A Safe New Year

If you believe the clickbait on social media, a “New Year” means a “New You.” And while the American Boat & Yacht Council has been around for many years — and takes pride in evolving over the decades to reflect an ever-changing industry — that didn’t happen overnight.

They always say a “New You” starts with new habits. So after we white-boarded ABYC’s staff resolutions this year, we thought we might share with you our top standards resolutions.

Lose Weight

For a vast majority, time equals weight gain, and the same holds true for boats. Boats are designed with a specific and recommended load rating. We remind boatbuilders that new options and changes in the manufacturing process often add weight to the boat over time. ABYC Standard H-5, Boat Load Capacity, updated in 2021, addresses maximum weight and person capacity. As your boat gains weight, it can affect the posted maximum and persons load capacity if tolerances were not included in the design. Check your finished boat weights with all factory available options and compare this to the weight used for setting your posted capacities.

Quit Smoking

ABYC is working with the industry to minimize fires on board. ABYC A-4, Fire Fighting Equipment, requires fire detection in boats with enclosed accommodation compartments and a separate sleeping space. These systems may be battery-powered or hardwired and should be checked annually — dewinterization is a great time for service techs to tackle this — to make sure they are functioning properly. Spring launch is also a great time to check carbon monoxide detectors for proper function and to make sure they are not beyond their expiration date. Doing so could save a customer and crew their lives.

Get Organized

We all know that designing and building a boat is a complicated process, and that when you are done you may have to prove the boat complies with federal regulations and 1,200 pages of ABYC standards. To make this a little easier, take advantage of ABYC’s technical tools, starting with “The Checklist.” The ABYC checklist helps your teams verify and document compliance throughout the design/build. Learn more at abycinc.org/TechnicalToolbox.

Learn a New Skill

While this column is dedicated to educating the industry about the ABYC standards, we’d be remiss if we didn’t discuss ways to achieve this simple yet extremely important resolution. If you work in the industry, it’s easy to learn a new skill. Various manufacturers and organizations offer continuing education and trade skills training. Technical training abounds in the industry, including within ABYC’s website (abycinc.org). Maybe this is the year you or one of your team members receives an ABYC Standards Certification.

Reduce Stress

Some people reduce stress by meditating, while others prefer a more aggressive approach of lifting, pulling or pushing something. ABYC standards have a couple of requirements where you can push or pull yourself to a lower stress level. We will start light. Can that 16 AWG electrical conductor crimp hold 15 pounds for one minute? Next, pull a 100-pound tangential load to test that hydraulic steering system. Now it is time to push on the seat back with 253 pounds without failure. Work your hands and pull 400 pounds on a handheld device in any direction without failure. Lastly, does your seacock assembly hold 500 pounds?

Adopt a Positive Mindset

Battery standards have remained fairly consistent for the last couple of decades. However, lithium-ion batteries have come on the scene with a spark. ABYC this year, through its Electrical Project Technical Committees, updated the existing Technical Information Report (TE-13) to create a new standard, E-13, Lithium-Ion Batteries. It addresses selection and installation of lithium-ion batteries on boats, lithium-ion battery system design (e.g., house battery bank, cranking, propulsion), and manufacturer safety information. With the increased use of lithium-ion batteries on boats, make sure your installations comply with E-13.

Let Go of Toxic Relationships

Updated in 2021, H-2, Ventilation of Boats Using Gasoline, addresses expelling or diluting potentially explosive gasoline vapor from a boat’s engine compartment. Make this the year that you help your customers avoid hot boxing the family by reviewing this standard, and related standards, in their entirety. Confirm the correct warning labels, use properly rated blowers and thoughtfully design ventilation systems. Ensure the system is not restricted, that there are no sags in the ventilation ducts, and anything else the H-2 Standard requires.

Learn a New Language

We don’t need DuoLingo for this. In 2022, the ABYC PTCs settled on a standard for universal warning labels with S-32, Warnings and Safety Signs for Boats. The standard identifies the top contributing factors for accidents and provides vetted language and pictograms for these warning topics. Covering specific locations on the boat from helm to transom, these warning labels address items from carbon monoxide danger to the international symbol for “don’t hang your feet over a moving propeller.” Take the guesswork out of your warning labels and use something tried and true from S-32.

Learn to Cook

Standards such as A-3, Cooking Appliances, exist for the manufacturer and boater. Learning to cook is one thing. Learning to cook on a boat is another. Because boats rock and roll, cooking appliances on boats require special design and installation considerations. To address this, A-3 now applies to all cooking appliances, except microwave ovens, whether they are in the galley, cockpit or on flybridge. Be sure to review models currently in production to make sure the electric grill in the cockpit complies. When someone wants to install the flame-thrower 7000 grill, you can let them know a standard exists for that.

Spend More Time With Friends and Family

As we know, boating is perfect for family outings and entertaining friends. At its core, ABYC is all about supporting the industry to make boating safe, reliable and enjoyable. In 2023, we propose a resolution for you to get involved in standards development if you are not already. We need participation from all fields in the industry as we work together to keep people in boating with the best experiences and memories. 

Sarah Devlin is accreditation director for ABYC.

This article was originally published in the January 2023 issue.