Coding a yacht for skippered charter

hanbrowes

New Member
Joined
6 Apr 2012
Messages
21
Visit site
Hi
does anyone know where i can find the necessary information to code a boat for skippered charter?

many thanks

howard
 
There is lots on the web. Also, you can hire a surveyor and ask him/her. If you don't care what mods he wants done to your boat then just go with what he says - job done. If you do care, then beware that imo a lot of surveyors have their own interpretation of the rules and say "you must do this" when in fact the rules say nothing of the sort. I've worked with several surveyors and coded 4 large boats and each time I've had to argue with and correct the surveyor.

So, there is no substitute for reading the rules yourself. Get via google the "yellow book" and "mgn 280". EDIT, following prompt below: it's yellow for motor, blue book for sail :)

What's the difference? Well, this is another area when many (not all) survyors get it worng. The Yellow book is and remains law, and used to be the only rules. Then mgn280 was written. mgn280 is perhaps 95% the same as yellow book, but has a few differences. Parliament refused to pass mgn 280 into law (with good reason, but that's another story) so mgn 280 is NOT law in its own right. However, under MSA, the MCA has the power to authorise alternatives to Yellow Book and they have authorised mgn280 as an allowed alternative. So, yellow book is law, and mgn is an alternative law in effect because it is a legally allowed alternative to yellow. You can therefore use whichever of them you prefer. All those surveyors who insist you use mgn280 are just not correct

I prefer yellow book and always use it. The only significant dfference I've come across in practice is that mgn280 requires you to have blanks for your below-weather-deck hull portholes (of which I have lots) whereas yellow book merely requires you to have a "don't open at sea" sticker. Actually yellow book doesn't specifically mention these stickers but this is how it operates with full legal effect - I wont exlain that subtle legal point here as it is OT

So, I would advise you to read yellow book (and mgn280 if you want), and just follow those. They are reasonably easy to read, though a few things will have obscure interpretations plus most surveyors seem to let you off many of the more ridiculous shopping list items (like a 12inch bell if your boat is >20m and has a good foghorn), so it is worthwhile finding your surveyor and agreeing with him the list of boat mods you need to do, and seeing what he will "let you off" with
 
Last edited:
Top