bendyone
Well-Known Member
£100 to check I have a fire ex. and the outboard wont fall off. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
BSS
- Thread starter bendyone
- Start date
byron
RIP
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£100 to check I have a fire ex. and the outboard wont fall off. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
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I feel I am a voice in the wilderness when I say the BSS is a totally meaningless bit of bureaucracy that has done sweet F.A. other than drive boats off the river.
£100 to check I have a fire ex. and the outboard wont fall off. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
[/ QUOTE ]
I feel I am a voice in the wilderness when I say the BSS is a totally meaningless bit of bureaucracy that has done sweet F.A. other than drive boats off the river.
boatone
Well-Known Member
You oversimplify/understate the reality, I'm afraid.
And if you can get it done for £100 you're doing well !
And if you can get it done for £100 you're doing well !
Beryl
Active Member
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
£100 to check I have a fire ex. and the outboard wont fall off. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
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I feel I am a voice in the wilderness when I say the BSS is a totally meaningless bit of bureaucracy that has done sweet F.A. other than drive boats off the river.
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What a pathetic reply but that is to be expected from a man who never uses his boat. When I am sitting in a lock with many other boats I want to know that most of the boats around me are safe. Just look at how many fires there have been so far this year and without the BSS I feel we would have seen even more.
[ QUOTE ]
£100 to check I have a fire ex. and the outboard wont fall off. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
[/ QUOTE ]
I feel I am a voice in the wilderness when I say the BSS is a totally meaningless bit of bureaucracy that has done sweet F.A. other than drive boats off the river.
[/ QUOTE ]
What a pathetic reply but that is to be expected from a man who never uses his boat. When I am sitting in a lock with many other boats I want to know that most of the boats around me are safe. Just look at how many fires there have been so far this year and without the BSS I feel we would have seen even more.
byron
RIP
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
£100 to check I have a fire ex. and the outboard wont fall off. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
[/ QUOTE ]
I feel I am a voice in the wilderness when I say the BSS is a totally meaningless bit of bureaucracy that has done sweet F.A. other than drive boats off the river.
[/ QUOTE ]
What a pathetic reply but that is to be expected from a man who never uses his boat. When I am sitting in a lock with many other boats I want to know that most of the boats around me are safe. Just look at how many fires there have been so far this year and without the BSS I feel we would have seen even more.
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Beryl, with the greatest respect I have done my fair share of boating with almost 30 service as an auxiliary coastguard afloat also service as Coxswain on an ILB and having skippered everything from Super Tankers to rusty Trampers I think I may just have a weeny bit more knowledge than you. The BSS belongs in the same handbag as HIPS.
No I don't do much boating these days other than the odd delivery for people. My serious boating days are over, age and health has seen to that. This doesn't preclude me from having views based on knowledge and previous experiences. Whereas yours are based on what?
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
£100 to check I have a fire ex. and the outboard wont fall off. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
[/ QUOTE ]
I feel I am a voice in the wilderness when I say the BSS is a totally meaningless bit of bureaucracy that has done sweet F.A. other than drive boats off the river.
[/ QUOTE ]
What a pathetic reply but that is to be expected from a man who never uses his boat. When I am sitting in a lock with many other boats I want to know that most of the boats around me are safe. Just look at how many fires there have been so far this year and without the BSS I feel we would have seen even more.
[/ QUOTE ]
Beryl, with the greatest respect I have done my fair share of boating with almost 30 service as an auxiliary coastguard afloat also service as Coxswain on an ILB and having skippered everything from Super Tankers to rusty Trampers I think I may just have a weeny bit more knowledge than you. The BSS belongs in the same handbag as HIPS.
No I don't do much boating these days other than the odd delivery for people. My serious boating days are over, age and health has seen to that. This doesn't preclude me from having views based on knowledge and previous experiences. Whereas yours are based on what?
Beryl
Active Member
Common sense
Captain Coochie
Well-Known Member
If you had that you would stop now /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Beryl
Active Member
Stop what?
No Regrets
Well-Known Member
Being pointless...
For example, the Birchwood 22 that went up a couple of weeks back in Old Windsor Lock.
Did the BSS make any difference then?
Nah, thought not...
You see, while a Car's MOT tests Brakes, Suspension, Seat belats, etc, a Boat moves at 5mph, and has no brakes, can soon pull up if the steering fails, and the occupants don't need to wear Lifebelts, the marine equivelant on Seat belts.
About the only thing that can happen is a fuel leak, and fire. The BSS has a lifespan of four or five years, and therefore ain't worth a t0ss, as a lot can happen in that time.
Most of it, as Byron said, is like a HIP.
Now run along now, there's a good girl /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
For example, the Birchwood 22 that went up a couple of weeks back in Old Windsor Lock.
Did the BSS make any difference then?
Nah, thought not...
You see, while a Car's MOT tests Brakes, Suspension, Seat belats, etc, a Boat moves at 5mph, and has no brakes, can soon pull up if the steering fails, and the occupants don't need to wear Lifebelts, the marine equivelant on Seat belts.
About the only thing that can happen is a fuel leak, and fire. The BSS has a lifespan of four or five years, and therefore ain't worth a t0ss, as a lot can happen in that time.
Most of it, as Byron said, is like a HIP.
Now run along now, there's a good girl /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
Ramage
Well-Known Member
I have been looking at boats for sale. All have current boat safety certificates. Most have faults that would fail them if tested again.
One boat had a mains cable floating in bilge water!
Like an MOT the BSS is only any good at the moment it is issued.
One boat had a mains cable floating in bilge water!
Like an MOT the BSS is only any good at the moment it is issued.
bendyone
Well-Known Member
No electrics, no gas, no toilet. Nothing much else to look at.
JKay
Well-Known Member
I've got a boat that has had a gas bottle fitted in the rear of the anchor locker since new 20 years ago and it has had BSS
certificates since they started,this year they have decided that if my anchor chain defied gravity and went backwards it could pull of the gas pipe,the gas would then not go down the drain hole because it may be blocked by a leaf and then if I winch in the anchor a wire may break and cause a spark and we would all be injured
Well if my luck is that bad on that day a Goblin flying a winged unicorn may drop a pot of gold that it found at the end of a rainbow on my head /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
certificates since they started,this year they have decided that if my anchor chain defied gravity and went backwards it could pull of the gas pipe,the gas would then not go down the drain hole because it may be blocked by a leaf and then if I winch in the anchor a wire may break and cause a spark and we would all be injured
Well if my luck is that bad on that day a Goblin flying a winged unicorn may drop a pot of gold that it found at the end of a rainbow on my head /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
Salty Sealine
Well-Known Member
I have just been quoted £150
Flashheart
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
Common sense
[/ QUOTE ]
BSS and common sense! Its not often i'm outspoken but theres not a trace of common sense.
It nearly cost me my life the BSS. Its a good money spinner for the lucky ones who get to be examiners.
There seems to be infinite ways to interpret the regulations and put them in practice from my experience.
Common sense
[/ QUOTE ]
BSS and common sense! Its not often i'm outspoken but theres not a trace of common sense.
It nearly cost me my life the BSS. Its a good money spinner for the lucky ones who get to be examiners.
There seems to be infinite ways to interpret the regulations and put them in practice from my experience.
boatone
Well-Known Member
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It nearly cost me my life the BSS.
[/ QUOTE ]
Care to tell us more?
It nearly cost me my life the BSS.
[/ QUOTE ]
Care to tell us more?
Flashheart
Well-Known Member
In a PM
DWT
Well-Known Member
I sometimes have conversations with guests about things that vex us as boaters. The conversation and responses tend to go something like this:
"We are having to pay so much more now for our licences" - "Oh dear"
"We are not allowed to buy low duty diesel any more, it's a disgrace isn't it?" - "Is it?"
"And there is a stupid safety inspection we have to pay for every four years!" - "Hmm"
Looking at it from the outside the principle of a safety inspection seems perfectly reasonable. Boats are prone to DIY problems and the BSS should address the worst of these. For example my first boat (pre BSS) had a gas fired heating system installed by a previous owner in the engine compartment. It was a petrol engine so it had a nice combination of a naked flame and petrol fumes.
The big problem with any set of regulations is that once the people writing them start they don't seem to be able to stop. The BSS was rushed in with little or no consultation. Some rules were later relaxed and many seem to be too open to interpretation. Given time they will probably settle down, but at what cost?
The previous owner of my current boat had the gas heaters and water heater removed and the gas disconnected from the fridge to satisfy the BSS. The cost, including the installation of a calorifier, must have been significant.
I was having a real problem running the firdge off the batteries becuase it would drain them very quickly. The engineer I use, who is also a BSS inspector, said the rules have changed and he is perfectly happy with gas now. He connected the fridge back up again and would have been prepared to reconnect the water heater as well if the calorifier had not been put in.
This sort of thing has probably been repeated many times over which means that overzealous drafting has cost boaters thousands.
"We are having to pay so much more now for our licences" - "Oh dear"
"We are not allowed to buy low duty diesel any more, it's a disgrace isn't it?" - "Is it?"
"And there is a stupid safety inspection we have to pay for every four years!" - "Hmm"
Looking at it from the outside the principle of a safety inspection seems perfectly reasonable. Boats are prone to DIY problems and the BSS should address the worst of these. For example my first boat (pre BSS) had a gas fired heating system installed by a previous owner in the engine compartment. It was a petrol engine so it had a nice combination of a naked flame and petrol fumes.
The big problem with any set of regulations is that once the people writing them start they don't seem to be able to stop. The BSS was rushed in with little or no consultation. Some rules were later relaxed and many seem to be too open to interpretation. Given time they will probably settle down, but at what cost?
The previous owner of my current boat had the gas heaters and water heater removed and the gas disconnected from the fridge to satisfy the BSS. The cost, including the installation of a calorifier, must have been significant.
I was having a real problem running the firdge off the batteries becuase it would drain them very quickly. The engineer I use, who is also a BSS inspector, said the rules have changed and he is perfectly happy with gas now. He connected the fridge back up again and would have been prepared to reconnect the water heater as well if the calorifier had not been put in.
This sort of thing has probably been repeated many times over which means that overzealous drafting has cost boaters thousands.
TrueBlue
Well-Known Member
What sticks in my craw is that the first round of regulations were very specific (if OOT and draconian), the the committee / Board / whatever decided to change things to a risk analysis approach and specifications were lefty deliberately woolly.
Not only that the real meat is concealed from the punter, being delivered by the "training" regime. The result is anarchy in favour of the BSS scheme and possibly the inspectors too - If you don't know the rules, you can't argue.
It's iniquitous.
This appalling stat of affairs and techniques is not limited to the BSS but other schemes such as CORGI and OFTEC and whatever the electricity scheme is called.
The net result is that these have no credibility rather than being a good set of standards.
Not only that the real meat is concealed from the punter, being delivered by the "training" regime. The result is anarchy in favour of the BSS scheme and possibly the inspectors too - If you don't know the rules, you can't argue.
It's iniquitous.
This appalling stat of affairs and techniques is not limited to the BSS but other schemes such as CORGI and OFTEC and whatever the electricity scheme is called.
The net result is that these have no credibility rather than being a good set of standards.
Steve Clayton
Well-Known Member
Re the recent Freeman fire at Henley - from another forum
This same event happened to me 3 years ago on our Freeman 22 Mk1, my legs were burnt but we all got off the boat unhurt - but rather sad that our boat was gone. The boat was a petrol one and I beleive that if we had a "bilge blower" this may not have happened. I spoke at length with BSS after the fire and suggested that a Bilge Blower should become part of the required standard . I would always recommed now fitting a bilge blower to any petrol boats .
Now this, to me, IS common sense and BSS should adopt it.
What appalls me is that, if I'm right, carrying a first aid kit to a specifc standard is not a requirement of BSS and their information regarding the age and replacement of flexi gas pipe. What they do say is "As all flexible gas hose has a limited life, it is important to minimise the amount that is used on your boat." but they don't declare what that life is! I can tell you what the recommended life is and it's 5 years from the date stamp on the flexi hose.
This same event happened to me 3 years ago on our Freeman 22 Mk1, my legs were burnt but we all got off the boat unhurt - but rather sad that our boat was gone. The boat was a petrol one and I beleive that if we had a "bilge blower" this may not have happened. I spoke at length with BSS after the fire and suggested that a Bilge Blower should become part of the required standard . I would always recommed now fitting a bilge blower to any petrol boats .
Now this, to me, IS common sense and BSS should adopt it.
What appalls me is that, if I'm right, carrying a first aid kit to a specifc standard is not a requirement of BSS and their information regarding the age and replacement of flexi gas pipe. What they do say is "As all flexible gas hose has a limited life, it is important to minimise the amount that is used on your boat." but they don't declare what that life is! I can tell you what the recommended life is and it's 5 years from the date stamp on the flexi hose.
Bilgediver
Well-Known Member
I feel I am a voice in the wilderness when I say the BSS is a totally meaningless bit of bureaucracy that has done sweet F.A. other than drive boats off the river.
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Not just your river!!!!
The original BSS was a typical instance of what can get produced by a committee locked in a landlocked room who have no idea of industrial or for that matter their own countries marine standards....Fortunately they backed down considerably. I still have a good old laugh when I get out the original first edition of the scheme and guidance notes which meant that boats built to the current RCD rules were non compliant!!!
Seems all the fittings which had been on boats for years were not to some ones standard as they prefered sizes different to convention for things like refuelling.
Don t get me started LoL...
WHen one considers that the biggest source of gas leakage is the connnection of the gas cylinder where folk either leave out the seal or reuse the existing one year in and year out then no the rules have not helped here..
This was probably the same committee who designed the new Union Canal Bridges up here and derived the alignment of bridges and bends by driving dinky toy model artics along the canal plan.....Seems as they are a non boaty committee they didn t realise boats steer from the back like a bus going backwards.....so most of the new bridges had no room for stern swing before and after.. The clearance was all on the INSIDE of the bend ..
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif There is a word I could use starting with W****** but as this is a gentlemans forum I shall desist /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
**************************************************
Not just your river!!!!
The original BSS was a typical instance of what can get produced by a committee locked in a landlocked room who have no idea of industrial or for that matter their own countries marine standards....Fortunately they backed down considerably. I still have a good old laugh when I get out the original first edition of the scheme and guidance notes which meant that boats built to the current RCD rules were non compliant!!!
Seems all the fittings which had been on boats for years were not to some ones standard as they prefered sizes different to convention for things like refuelling.
Don t get me started LoL...
WHen one considers that the biggest source of gas leakage is the connnection of the gas cylinder where folk either leave out the seal or reuse the existing one year in and year out then no the rules have not helped here..
This was probably the same committee who designed the new Union Canal Bridges up here and derived the alignment of bridges and bends by driving dinky toy model artics along the canal plan.....Seems as they are a non boaty committee they didn t realise boats steer from the back like a bus going backwards.....so most of the new bridges had no room for stern swing before and after.. The clearance was all on the INSIDE of the bend ..
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif There is a word I could use starting with W****** but as this is a gentlemans forum I shall desist /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
