RCD compliance..

[Indigoed]

Happy New Year Everyone.

Here is a question for the hive mind of the forum.

I am looking at boat which is for sale and the owner has kindly forwarded to me the last survey which was undertaken before he purchased.

One of the issues highlighted is around RCD compliance.

The vessel is a 2002 hull which was a self build. As a result it has no RCD certificate.

The surveyor has made mention of this fact in the report however has stated that since the vessel has been in operation for over 18 years does not require an RCD cert. However they have also commented that the absence of a certificate would make the vessel almost impossible to sell with a broker within the UK/EU.

Does anyone have any experience of this issue that perhaps can give advice/make comment.

Otherwise the vessel is in very good shape and certainly remains on my list of potential purchases. I am nervous however of buying a vessel that I cant move on when the time comes to upgrade...

Thanks in advance.

 

[superheat6k]

If no RCD is required then why should a Broker not be able to take it on ?

Probably the least important, nonsense document re boating ever invented by the useless place we have now, thankfully, left. No one is interested in it, simple bureaucratic interference for interference sake.

A close second in fact to the UK Inland waterways BSS.

 

[Keith 66]

It is RCD exempt. Thats it. buy it, sell it no problem.
Of all the useless bits of beaurocracy ever invented the RCD was the worst. Of no practical use whatsoever.

 

[peter gibbs]

Assuming you purchased, so were satisfied the structural integrity passed vigorous survey, it is highly likely you would resell without limitation. The RCD is a specification, as you know, it is not a warranty of fitness or condition. Whether your intended is designed for ocean crossings or pottering is most unlikely to affect general marketability.

If there is anything unusual in the design that might give rise to hesitation on the part of a purchaser is probably more to the point, offset as you say by its length in service. If you are satisfied of structural integrity and ease of access to all areas for maintenance, the rest is likely a matter of individual taste and convenience.

RCD was never given much weight by serious traders in the UK, and I'm not aware that dealers in the EU lost much sleep over it either. Builders on the other hand had to answer for their observance.....a quite different matter.

Feel free....one of the many dividends from departing EU federal sclerosis !

PWG

 

[ditchcrawler]

I bought a self built British Hunter some years ago which was done from a kit. I had help from the RYA legal department in that the boat as a kit boat to qualify for RCD exemption could not be sold by the first owner unless it had been "in service" for a number of years. I can't remember whether this was one year or two but the RYA or Google will know. The "in service" bit was interesting because the owner part built it, launched it and then finished it off whilst sometimes living on it in intermittent periods whilst it was on a marina berth, and the launch was deemed to be the start of the "in service".
I have no idea how this fits into the current situation.

 

[JumbleDuck]

It is my understanding that RCD compliance applies - in the UK anyway - only on the day one which the vessel is put into use. The following day you can do what you like to it. Since you won't be putting the boat into use, RCD compliance is completely irrelevant. I think.

 

[matt1]

I sold my completed kit Hunter boat in 2019 and it hadn’t been through RCD. The RYA legal team assured me I had nothing to worry about, boat was launched 13yrs ago so beyond the 5 yr rule

 

[matt1]

Oh, and I sold it through a broker. In fact p/x’d it for a new build

 

[Boater Sam]

Like it? Is it fit for purpose? Do you feel pleased with the boat? Buy it and forget about the out dated bureaucratic red tape, its an irrelevance.

 

[TernVI]

Can you import a boat into the EU without RCD compliance?

 

[Boater Sam]

Can you import a boat into the EU without RCD compliance?

Why now would anyone want to and pay all the taxes? Better to buy one abroad. We are talking canal boats aren't we?

 

[Graham376]

Can you import a boat into the EU without RCD compliance?

Not if you want to register there, full paperwork trail and certification needed for most flags.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Not if you want to register there, full paperwork trail and certification needed for most flags.

Hmm. Interesting. If RCD has to be complied with one the day a boat is put into use in the EU, as I understand, then even old boats which never were RCD compliant or which were RCD compliant but are no longer will have to come up to snuff on the day of import. That could be a bit of a bind.

 

[Graham376]

Hmm. Interesting. If RCD has to be complied with one the day a boat is put into use in the EU, as I understand, then even old boats which never were RCD compliant or which were RCD compliant but are no longer will have to come up to snuff on the day of import. That could be a bit of a bind.

A pre-rcd date boat brought into the EU for local registration AFAIK doesn't have to comply but later boats which have to be rcd compliant will be checked. Some regulations seem totally over the top to us, for instance - a Portuguese guy wanted to buy my old outboard but the authorities refused to register it to his boat tender because I couldn't provide the original UK importer's invoice from 1994! All boats registered or being registered here have to be inspected by the Maritime Authority, a navy department but under control of the port captain.

 

[Boater Sam]

A pre-rcd date boat brought into the EU for local registration AFAIK doesn't have to comply but later boats which have to be rcd compliant will be checked. Some regulations seem totally over the top to us, for instance - a Portuguese guy wanted to buy my old outboard but the authorities refused to register it to his boat tender because I couldn't provide the original UK importer's invoice from 1994! All boats registered or being registered here have to be inspected by the Maritime Authority, a navy department but under control of the port captain.

And they wondered why we wanted to leave their regulation bound club.

 

[Indigoed]

Hmm. Interesting. If RCD has to be complied with one the day a boat is put into use in the EU, as I understand, then even old boats which never were RCD compliant or which were RCD compliant but are no longer will have to come up to snuff on the day of import. That could be a bit of a bind.

This is my concern. The boat was built in UK in 2002 and exported to Turkey in 2017. There is no RCD certificate as its a home build. Selling in the UK was not an issue as the boat was splashed in 2002 and has been in operation exceeding the 5 years necessary to sell a non-RCD certified vessel. There is a paperwork trail to demonstrate its operation in the EU and UK.

The current owner is not concerned with RCD compliance as he is non EU citizen and the boat is out of the EU.

I have already factored a VAT payment into the purchase cost as and when I return the vessel to the UK but the RCD issue is something I need to resolve.

It seems that reselling in the UK should not be a problem however selling in the EU may be???

 

[Hacker]

Why should it be a problem. The RCD exemptions (of which they are a few) were EU regulations; therefore these exemptions are accepted in Europe.

 

[Lucy52]

I had the same worries as my boat was home complected in 2000. A perusal of the RYA website put me at ease, the boat is still RCD exempt.

The Boat was designed to be RCD compliant Cat A, what I would like is to get hold of a copy of the original RCD submission, but I doubt if that is possible.

 

[Indigoed]

I had the same worries as my boat was home complected in 2000. A perusal of the RYA website put me at ease, the boat is still RCD exempt.

The Boat was designed to be RCD compliant Cat A, what I would like is to get hold of a copy of the original RCD submission, but I doubt if that is possible.

Lucy did you buy your boat through a broker? Did you have a survey? Was the RCD issue highlighted by anyone?

Thanks

 

[Lucy52]

Yes, I bought through a broker from the original owner and I had a survey, I cannot quite remember what was said other than it was considered VAT paid which was what worried me the most.. I will have a look and maybe ask but it will take some time as I still have to work part time.

It was my concern that led me to the RYA webite where it is laid out.

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