With this issue of Soundings Trade Only, the technical department at the American Boat & Yacht Council is launching a series of columns to highlight important points related to the boatbuilding and repair standards updated annually for ABYC’s Standards and Technical Information Reports for Small Craft.

ABYC’s primary goal is to keep boating safe, reliable and enjoyable through standards and education. This column is an additional way to communicate with you so we can better work together as an industry. We want you to be involved in the conversation and in the development of the standards.

Over the course of each year, the ABYC meets with approximately 400 marine industry professionals and stakeholders to review existing standards and to discuss potential new standards to keep pace with our evolving boatbuilding and repair industry. These Project Technical Committees (PTCs) meet on a regular basis throughout the year and are populated by volunteers with a vested interest in addressing new technology and enhancing safety on the water.

The PTCs include Aquatic Invasive Species, Boat Service, Control Systems, Electrical, Electrical Components, Engine and Powertrain, Firefighting and Detection Systems, Fuel and Ventilation Systems, Hull and Deck Structures, Hull Performance, Hull Piping, Navigation Lights and Sound Signal Appliances, On-Water Education, Product Interface, and Thermal Appliance.

We continually discuss how the standards can and will address changing industry trends and real-world experiences. Creating new standards or updating existing standards does not happen quickly but, rather, requires industry input, vigilant testing and consideration for real-world practices.

A case in point is the growing demand for integrated electric/electronic steering and propulsion controls. In 2020, ABYC worked closely with the Control Systems PTC to combine two of its existing standards (P-24, Electric/Electronic Propulsion Control Systems, and P-27, Electric/Electronic Steering Control Systems) to publish a new standard, P-28, Electric/Electronic Control Systems for Propulsion and Steering. While P-28 creates a one-stop shop for electric/electronic controls, it also addresses areas in systems that P-24 and P-27 (first published in 1997 and 2007, respectively) did not cover, such as joystick controls and dynamic positioning. P-28 now provides requirements for wireless controls, and it addresses neutral hold mechanism requirements and a “zone of protection,” both of which were in concert with similar requirements in P-14, Mechanical Propulsion Control Systems, also updated in 2020.

Zone of protection is a not a dimensioned zone but, rather, boat design features that minimize interference with the installed control’s range of operation. It is broken down into two main elements: accessories or components installed near controls, and passenger mobility around controls.

The first element concerns installed accessories or components interfering with the propulsion control. These accessories include, but are not limited to, seats, canopies and such items as GPS units. A prime example is the helm seat that would push a binnacle-style control from neutral to forward when reclined and rotated. With the new standard, installers must evaluate interference for the entire functional range of the control lever, as well as accessory and component range of motion.

The second element of the zone of protection for controls relates to the actions and movement of people. Controls shall be installed in a location that minimizes any chance of an operator or passenger unintentionally disturbing the controls as they enter, exit, attach docklines or move around the vessel.

For example, in a boat with a center console, the binnacle control is mounted on the vertical face of the console and may project into an area the operator may occupy. P-28 requires that this interaction be minimized by placing the controls in a location that is least likely to be affected by passenger movement.

Both of these elements related to zone of protection have an exception for controls with a neutral-hold mechanism. Previously, the neutral-hold mechanism was required on only side-mounted, single control levers. To keep pace with current boatbuilding and boat-use trends, however, the new P-28 standard requires a neutral-hold mechanism for all single-lever controls on any boat with single propulsion engines. (Flybridges and top-mounted controls that comply with the zone-of-protection requirements are provided an exception in the new standard.)

So what does this really boil down to? The existing standards were reviewed and revised to reflect our evolving industry. Top-mounted (or binnacle-style) single-engine controls must comply with all zone-of-protection requirements or have a neutral-hold mechanism. To allow time to comply from the 2020 publication, the PTC for both P-28 and P-14 included a two-year compliance date of Aug. 1, 2022.

This is one example of how ABYC standards evolve. We depend on feedback from experts to create these standards, and the standards would not exist without the input, support and participation of the PTC industry volunteers.

For more information about the standards process, visit abycinc.org

Standards Week
Annually, the ABYC Technical Department hosts in- person meetings with Project Technical Committees during Standards Week in January. In 2023, Standards Week will take place in New Orleans Jan. 9-13. The PTCs will meet to continue discussing the following: Firefighting and Detection Systems, A-4, C-10 (UL110); Electrical, E-11 (T/A), Breakers, Wire Sizing, Cathodic Protection, Autotransformers, Digital Switching; Fuel and Ventilation; Control Systems, A-33, P-17, P-18, P-22, P-28; and Thermal Appliance, A-1, A-6, A-22, A-26, A-30.

For more information, visit ABYCstandardsweek.com.

Brian Goodwin is technical director for the American Boat & Yacht Council.

This article was originally published in the December 2022 issue.