Rules and Regulations

[co256]

Having designed, built and sailed his small yacht single handed across the Atlantic Ocean, Sven Yrvind was asked to display his boat at the Stockholm boat show in Sweden.

It would appear that someone from the "European Boating Directive" disagrees...

http://www.yrvind.com/present_project/

 

[albineer]

It looks like bureaucracy gone mad again. According to the guide to the directive published by the British Marine Federation 'experimental craft' and 'craft or engines built for own use' are excluded from the directive provided they are not sold.
Link here: http://www.britishmarine.co.uk/upload_pub/RCD_Boatbuilders_Guide_Apr06.pdf

 

[andlauer]

In the Bureaucratic France it is not possible to register a self-made boat; You are suppose to conduct a study by a Veritas or equivalent consultant at the same level as an industrial boat. The result is that all the French self-made boat are registered in Belgium or Netherlands.
Eric

 

[PacketRat]

Thanks. This is a great find, co256. I've bookmarked it for later.

 

[2nd_apprentice]

Nothing mad about it at all. AIU you can only sell a homebuilt craft after a period of five years. This is supposed to prevent a grey market of non-CE compliant boats. Probably different in France but that's got nothing to do with the RCD per se.

 

[albineer]

The bit I thought was mad was that the notice on the boat said that he wasn't supposed to use it even though own use boats are exempt from the RCD

 

[PacketRat]

Nothing mad about it at all.

It's an industry protection measure. Anyway, here's Yrvind digging a hole for himself:

To get shelter from the weather I put up some tarpaulins between the apple trees. It did not take long before the city planner was there asking me if I had permission.

“I shall only build a small boat, then I take down the tarpaulins and go sailing” I answered.

“Have you been thinking about what would happen if everyone did like you?” He asked.

“What would happen if everyone was a town planner” I said.

That made him indignant.

 

[2nd_apprentice]

The bit I thought was mad was that the notice on the boat said that he wasn't supposed to use it even though own use boats are exempt from the RCD

Mmh okay, it's all bork bork to me
Is that really an official notice btw? Looks like he printed it out himself.

To get shelter from the weather I put up some tarpaulins between the apple trees. It did not take long before the city planner was there asking me if I had permission.

“I shall only build a small boat, then I take down the tarpaulins and go sailing” I answered.

“Have you been thinking about what would happen if everyone did like you?” He asked.

“What would happen if everyone was a town planner” I said.

That made him indignant.

A classic! Says more about Swedish society in the 1960's than EU regulations though
Not sure what to make of Sven Yrvind, seems a bit odd to me. Obviously he knows a lot about small boat sailing (not that I'd fancy a 40 day drift down to the Azores with a pre-WWII chart!). Perhaps some of the irony is lost in translation.