CONSTRUCTION STANDARDS FOR PLEASURE CRAFT Please remember that I generally survey boats from 30 to 60' and all my comments should be taken in that context. Little known to many people in the marine business in Canada, there are standards for construction required by law and a number of voluntary standards much like the CSA or UL standards you know from your home appliances. The US, Canadian, ABYC and European RCD's don't say much of anything about structure. They are largely concerned with the systems within the structure. Lloyds and American Bureau of Shipping and a few other classification societies have made attempts at setting structural standards but these are not useful to people in the field as a testing lab would be required to confirm any of these standards. MANDATORY STANDARDS Canada - pleasure craft are covered under the "Canada Shipping Act" or "CSA 2001" as the latest edition is titled. Under the "Act" are a number of standards and regulations which cover pleasure craft. Among others these include TP1332E, Construction Standards For Small Vessels, TP127 Ships Electrical Standards and TP10739E International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972 with Canadian Modifications. United States - pleasure craft are covered under "The United States Code of Federal Regulations, Titile 33 & Title 46" . This is pretty weak stuff but reasonably well enforced. The US "Colregs" are slightly different than our version of International Collision Regulations. Europe - pleasure craft are covered under the "Recreational Craft Directives" which is a pretty comprehensive set of standards largely copied from ABYC and converted to metric but they did make it law . Unfortunately the manufacturers still self-certify. This entire field of regulation is a moving target and has changed more in the last few years than the previous fifty with many more regulations already being written to be added in the near future. The above noted Canadian standards are a reasonable baseline although they do have some serious omissions.eg. propane installations and inadequate gasoline ventilation standards. Unfortunately even though they are law they are rarely enforced as we appear to have forgotten that if you do not monitor the builders or importers, they will do what ever is in their best interests. In short we have no one watching the chicken coop. I survey over 200 boats each year and have only ever seen one that met all Transport Canada standards and have seen no more than a handfull that met the requirements of NMMA or ABYC. The US mandatory standards are a weak brew indeed but as we import most of our boats from the US and have no enforcment of our standards we pretty well run with theirs. VOLUNTARY STANDARDS Aside from the legal requirements of the Canada Shipping Act there are several voluntary standards like these listed below. American Boat and Yacht Council - "Standards and Technical Information Reports For Small Craft". This is the grandaddy of marine standards and covers almost every system in a boat very thoroughly. Transport Canada and USCG are currently working towards harmonizing (copying) their standards with ABYC. In fact TP1332E makes so many references to ABYC that its impossible to survey a boat to Canadian legal requirements if you are not a member of ABYC and purchase their standards. These standards are so commonly used in the courts of our litigious southern neighbours that with a large number of precedents set they appear to have become virtual law. The USCG now builts all their vessels under 60' using these standards rather than US Mil.specs adding further weight to their effect in court. NFPA 302 - "Fire Protection Standard for Pleasure and Commercial Motorcraft" This standard largely concerns itself with anything that may cause a fire including fuel tanks, hose, filters engine compartment ventilation, AC electrical systems, DC electrical systems and bonding. It does not cover much that is not covered in ABYC. Canadian Standards Association - "CSA C22.2 No.183.1-M1982 AC Electrical Installations A rather curious effort by our homegrown organization who jumped into this many years ago and appear to have abanoned the program, a bit thin and outdated. There are a slew of other standards including CE, ISO, IMO ABS etc. which may or may not apply in various situations. National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) and their Canadian cousins CMMA. The boat manufacturers have their own standards that for many years was nothing more than a marketing tool and many boats labeled "NMMA Certified" still fail to meet their own standards. Over the last few years they have started to incorporate ABYC standards and you will now often see a label stating "NMMA Certified, Built Using ABYC Standards". Note the semantic use of "using" not "to" ABYC standards. Once again the label does not mean it was actually done. The builders are getting better but we still need a Ralph Nader type to give the industry a kick. Try bringing a car into Canada that does not meet Transport Canada Standards ... you will not get past the border. For some reason boats are treated differently and no one seems to be policing the manufacturers or importers. In over 2000 surveys I have never seen a boat that meets the requirements of the Canada Shipping Act. My opinion .... there are two reasons for this 1. Transport Canada is chronically under-staffed, they simply do not have the bodies to keep on top of this. 2. All of the people I have had contact with at Transport Canada come from a shipping background and know little about small vessels and particularly gasoline powered vessels with their critical demands for proper ventilation, ignition protection, placement of inverters, batteries, battery chargers and a host of other requirements not related to the diesel fueled boats they are used to dealing with. It is up to you, the consumer to educate yourself and force the builders to comply. As usual its a case of caveat emptor.

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Wallace Gouk AMS® Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors SAMS® Accredited Marine Surveyor, Seal #757 ABYC® Certified Technichian #10952 Transport Canada Licensed Master Transport Canada Tonnage Measurer BoatUS® Approved Marine Surveyor
My 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.
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