Vessel Certification & Mast Failure Related Fatalities

I was reading an article on a website that brought up the fact that in order to run charters in a vessel in US waters it must meet the minimum U.S. Coast Guard Regulations. Since there is a chance that I may run charters in my Catamaran, I will be looking for one that is USCG certified. There is a CE Certification that is required for all recreational boats entering or being sold in the European Union. As it turns out, the NMMA verifies annually, or whenever a new boat model is introduced, to determine that they satisfy not only the minimum U.S. Coast Guard Regulations but also the more rigorous standards based on those established by the American Boat & Yacht Council. So it appears that the CE Certification kills two birds with one stone.

I don’t expect to be circumnavigating for a long time. I am a ways away from retiring, and as a result it will be difficult to take any long journeys. I suspect I won’t make it to Europe on my 1^st Cat, however just in case I will be looking for boats that meet the USCG and or the CE certification. The NMMA certification information can be found here. This web site also has a chart that compares the U.S. Coast Guard Regulations to the higher standards used by NMMA to inspect and certify boats.

There is also a list of certified boats, however I don’t see any sailing catamarans manufacturers on the list. According to the PDQ web site, the PDQ Antares 44i is CE Certified Category A Ocean and they even let you see their certificate. So why are all the Catamaran manufacturers missing from the list? I suspect that most Cats are certified. I just checked out the Lagoon and the 500 is CE Certified/EEC Certificate. I would hate to buy a Cat only to find out it will not pass USCG Certification.

It appears that the Coast Guard will inspect your craft but the certification may be limited. In the report mentioned below theirs was only good for 5 years. At least that is what I am reading from this tragic story where a sailing catamaran on a whale watching tour lost it’s mast and eventually sank. One life was lost and 50 were saved. Apparently the crew was unable to detach the rigging from the broken mast and the boat was drug under the water and eventually sank. I suspect newer cats would not suffer the same fate, but regardless perhaps adding bolt cutters to your emergency supplies list would have helped in this case.

From a couple other stories I ran across today, the Mast can be a deadly weapon. Perhaps sticking to the upwind side of the craft is a good idea when you are on a boat that you are not familiar with. You might want to ask if the boat has a valid USCG or CE Certificate, although this doesn’t mean accidents won’t happen. You just never know when your time is up. It can happen at anytime. Just be careful, make good decisions and make the best of life. What else can you do.