otnmbrd wrote:
"Jeff" wrote in message
And you keep insisting that a NUC is completely unable to maneuver, while
the rules only say "unable to maneuver as required by these Rules." There
is a difference, and this is why I claim that the two classes can overlap,
and this is why the rules left this issue open.

This seems to be the crux of our disagreement.
Please explain to me why you think that by adding "as required by these
Rules" somehow makes this vessel maneuverable and relate it to the maneuvers
the Rules would require you to make.
G I could have a case for saying you are reading too much or your own
thoughts into the rules or amending them to suit your perceptions....

The phrase is: "unable to maneuver as required by these Rules." It is
not simply "unable to maneuver" - there is a big difference. If I
said, "my car couldn't run as fast as normal" you wouldn't be saying
it couldn't run at all; the extra clause is qualifying the statement.
I could give a thousand examples, but English is English and that's
what it says.

As it was explained to me, under ordinary circumstances a vessel is
expected to make certain maneuvers, slow down, stop, turn to either
side, perhaps even speed up, "as required by the rules." A NUC,
however, may not be able to fulfill these responsibilities, and thus
one can say it is "unable to maneuver as required by these Rules." A
sailboat crossing a powerboat's path expects it to slow down, "as
required by the rules." However, if it lost reverse, it would be
"unable to maneuver as required by these Rules." By declaring itself
to be a NUC, the powerboat is saying "Don't expect me to be able to
maneuver 'as required by the rules.'"

So I asked, "Captain Instructor, why then is there a difference
between a RAM and a NUC?" The answer was, "When you see a RAM, you
can guess by the nature of the vessel what the limitation is and how
much room it might need, but with a NUC you have to presume anything
is possible."

"So," I asked, "what happens between a RAM and a NUC?" and the answer
was, "The same thing that happens between two RAM's or two NUC's or
two vessels in the fog or between a rowboat and a kayak or any of the
other infinite situations not fully described in the rules - you
figure it out."