Recreational Craft Directive

_Yacht Surveyor

	CE Plates

	The Recreational Craft Directive requires a builder's plate to be affixed to the boat.

	Each craft shall carry a permanently affixed plate mounted separately from the boat hull identification number, containing the following information:

	- manufacturer's name, - CE marking (see Annex IV), - boat design category according to section 1, - manufacturer's maximum recommended load according to section 3.6, - number of persons recommended by the manufacturer for which the boat was designed to carry when under way.



	The CE marking is followed by the identification number of the notified body, if it intervenes in the control of production, as well as by the last two figures of the year that the CE marking is affixed.

	In the above examples we do not have included the year the CE marking was affixed. However we do have 0607 which we can assume is the notified body Institut pour la certification et la normalisation dans le nautisme (ICNN) of La Rochelle, France.

	The A,B,C,D referred to in the plates are the design categories as follows :

	A. OCEAN: Designed for extended voyages where conditions may exceed wind force 8 (Beaufort scale) and significant wave heights of 4 m and above, and vessels largely self-sufficient.

	B. OFFSHORE: Designed for offshore voyages where conditions up to, and including, wind force 8 and significant wave heights up to, and including, 4 m may be experienced.

	C. INSHORE: Designed for voyages in coastal waters, large bays, estuaries, lakes and rivers where conditions up to, and including, wind force 6 and significant wave heights up to, and including, 2 m may be experienced.

	D. SHELTERED WATERS: Designed for voyages on small lakes, rivers, and canals where conditions up to, and including, wind force 4 and significant wave heights up to, and including, 0,5 m may be experienced.

	Boats in each Category must be designed and constructed to withstand these parameters in respect of stability, buoyancy, and other relevant essential requirements listed in Annex I, and to have good handling characteristics.

	In the case of the above examples we see that the craft referred to are designed for up to the highest Category A but whilst the maximum 12 persons can be on board in the lowest category D, the number of persons to be permitted on board decreases in the higher categories.

	The reason 12 passengers is the maximum is because international maritime regulations dictate that if a craft carries more than 12 passengers it must comply with the passenger ship regulations as it is considered a passenger ship.

	CE Plates do not have the CIN (Craft Identification Number) of the boat marked on them. This would be seperately marked on the starboard stern above the waterline.