Regular maintenance to keep your boat safe and complying with
the legal obligations when it is on the water should ensure a
first-time pass. However, preparing your boat before its
examination will pay off.
Apart from checking to see that installations, components and
fittings comply with the requirements before the examiner arrives,
there are several things you can do to make the whole process run
smoothly.
All required items must be capable of being checked effectively
and accurately. If not, the examination will be considered to be
incomplete.
An examiner cannot issue a certificate on an incomplete
examination, so here are a few points to keep in mind.
- Ensure that all the boat's installations and appliances are
fully functional so that a complete examination can take place.
This includes having a fully charged battery and sufficient gas and
water, together with any other documentation that shows compliance
with the BSS General Requirements.
- If the good condition or suitability of any item cannot be
verified where this is a requirement, no certificate will be
issued. Ensure full access to all gas joints and as much pipework
as possible for a thorough examination. Items such as gas lockers
should be unlocked, and boards and panels removed to give access
where verification is necessary.
- Notify any relevant landowners who may have to give access to
the examiner so that he can get to your boat's mooring.
- Have the existing certificate to hand. This will help the
examiner with information about the boat that he or she must
record, such as when it was constructed, and with the confirmation
of the expiry date of your current certificate.
Read more about the BSS Examination in the BSS Essential Guide
