Concerto
Well-Known Member
I have not seen this mentioned and thought it worth posting.
Post-Brexit certification requirement clarified - Marine Industry News
Post-Brexit certification requirement clarified - Marine Industry News
Clarification on certfication of secondhand boats moving between EU and UK
- Thread starter Concerto
- Start date
Poignard
Well-Known Member
Thanks. Useful information.
Graham376
Well-Known Member
Useful if your boat is CE marked but not helpful for those of us with unmarked pre-rcd boats. No mention of what happens with those.
Tranona
Well-Known Member
I would imagine the original (1997) rules applied, that boats built in the EEA were exempt from certification - but i don't suppose anybody in government has really given it much thought as all this was sorted while they were in short trousers!
penfold
Well-Known Member
In the UK who is going to check? I've never heard of officialdom taking any interest in the RCD status of a boat if it predated the rule or not, never read anything about it in a survey. In the EU there may be civil servants paid to look at such minutiae, I don't know. The only situation I can envisage Big Brother sticking his oar in is dibble, MAIB or claim adjusters if there's an accident, at which point the master of the vessel may get their collar felt if they were attempting to cross the North Channel in a pedalo or similar and the co-pilot drowned.
jwilson
Well-Known Member
RCD compliance is "policed" by local council Trading Standards officers, who are more traditionally employed checking shop scales for accuracy and that your petrol station accurately meters the litres of fuel you buy. Few seem to have ever heard of boats and RCD.
Graham376
Well-Known Member
I can't see it being much of a problem in the UK but likely to be in EU countries if a UK boat is sold there and registered locally, paperwork trail will be scrutinised and in some places, mandatory survey by authorities. Not sure whether a UK (non-compliant due to age) boat based in EU pre-31/12 will have to comply on sale there or, be counted as already imported/in service.
Tranona
Well-Known Member
Been several articles in the yachting press over the years describing peoples' experiences in importing boats (mostly from the US) and going through certification. The last I saw was Tom Cunliffe when he imported his Mason 43 about 7 or 8 years ago. The other active trade was in US built sportsboats where a grey market existed for a while because supplies of boats in UK were limited but freely available in the US. Difference in this case was that boats were built to RCD for the UK market and it was a fairly easy job to convert (usually by way of more equipment) US spec boat to full RCD compliance.
Obviously post construction certification was much more common in the early (post 1997) days when there were more boats being imported - the RYA actually had a post certification scheme to help - but was discontinued about 10 years ago because of declining demand. CE Proof are still active though.
As suggested, policing is poor and no doubt some boats sneak in, or self certify to CatD, but equally some got caught, often because of customs difficulties paying duty and VAT which resulted in impounding boats, thus making them much more "visible". Recall several boats in the early 2000s on shore in Solent boatyards in this situation.
The "trade" however has disappeared as it is no longer economically viable to import old boats from the US except in very limited circumstances such as Cunliffe's where the boat was very desirable, cheap and most importantly had an EU compliant replacement engine. Where a boat like this has a relatively high potential value it makes sense to get it properly certified as uncertified boats can meet market resistance when you come to sell on.
ithet
Well-Known Member
According to the link in post 1, there is no requirement here anyway for recertification of a boat in GB, either remaining or imported - i.e. scenarios 1 and 4.