I'm not sure current regulations apply to people selling plans and to home
builders. With most types of plans, like houses and other structures for
example, it is "up to the builder to modify as necessary to fit local
regulations and ordinances." I'm betting boat plans fall into the same
category. Home builders are inspected by law enforcement only to make sure
the boat has a HIN displayed properly and that the boat is not stolen. It
is of course, a good idea to familiarize yourself with ABYC standards (only
about $250) and USCG rules that apply (noting the pertinent portions are
included in your set of ABYC standards.) For someone in the business, I'd
recommend buying the set from ABYC. For the rest of the crowd, ask lots of
questions of those that bought the standards . The USCG guidelines for
backyard boat builders is a good cheat-sheet compendium of information
that's close enough for the majority of boats. It can be found on the web
and I'm also happy to email it to someone if they can't find it.

Brian


"Backyard Renegade" wrote in message
om...
"Jacques Mertens" wrote in message
...
"Backyard Renegade" wrote in message
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Just curious. And I ask this in all seriousness, not to start a war.
What about guys like me? Small boat builder and amateur designer (very
amateur), do we have a place here, or would you exclude us from the
mix as organizations such as SNAME would, if I am reading their
"cannon" correctly?
Scotty from SmallBoats.com


There is a lot of creativity in amateur designers and I would hate to
see it
killed by some regulations.
I don't say that one should belong to the SNAME, I am in favor of
leaving
the profession or hobby wide open.
Since you build your own boats, you know your limits and whatever plan
you
produce will be buildable and float right side up.
Once you start selling plans, you have a duty to your builders but there
is
no need for an oversight or for regulations. Natural selection will work
quickly and that is the way it should be.


Yes, that is what I was getting to. Natural selection, versus
creativity. Hopefully this will pan out so we don't end up like
builders in the UK where an operation like mine is almost impossible.
At the same time, I see guys drawing quick copies of old designs in
CAD programs and selling or giving them away, some not even addressing
basic safety rules and even flotation. I guess, I am probably nuts
here but I think either a little more regulation, or at least
enforcement of current regulation could stop a disaster that could
lead to a knee jerk reaction. I would not even be against say,
submitting plans to a group (even if there were a small fee) for
endorsement. Possibly a group like SNAME, but they would have to
renounce their exclusionary policies first. For instance, iirc, you
can go to all the schools, pay your dues for years at SNAME, then ****
someone off and get voted right out of their org by a 70% majority. If
they were the governing body, a gruff old troublemaker like myself
could be put right out of a job/livelihood, and I did not see any
other guidelines as to what type of action could initiate this vote.
Of course, the USCG may not be the ones to do it either the way they
cater to the corporate manufacturers, and of course with the endless
red tape and cover your ass salary workers, new ideas would never get
out of the box like in the UK where the little guys just can't
operate.
I know now, by the posts to this thread that there is a general cut
off at 200 feet, maybe with the recent changes in the industry, and
new technology that allow anyone to build a boat they should consider
bringing it down to 20 feet or at least enforce the USCG regs for
smaller boats as they are now. Last season a guy called me and told me
that he was with a company that had been hired by the USCG to inspect
small builders operations to see that they were following the rules.
He very well could have been just another jamoka that wanted a free
tour of my shop and some boatbuilding lessons but I heard him out. He
told me that he would be coming over to look at my op in about a week.
I asked him if he had received a complaint or otherwise had cause to
believe that I was not following the regulations, he answered no. I
told him to come on over and bring a search warrant, or else shove it
up his butt and go bother someone else, in the middle of summer, I had
no time for him. If this is enforcement, we got a problem. Anyway,
like I said, I see a lot of quick CAD Plan hawkers on the net, and
lot's of homemade boats on the water not in compliance with flotation,
generally accepted construction standards, improper documentation and
a host of other things. I have even seen this while getting my own
boats inspected, I keep my mouth shut there though. I know it would be
almost impossible to regulate the builders, but waiting for something
terrible to happen so "natural selection" (extreme litigation) put the
idiots out of business does not seem the way to go either. Joe Schmo
can not build a train and or an auto and put it on the road or the
track, why should a boat be any different?
Just thinking out loud, Scotty from, well, you know.