Private Boatbuilder
A private boatbuilder is someone who is building a boat for their own use and not as a commercial operation
If fitting-out a boat from a professionally-built shell only, then the boat has to conform to the Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR) when put into service, sold or transferred. We can assist with conformity to the RCR for a self-fit-out boat, through the required Post Construction Assessment (PCA) route.
The shell must be supplied with Annex III paperwork.
If fitting-out a boat from a professionally-built sailaway that can be used as a recreational craft (which is not based upon the stage of build, instead the ability to use the craft), then the boat has to conform to the Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR) when put into service, sold or transferred. We can assist with conformity to the RCR for a self-fit-out boat, through the required Post Construction Assessment (PCA) route.
The sailaway if it can be used as a recreational craft must be supplied with a Declaration of Conformity to the Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR). The Declaration has to be to Annex IV of the RCR and not Annex III.
If fitting-out a boat from a professionally built shell and the shell builder has also fitted free-issue items (such as the engine), then the boat has to conform to the Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR) when put into service, sold or transferred. We can assist with conformity to the RCR for a self fit-out boat, through the required Post Construction Assessment (PCA) route.
The craft must be supplied with a Declaration of Conformity to the Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR). The Declaration has to be to Annex IV of the RCR and not Annex III.
If fitting-out a boat from a professionally-built sailaway with some ft-out completed (e.g. a bathroom or galley), then the boat has to conform to the Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR) when put into service sold or tranferred. We can assist with conformity to the RCR for a self-fit-out boat, through the required Post Construction Assessment (PCA) route.
The sailaway with some fit-out completed must be supplied with a Declaration of Conformity to the Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR). The Declaration has to be to Annex IV of the RCR and not Annex III.
Post Construction Assessment (PCA) is a process under the Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR) whereby the craft is independently assessed for conformity to the RCR. The assessment cannot be undertaken by a private individual, with trained inspectors the only route.
A PCA is often undertaken for craft fitted-out by the first owner, or when work has been undertaken and there is no economic operator (business) to certify the work.
The PCA process involves close inspection of the craft, normally with the craft in the water: this inspection is often for a whole day. The inspection assesses the craft against the RCR requirements and requirements within relevant standards associated with the RCR. It is at a more detailed level than that undertaken for a Boat Safety Scheme examination. Often the inspection highlights areas of non-compliance that have to be addressed.
At the end of the PCA process, an Owner's Manual is provided, and a Post Construction Conformity Report is produced to show compliance with the RCR. Linked to the report is a new Builder's Plate and Watercraft Identification Number (WIN), that have to be fitted to the craft.
We can undertake Post Construction Assessment for UK inland waterway craft.
If you are building a boat from scratch, including the hull, then it does not need to comply with the Recreational Craft Regulations (RCR) if not placed on the market within five years of being put into service. However, as the standards associated with the RCR are seen as minimum good practice, then they should be used as a basis for construction.
Before 2017, a self fit-out boat started from a sailaway stage fell into this category: however, this is no longer the case, with any fit-out undertaken from a professionally-built boat requiring conformity to the RCR when put into service, sold or transferred, through the required Post Construction Assessment (PCA) route.
If a craft is entirely built (including the shell) by a DIY boatbuilder only for their personal use it is excluded from the RCR provided it is not placed on the market within 5 years of its first use as a boat. The boat does not have to be complete for the 5 year period to start, but does have to have been used as a boat (e.g. cruised on a waterway).
This '5-year rule' does not apply to craft that have been completed by the first owner from a shell or sailaway, as such craft have to be assessed under Recreational Craft Regulations.
Between 1998 and 2017, a different interpretation to that currently used was applied with regards to inland waterway craft fitted-out by the first owner. This fitting out could be from a bare shell or a sailaway at any stage of build. The interpretation was that if the craft was not sold within five years of first use, it was outside the scope of the Recreational Craft Directive or Recreational Craft Regulations. This was commonly called the '5-year rule'.
There was some confusion with regards to this '5-year rule' and with the interpretation confirmed by the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) in 2006, with an extract from the RYA Guide shown above, when the RYA was an EU Notified Body.
A BSS Certificate is not the same as compliance with the Recreational Craft Regulations