Boat builder's ABP information
What boat builder's need to know
Which vessels have to be fitted with an ABP?
The vessels required to be fitted with an ABP are all recreational vessels that began building on or after 2 September 2006 that are either offered for sale to the public for the first time (including such vessels that are imported), or for which an application for registration for the 1st time in WA is being made, except:
- 2nd hand vessels. Second hand vessels do not require an ABP to be fitted when they are sold or registered. A vessel does not become 2nd hand (and so might still require an ABP to be fitted at first sale or first registration) if:
- it was used only whilst being built or tested;
- it was used only in the course of selling it, such as demonstrating it or transporting it for sale;
- it was used only by the builder (including an owner-builder) or marine dealer or agent; or
- a builder sells it to another marine dealer or agent for subsequent sale (Note that even though this sale is not the 1st sale to the public, the vessel still has to have an ABP fitted at this sale. The boat does not become 2nd hand by this sale.)
- Other vessels that are not “conventional” (some jet skis designed to carry more than 2 persons, amphibious craft, hydrofoils, hovercraft, submersibles or similar).
- Vessels that are not fitted with motors for propulsion (canoes, kayaks, pedal boats, rowing shells, surf skis, sailboards, sail kites).
- Sailing boats (primary means of propulsion is by sail) with or without auxiliary propulsion.
- Vessels which already have some suitable safety information marked (most jet skis, some inflatable boats).
- Vessels intended for export outside Australia (if the vessel is going to be registered in another Australian State or Territory, the ABP might have to be fitted in that other State or Territory).
- Vessels used only for racing in organised racing events.
- Vessels issued with a Certificate of Survey (commercial vessels).
Special cases
Owner builders are required to fit an ABP to the vessel that they build if it is built (The date of build is the date when the keel is laid (not often applicable to smaller vessels) or when at least 1% of the structure of the completed vessel is constructed AND when the vessel is identifiable as a particular vessel type. For practical purposes for vessels of less than about 12 metres long, this can be interpreted as roughly: For vessels of steel, aluminium or wood, the laying of the keel or fabrication of some frames, and in fibreglass, after the first layer of glass has been "laid-up" in or on the mould) on or after 2 September 2006.
Despite the vessel not being for sale, owner builders rely on designs about which they might not have all design information, or which they might modify slightly to suit their needs. These modifications may alter the designer’s intention as to carrying capacity or maximum outboard power or outboard weight.
If owner builders actually design the vessel, then the owner builders may have to either calculate and/or test the vessel themselves. Alternatively, owner builders might engage someone familiar with a boat design and construction standard to do this for them and to attest this information on the ABP.
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Craft that DO NOT require an ABP
- a vessel that is issued with a Certificate of Survey – note that “Survey Exempt” vessels do require an ABP, (Check with the Commercial Vessel Safety Branch if a Certificate of Survey has been issued. If the certificate has expired the vessel still does not require an ABP) .
- vessels issued with a Permit as a commercial vessel, (Check with the Commercial Vessel Safety Branch if a Permit has been issued. If the Permit has expired the vessel still does not require an ABP).
- a second hand vessel,
- a vessel built only for export from Australia,
- a vessel that was imported into Australia from New Zealand. (Most vessels from New Zealand will probably have an ABP fitted anyway).
- a vessel that was built exclusively for racing in organised events, (this includes the use of the vessel in trials, practice, training and transport. Racing in organised events generally means events organised, scheduled, advertised and overseen by a racing club or association).
- an amphibious vehicle, (eg. army “duck” or DUKW, or a “Lighter, Amphibious Resupply Cargo” Vessel or LARC)
- a canoe, kayak or surf ski or similar vessel designed to be powered by paddle. (Powered by paddle means exclusively by paddle).
- a pedal powered boat,
- a personal watercraft that is designed to carry no more than two persons,
- a personal watercraft that is designed to carry three or more persons and the following information is written on or attached to the vessel in a clearly visible place:
- the total weight of persons and equipment that the vessel may carry (expressed in kilograms), as recommended by the builder of the vessel; and
- the maximum number of persons the vessel may carry, as recommended by the builder of the vessel.
- a rowing shell used for racing, or rowing training,
- a sailboard or sail kite or other similar vessel,
- a surf row boat,
- a hydrofoil or hovercraft,
- a sailing vessel, being a vessel that has sail as the primary means of propulsion, with or without an auxiliary means of mechanical propulsion,
(For a sailing vessel to be considered as a vessel “primarily” propelled by sail, there is no conclusive test and includes the intention of the owner. However, if all of the following are answered by “yes”, then the vessel probably is of a type that is propelled “primarily” by sail:
- Is the vessel fitted with a sail rig (mast, stays, shrouds, halyards, sheets, cleats and/or winches) that extends from stem to stern?
- Does the sail area alone exceed the profile area of the hull and deck-mounted structures (excluding the sails)?
- Is the vessel hull fitted with a keel that extends below the mechanical propulsor?
- Does the design and construction standard used to design the vessel define the vessel as a sailing vessel? ISO 12217 for sailing craft defines a sailing vessel as one where the sail area in square metres is more than 0.07 times the fully loaded mass (displacement) in kilograms raised to the power of two-thirds)
- If an owner intended to use a vessel primarily as a sailing vessel, this
could still be a sailing vessel, but this 
would not be.
- a submersible,
- an aquatic toy, being an object designed primarily for play in or on water, for example:
- an object designed solely to be towed behind a recreational vessel, or
- an inflatable boat to which ISO 6185 Inflatable boats, as in force on 2 September 2006, does not apply. (Such as inflatable tubes, ski-biscuits, Hot Dogs, wakeboards, and other towable toys)
- an inflatable boat to which ISO 6185 Inflatable boats, as in force on 2 September 2006, applies and which:
- has a plate attached to it in accordance with European Directive 94/25/EC – Recreational Craft Directive that certifies that the vessel complies with the requirements of that Directive, or
- has a plate attached to it in accordance with the requirements of the US National Marine Manufacturers Association set out in the NMMA Certification Handbook (as in force on 2 September 2006) that certifies that the vessel complies with the requirements of that Handbook.
- a vessel that had reached a stage of construction before 2 September 2006 where the keel was laid, or where:
- the vessel was identifiable as a vessel of a particular type, and
- a part of the vessel had been fabricated and assembled that had a mass of at least one per cent of the mass of all structural material of the proposed completed vessel.
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Builders selling to dealers
Mass produced vessels may be sold to marine dealers, agents, distributors or brokers who may then outfit the vessels, or modify them to suit particular buyers. These vessels are deemed to be sold from the manufacturer to the dealer, and so must be fitted with an ABP at the time they are sold to the dealer (or agent / distributor / broker). However, the vessels don’t become 2nd hand by such a sale.
If the dealer modifies the vessel before on-selling it to a customer, then the dealer must make sure that any modification done to the vessel does not make the information on the ABP invalid. For example, the dealer may fit side screens to a centre-console steering position, or fit a kill tank in the deck.
These modifications can affect the carrying capacity of the vessel. However, rather than re-checking the vessel design to determine what the new load carrying capacity might be, if it has changed, dealers and manufacturers may work together.
A manufacturer with a high level of service for its dealers will test the various models of vessel that it manufactures. The manufacturer could determine what the biggest side screen area, height and weight might be that can be retro-fitted to the standard vessel without altering the carrying capacity of the vessel. In fact, the manufacturer could sell each vessel with a list of standard modifications and resultant ABP specifications to help its dealers and agents provide the end customer with correct vessel information on the ABP.
Where manufacturers do not provide this level of service, or where dealers and agents modify vessels other than as provided for by the manufacturer, then the dealer or agent must assess the vessel (or have the vessel assessed by someone else) and fit an ABP with the corrected information. Corrected information may be provided by removing the existing plate and replacing it, or by clearly and legibly modifying the information on the existing plate.
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Who can fit an ABP to a vessel?
The ABP may be fitted by anyone, but the information on the plate must be accurate, and the person attesting the accuracy of the information must be the person listed on the plate where “Builder” normally appears. The title of the person reflects their capacity to approve the information on the plate. For example, the plate could be marked:
- Built by ABC Boats;
- Imported by FIRB Importers; or
- Information approved by Bill Smith, Marine Surveyor.
Generally, the vessel’s builder or importer is considered to be a competent person to appear as the approving person on the ABP. The builder or importer (or dealer modifying the vessel to an extent that the fitted ABP is inaccurate) might not be familiar with the design and construction standard quoted on the ABP (or other standard that may be quoted on an ABP). In such a case, the builder, importer or dealer may engage another competent person to assess the vessel. The name of that competent person should then appear on the ABP. Should there be any problem with the data on the ABP, that competent person will be accountable, and must therefore not be a person or entity outside of Australia.
Competent persons will not be accredited or listed by the Department of Transport or the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection (DoCEP). As a guide, a competent person would have acquired through training, qualification, experience or a combination of these, the knowledge and skills to competently determine and approve the information on an ABP.
Such people might be sought from among:
- Vessel designers, builders, repairers or persons involved in modification of vessels;
- Importers of vessels;
- Naval Architects; or,
- Marine Surveyors or Marine Consultants.
How will the ABP be enforced?
Department of Consumer and Employment Protection (DoCEP) – Product Information Standard
The ABP must be fitted to new vessels (unless they are of the type that don’t require an ABP) when they are first sold or offered to be sold to the public by a builder, importer or dealer. DoCEP officers have the power to ensure that goods sold commercially comply with product information standards called up by the WA Fair Trading Act in the Fair Trading (Product Information Standard) Regulations 2005.
Department of Transport - Pleasure vessel registration
Pleasure vessels have to be registered before they may be used in Western Australia. The Department's staff will be asking persons registering their new vessel for the first time in Western Australia when their vessel began construction, and if construction commenced on or after 2 September, they will ask if an ABP is fitted to the vessel. If an ABP is not fitted, then the following will apply:
- Where a builder or dealer (or an owner-builder) tries to register a new vessel without an ABP, registration will be refused.
- Where a person who purchased a new vessel in good faith tries to register it without an ABP, but there is no reason to suspect that the vessel is unsafe for any reason, and there is no specific campaign in respect of the ABP to achieve compliance, then the person will be permitted to register the vessel. The name of the person who sold the vessel without a plate will be referred to DoCEP.
The Department and Fisheries Officers – Enforcement
The ABP Standard is intended to apply at the point of first sale and is product information only. Vessels will not be checked on the water to determine if the ABP is fitted and accurate (unless the vessel is already being investigated by DoCEP), and vessels will not be checked to determine if the vessel is being used by its owner in conformance with its ABP.
If an owner uses a vessel contrary to the information on the ABP, that itself is not an offence. Should an accident occur as a demonstrable consequence of overloading or overpowering that vessel, the boat builder and retailer are protected to the extent that they have built and sold a vessel that complies with a design standard, and they have warned the user as to its operational limitations.
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Other matters
Foam Buoyancy – Type
The ABP standard does not stipulate what type of buoyancy is required to be fitted to a vessel.
If a dealer or builder finds that the vessel requires floatation (or additional floatation), and foam is used to provide that floatation, then it is strongly recommended that the foam be fuel resistant (such as listed on the NMSC website). The products on the NMSC website meet certain performance requirements to enable them to be listed on the NMSC web page, and they can be found under the heading of “Compliant Equipment” at the National Marine Safety Committee. The suppliers’ contact details are included in the listing.
Builders of aluminium boats should ensure that they are not inadvertently promoting corrosion by fitting foam buoyancy. Builders should check with the foam or aluminium supplier if fitting pre-expanded foam or expanding the foam in-situ is recommended. Without specific advice from the foam or aluminium supplier, it is good practice to avoid direct contact between the aluminium and the foam.
Standards
One should not confuse a Design and Construction standard with the ABP Standard. The ABP Standard is simply a document that describes the Australian Builders Plate, what should be on the plate, what vessels it applies to, where it should be fitted and other details about the plate itself.
A design and construction standard (such as Australian Standard 1799) details how to assess the carrying capacity of a vessel, how to conduct stability tests, etc, on the design side, and on the construction side - the minimum size of ventilators to engine compartments, the arrangement of exhaust systems etc.
The three main Design and Construction standards that a builder is likely to consider when assessing the carrying and powering capacity of a vessel are Australian Standards, American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) standards, and International Standards Organisation standards (ISO). Both Australian and International standards may be purchased at Standards Australia and the ABYC standards may be purchased at the American Boat and Yacht Council. Some websites require the purchaser to become a member of the organisation before they may purchase a standard.
Note that the ABP says nothing about build quality or hull strength (though a builder would presumably ensure the transom can take the forces that an outboard is likely to place on the transom). The ABP only gives customers essential information about carrying capacity, outboard engine power and weight, and for vessels under 6 metres the standard of buoyancy. The customer will obviously consider all things about the vessel when making a purchasing decision - the vessel's capacity and power, but also fit-out quality, amenity, appearance, and if they hire a surveyor to examine the vessel, the machinery and construction quality as well.
Find out more
If you or your customers have any other questions about the ABP, and the question relates to;
- the ABP standard itself, or its history or its intent, then the most appropriate body to contact is the NMSC in Sydney on (02) 9247 2124.
- the way in which the ABP is being implemented in Western Australia, then people could telephone the Department.
- instances where an ABP is not being fitted when it should be, or if it is suspected that the information on an ABP might be incorrect, people may contact DoCEP (Angelo Barbaro, Senior Compliance Officer) on 9282 4349.
- a technical matter about the boat building standards themselves, these are best directed to an established boat builder or designer, a naval architect or a marine surveyor. The NMSC may also be contacted. There is also a website discussion group about the ABP and design and construction standards at www.yahoogroups.com.
For further details about the ABP, you might like to refer to the NMSC website.
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