Nick Vass
Active Member
Because Jersey and Gurnsey are not part of the EU.
There is little in the way of checks made should you buy a two-stroke out of the EU and bring it to the UK on your boat as the UK authorities have little understanding of the Recreational Craft Directive RCD.
The Department for Business Innovation and Skills told me frankly that they have too few resources and time to investigate issues concerning yachts, boats and the RCD.
I reported on a new 31 Cat A (Ocean going) yacht (built during 2011) that the dealer of was concerned that it was defective. I inspected it and found a lot of faults, some of which were serious and which would have meant that the yacht did not satisfy the requirements of the RCD. I complained that the yacht should not have been signed off by the Notified Body that was given the task of checking its type. The builder told me that the yacht that they presented was “even worse than this one” and that had been signed off. The Notified Body failed to note the serious defects; one was that the gas locker drain hose was missing! My report shamed the builder into modifying the yacht and repairing all of the defects, which took a lot of time and money but my compliant to our UK government about the Notified Body whose name was on the yachts certificate of Declaration of Conformity with the RCD has so far got nowhere.
The Department of Skills, Innovation and Enterprise simply forwarded my email of complaint directly the Notified Body! Who then said that the yacht was a prototype and wrote directly to me threatening me if I complained too much. Another email to our government demanding that all sister ships are recalled for safety checks and modifications was ignored. The Notified Body also forwarded my email of complaint, which was forwarded to them without my consent, to the yacht building company, whose owner personally sent me a threatening email telling me to stop.
The yachts UK dealer worked hard to ensure that he was selling a well made and safe product, he should be commended and has acted correctly but the European Notified Body, the yachts builder and our UK government have acted shamefully as potentially dangerous yachts are still out there unchecked. The yacht was NOT a prototype as it was being sold as a standard production yacht and my client paid good money for it. It is hull number three which means that No 1 and 2 plus later built boats that were sold carry the same potential defects.
The Notified Body, that is based in a central European Country in the first world failed in my opinion to properly supervise and check the essential safety requirements of this yacht type. They don’t have to check and sign off each one but had checked the first sample yacht offered up for inspection (“even worse than this one”) and missed so many defects.
Last year I reported a used boat dealer to Trading Standards as the CE plate in the cockpit looked fraudulent. The boat was an American Sea Ray 27 but the CE plate had Bayliner 255 on it. The dealer refused to show me the builder’s certificate and certificate of declaration to the RCD which confirmed to me that it was a grey import and would not comply with the RCD. It looked as if he had just robbed a CE plate off another boat and stuck it on with double-sides as it was not even level. The complaint to Trading Standards fell on deaf ears and I simply advised my client to not buy the boat. The above has happened to me lots of times BTW.
Boats and engines sold new within the EU must have a certificate of conformity with the Recreational Craft Directive. This certificate must be signed by the builder who declares that it complies with the relevant ISO standards which apply to that engine, boat, yacht or fridge. The certificate must also carry the four digit identity number of the Notified Body, whose task it was to check that it conforms. This number must also be on a small CE plate or sticker that is stuck onto the engine, fridge or in the cockpit of the boat. Without these two items dealers can’t sell the product.
However, it is rumoured that the Chinese use a similar logo to the CE mark that they call the Chinese Export mark. I have not seen one myself but I understand that it was designed to look very similar.
In other words, and to get back to the question. If you are an individual and want to buy a two-stroke outboard for use on your own boat there would be no one to stop you as no one in officialdom would understand the rules and laws and no one would bother you.
Nick Vass
