Every year over 21,000 boats in the UK are inspected by a Boat Safety Scheme Examiner and many of them fail first time. The reasons for failing a BSS exam range from poor battery security to dangerous gas systems to inadequate fire fighting equipment. The BSS seeks to raise the standard of safety across the inland waterways fleet and it does this by inspecting all boats every four years.
A few years ago I recall taking a very smart Haines motor boat out for a river trial on the Thames . We were motoring upstream but downwind when the carbon monoxide detector in the forward cabin alarmed as the engine exhaust was being blown forward into the vessel interior. Had a crew member been resting in that cabin, their life would have been at risk. Without an alarm, no-one would have detected this colourless, odourless but deadly gas filling the cabin.
Unbelievably, private boats in use on the coast need meet no similar mandatory safety equipment requirements. Every year people die on their boats and some boats are destroyed by fire or sinking. During my survey work I find vessels with no carbon monoxide detectors fitted, ancient fuel lines, poor fire extinguishers, defective bilge pump and out of date pyrotechnic flares.
No matter what your boat is or where you keep it, read the BSS Guide and take a close look at your boat to see how well it would comply.
I would be the first to admit that the BSS isn’t perfect, but it’s a darn sight better than nothing. In my latest YouTube video I look at the Top 10 reasons for failing a BSS Exam according to the BSS Examiners themselves, what the BSS Requirements say and what to look for.