LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
“BUILT TO ABYC STANDARDS”:
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
My wife and I are planning to buy
a trawler, and for the past two years
we have been busily researching
the various possibilities on the
market. Purchasing a new boat is an
alternative that we are considering,
and recently we have come across the
statement “built to ABYC standards.”
What are builders implying when
they make this claim? We have learned
that new boats sold in Europe
must comply with the European
CE construction standards, and we
are anxious to learn if equivalent
regulations and standards exist for
the U.S. boat market.
Thank you for your consideration.
John and Paulette Lee
Little Silver, New Jersey
ABYC, which stands for American
Boat & Yacht Council, is an industry
body that has been around for more
than 50 years. (To read an article
I wrote about ABYC and how it
works, see PMM June ’04.) Since
its inception, the ABYC has arguably
been the single largest factor in
influencing the construction and
design of boats built in the United
States and elsewhere, particularly
in the last two decades.
ABYC’s standards and reports
(of which there are more than 65),
officially titled Standards & Technical
Information Reports for Small Craft,
are produced and updated annually
in book, CD, and online format. They
are available in their entirety only
to ABYC members; however, select
individual chapters or standards may
be purchased from ABYC ( abycinc.org)
by nonmembers. Anyone can access
the ABYC website to determine where
the nearest member boatyard or
individual ABYC-certified technicians
are, or to find out if the builder of
your current or prospective vessel
or the manufacturer of a piece of
equipment you are considering
purchasing is a member. The popularity
of ABYC has grown markedly in the
marine industry, so much so that I
believe it’s safe to say it is the odd
industry professional or organization
that has not heard of ABYC and the
role it plays in setting standards. This
has had an immeasurably positive
effect on the marine industry and the
products it builds.
It’s important to remember
that ABYC standards are strictly
voluntary. There is no law that
says builders or yards must comply
with any or all of the standards
and reports, and nobody polices
compliance or assertions of
compliance. In many cases,
particularly for gasoline-powered
vessels, the standards do mirror the
Code of Federal Regulations (CFR),
which is federally mandated law.
For the average recreational diesel-powered vessel, however, ABYC
guidelines are just that: voluntary
guidelines. Having said that, it’s also
important to point out that I, PMM,
and many boatbuilders and yards
treat these guidelines very seriously
and either utilize them or strongly
advocate their use. When I managed a
boatyard, my mandate was that ABYC
guidelines were to be followed; if they
could not be followed, there had to be
a compelling reason why.
Very few boats meet every guideline.
The National Marine Manufacturers
Association (NMMA) has established
a program that’s referred to as the
Yacht Certification Program. Using
select ABYC and CFR guidelines ( 38
at last count), the Yacht Certification
Program establishes a worthwhile
measure of quality and safety for
boatbuilders and consumers alike.
If the boat you are considering
purchasing carries NMMA Yacht
Certification approval, that’s an
excellent indication of the builder’s
willingness to meet a high standard
that’s verifiable. Upon successful “type
inspection” by a NMMA inspector, the
vessel class will receive NMMA Yacht
Certification. (More information
on this program is available at
nmma.org/certification/standards.)
Now on to the meat of your
question: just what does a boatbuilder
or boatyard mean when it says, “built
(or repaired/installed) to ABYC
standards”? Unfortunately, there’s
no clear answer. I have encountered
builders and yards that use the term
somewhat loosely. This does a
disservice to those who follow the
protocol more strictly and diminishes
the credibility and importance of
meeting ABYC standards. Remember,
there are scores of standards, all of
which are important, but many of
which may not apply to the vessel you
are thinking of buying (for instance,
the outboard engine standard,
S- 12, and “Gasoline Fuel Systems,”
Standard H- 24, probably aren’t
relevant when building a 48-foot
trawler). There are, however, standards
that are critical to the seaworthiness
and safety of vessels of the type you
are probably considering, and these
are the ones that builders may
be referencing in their literature
(such as Standard A- 1, “LP Gas
Systems”; Standard E- 11, “AC
and DC Electrical Systems”; and
Standard H- 27, “Seacocks”).
Unless you ask, there’s no way to be
certain which standards builders are
claiming to meet, and because there
are no compliance police, there’s no
way to be certain that builders are in
fact conforming to the standards
with which they claim compliance,
short of a survey or inspection
by a knowledgeable individual. My
suggestion is this: whenever you see
or hear the phrase “built to ABYC
standards,” you should ask exactly
which ABYC standards the builder
is claiming to comply with. If you
are seriously considering purchasing
