would be a good idea to vent the engine compartment directly into the cabin. Gas fumes & bilge stink let alone carbon monoxide poisoning. How come they never got sued ?
The powerboat (below left) required three passenger benches to be unfastened and four heavy deck hatches to be removed for engine access. The sailboat (lower right) has no place to put the steps once the engine is uncovered so you have climb over it to check the oil. Maybe the boat builders are right and no one ever checks anyway.
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The outlet (below left) is on a brand new $1,000,000.00 motor yacht and the one on the right a new $600,000.00 trawler. Some builders still don't know there are standards. If an electrician installed outlets like this in your house he'd lose his license and you'd have a fit but it didn't seem to bother the purchasers of these boats.
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Many boat builders put AC and DC systems on the same panel. In Canada this is illegal. ..Heres why ! ..... think about it. I'm sure
. you'll get it before some builders.
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Right up to the 80's and early 90's sailboat builders were putting solid core copper AC conductors in boats, just like the stuff in your home. They kept doing it long after the law required otherwise. The photo below left shows why it should not be on board. The photo below right shows it being used as a lightning bonding conductor on a 2008 high end sailboat. The powerboat guys were a little smarter on this one.
Another lightning bonding conductor from a French sailboat builder (at right) and again completely non-kosher

The issue with solid core copper is that it becomes brittle with vibration and breaks down. The braided conductor at right is supposed to be at least #4 AWG, tinned, stranded wire as lightning will vaporize the braided stuff.
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Serious corrosion can occur through bad electrical installations, poor choice of materials or over the last few years very questionable alloys from China like the now famous Groco seacock recall . The stainless steel in these seacocks ..... wasn't. The broken propeller shaft (below left) is also a questionable alloy. Even today some builders are using aluminum for waste tanks (like the rotted tank below right) while everyone knows aluminum and urine don't get along well together.
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PROPANE - Another one that can kill

Many European and Far East builders still can't get this right but most of the North American builders are so shy of litigation that they have smartened up.
Below - This 2008 Taiwan trawler like almost all trawlers with flying bridges has a propane tank under the bridge helm totally exposed to non-ignition protected wiring. If it leaks it will drain right down the steering/throttle/shift races to the cabin or even the engine compartment - BANG ! Below - Transport Canada says any appliance must be installed in accordance with manufacturers ..instructions. Paloma says of their instant water heater "DO NOT INSTALL IN A BOAT". Ontario boat builders installed thousands of these units..
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Below - Notice the CE Approved label on the steering pedestal of this French sailboat then the factory propane installation under the seat and open to the cockpit. Did you know that CE boats are self approved by the manufacturer ? Below - This sailboat can't possibly fit the required gasketed lid, can you imagine having to remove the cockpit deck to change the tank ? The locker also had no drain so where would leaking gas go ?
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Below - How long until that razor sharp fiberglass edge cuts through the propane line on this gimballed stove ? Below - How long before this badly bent hose develops a leak at the swaged joint ?
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Below - Typical Hinterhoeller junction inside the boat and held together with gear clamps. What the hell was he thinking ? Below - No, no, no .... Another late model French boat with multiple junctions and valves inside the vessel. Other than appliance connections ALL joints must be within the propane locker !
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At right - The solenoid shut-off switch, propane fume detector control and fire extinguisher are behind the burners.
Do you want to reach through flames to shut off the propane and put out a fire. It doesn't get much stooopider than this.
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Quality control - While surveying the bottom of a late model express cruiserI noticed a crack on one of the strakes. I asked the owner if I could stick my knife in and give it a twist. Out came a 1/2" chunk of resin.
There was 1/4" of gelcoat, 1/2" of resin then balsa core. There was NO glass fiber !

When the area was later opened up there was a 3' X 1' area of the bottom without any glass fiber whatsoever. this area had all the strength of a thick potato chip.
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More quality control - This cheap plastic throughull is 1" above the water line and seriously UV degraded. It could be picked apart by my fingernail.. The caulking shows that an attempt had been made to stop it leaking. Should this be impacted by floating debris, the bilge pump will not be able to keep up with the incoming water. Oh yeah ! That degraded throughull fitting we just talked about, well they forgot to put a seacock on it. Also notice they used a hose cuff. Yes, they did use double clamps but the clamps are on the cuff, not the hose which will be a constant source of leakage anyway because of the way its bent.
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The seacock on the left mixes bronze, ABS and PVC fittings. They all expand and contract at different rates. If they don't crack they will at least leak. Gee, I wonder why they are caulked ? The one on the right, yet another cuffed fitting. Another leaking throughull with no seacock and the clamps on the cuff and not the hose. Many builders are now using these cuff fittings, I don't get it ! only the friction of the ribbing on the hose is holding it in place.
Ok, I'm tired, it's late and I've been at this for hours. I've got lots more and will add to this over the next few weeks.

If you found this interesting, check out ......

Stoopid Tricks By Boat Owners and Stoopid Tricks By Surveyors

Unlike the automotive and RV industry there are no government agencies hanging over the boat builders shoulders and the only consumer protection agency looking out for us is BoatUS whom I strongly recommend you support (even in Canada).

MORE TO COME SOON....................
Captain Wallace Gouk AMS® Marine Surveyor
Port Credit Marine Surveys

Captain Wallace Gouk AMS®, Survey reports accepted world wide by all financial and insurance institutions for sail and power boats servicing Ontario east, west, south and beyond including Niagara-on-the-Lake, St. Catharines, Grimsby, 50 Point, Stoney Creek, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Bronte, Port Credit, Mississauga, Toronto, Oshawa, Pickering, Port Hope, Coburg, Newcastle, Kingston, Brockville, Penetanguishene, Midland, Barrie and Keswick. I have also worked in New York State, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Virginia, Florida and the Bahamas.