F-Ribs And Sibs - Inflatable Boat Community

Newby here

Apologies if these have been asked before, but had a look already and can't find similar.

New owner of Honwave T38, just trying to get my head around the various licences, registrations needed for both river and sea use.

BSS certificate not needed as open boat?
Licence needed for the various inland waterways including most harbours (but not the open sea)? How does this work in practice if just briefly launching / retrieving, rather than mooring overnight?
Do I need to add to UK ship register? Assuming would need to name boat first?
Insurance asks for name of vessel (I just added Honwave to this question?)

Any help appreciated.

Hi Leigh, welcome!

As far as I’m aware, The BSS is something required for boats moored in harbours, used on canals and rivers. Passenger carrying/commercial craft are required to comply.
It’s to do with gas and fuels stowage and safety of electrics (shore power connection) etc, - call it a mot for boats.
There’s a few members with hard hulled boats with ancillaries fitted on here, hopefully they’ll enlighten you further.
Most of the boating regs for private users/craft are advisory rather than compulsory, though having a good basic knowledge of the “rules of the road” really is a good idea for the safety of yourself and others.
Generally., You'll need to register if using the boats on lakes/canals/river, but open sea is pretty much fee free apart from Wales/Merseyside area where they require registration, insurance and sometimes even a power boat licence.
Launch/Recovery fees are area specific.

Enjoy the forum,

Martin

Hi Leigh and welcome.

You have summed up the requirements fairly well. Non-tidal rivers, canals, lakes etc generally require a permit. There is no licence required for the open sea but there may be requirements to pay to launch from harbours, private slipways etc.

Insurance is highly recommended, not so much to cover the boat and equipment itself but to give you third party cover, should you be unfortunate to cause a multi-million accident! Craftinsure are one of the most commonly used and reasonably priced for small boats such as SIBs.

If you are going out to coastal areas around the sea, I would strongly suggest the purchase of a portable VHF marine radio, preferably with DSC capability to send an automatic distress signal. There are two separate requirements for that - one is to obtain a Ship Portable Radio Licence from Ofcom for the set, which is free if you do this online - this process will also issue an MMSI number to enable the DSC functions. The other is to obtain a Maritime Radio Operators Certificate which can be done online but I would highly recommend doing the course at a local centre. Although it is permissible to operate a radio in an emergency situation without this, it is preferable to learn how to do so properly and the training course will give you the confidence to deal with the communication properly and safely. I also found the course very enjoyable and the certificate is then easier to obtain as they will assess you at the end of the session. Details of local centres, fees etc can be found on the RYA website.

Main thing is to be able to relax and enjoy your SIB safely and have some fun.

From my reading of the BSS for sibs like ours as long as the fuel is held in "proprietry containers and hoses " i.e. those supplied with the engine than because they are open there is no issue.

However spare fuel can and refueling goes in to a whole grey area as far as i can see.
Best avoided if at all possible to stop any chance of officialdom giving you unnecessary grief.

Inland waters generally need a license or permit of some sort from some one.
the only exceptions to that rule that I know of are Ullswater and Derwent water.

Regards Clive

loch lomond cost£10 to register and 20 to launch from the memorial slip . there are other places as long as you aint using a trailer you can launch at a few places