Coming back

[gsturgeon]

Hi Thames people,

20 years ago I left the the Thames to moor on the south coast. Great fun, but in my seventies, storms and flying through the waves has somehow lost it's magic.....

Do I have to have the boat tested before I return or can the BSS be done when I arrive?

What happens if you have a boat on the Thames without one? - not that I entend to do so.

Thanks.

 

[Andy Soper]

Hello,

Welcome back! If you turn up at Teddington and buy a visitor licence for thirty days you self-certify your boat's compliance with BSS.
You then have thirty days to get a BSS and an annual licence. The visitor licence payment can be credited against your annual fee.

If you delay your arrival until 1 September then you will 'only' have to pay half the annual fee.

Safe voyage.

 

[Actionmat]

Don't delay in booking an examiner. It took me weeks to get hold of someone who was available and didn't just do the boats in his nearest marina.
BSS examiners list here:
https://www.boatsafetyscheme.org/boat-examination/arranging-the-examination/find-an-examiner/

A BSS test costs around £200, assuming she sails through and you don't need an extra visit. If you don't have one already, it's worth fitting a gas bubble tester. If you have gas installed, they'll need a gas test point.
You'll need a sheet of approved labels/stickers. The examiner will want to see your fuel filling hose and that will probably involve removing panels. Good luck!

 

[gsturgeon]

There is no gas onboard, on the south coast you travel from marina to marina occasionly sheltering from the storm.

Looking at the requirements online, do I really need trip trays for the engines for instance (which don't drip) the whole thing seems so intimating.

 

[Cashbuyer]

There is no gas onboard, on the south coast you travel from marina to marina occasionly sheltering from the storm.

Looking at the requirements online, do I really need trip trays for the engines for instance (which don't drip) the whole thing seems so intimating.

It's quite useful to find the examiner first and ask them what might be required of your boat to pass, before the actual examination. Let them visit and have a look around.
We find It's still a bit of a lottery- one examiner may concentrate on an area that another may find not so important .

 

[Dave_Seager]

You can fit a filter to your bilge pump to prevent oil from being pumped overboard but those that meet the required standard of filtration are expensive.

An alternative is to disable any bilge pump that can pump from the area under the engines. Although I agree with keeping the river clean, this seem a bit illogical as a sinking boat will cause more pollution that the bilge water would have done.