Bringing American sailing boats into the UK.

[Argyll]

I am thinking of buying a boat in the US (40/50 ft). A selection of 2531 is available for under £35,000.00. In the UK only 7. I do not even mind paying the VAT on bringing it here. My problem is the C.E. mark, which is an unknown quantity, and apears to be a mechanism to keep second hand boat prices artificially inflated in Europe and particularly in the UK.

Can anyone give detailed info on how much it would cost to obtain a C.E.mark, and does it make a difference if the boat has been designed and built by reputable American builders?

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[BrendanS]

Do a search on CE mark in the Motorboat chat forum. There was a US exporter to the UK answered questions one evening, and there is a company in the UK who will CE mark the boat. As a one off it is expensive, if it has been done before then the cost will reduce

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[johnc1]

I recently got some advise on this & was told that RCD falls within the Consumer Protection Act & as such only applies to busineses, therefore if you later sell the boat as a private individual you're OK, at least in the UK.
As EU countries are interpreting & applying the directive differently( I expect France is ignoring it altogether!!!!, GOOD FOR THEM) it may be different elsewhere.
I've also heard that nobody seems to be enforcing it in the UK at present.

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[BrendanS]

This really only applies if it is a personally built craft, and you don't sell it for 5 years after completion. The legislation certainly does NOT apply just to businesses and not private individuals. The legislation is perfectly clear and has been discussed many times on these forums

New or second-hand vessels that were built / put into service / put on the market within the EEA before 16th June 1998 are exempt. So highly unlikely an imported will be exempt, unless it had been previously exported, and you had paperwork to show it had exempt status.

I take your point about enforcement, however, it could be extremely difficult to sell without a CE mark, as it is illegal to sell or own. Failure to carry a CE mark when a Directive applies to a product, or worse, the affixing of a CE mark when the product does not comply with a Directive, carries the risk of a prison sentence and/or a fine. - see the RYA website on the subject - "Please consider this carefully as should your boat need to comply and you fail to ensure this you may be subject to three months imprisonment and/or £5,000 fine" http://www.cycc.org.uk/news/rcd1.htm


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