Bigger is better appears to be a key current glazing trend with ever large pieces of glass being used throughout vessels.
This is evidenced in the latest UK and Italian designs, which incorporate swathes of glass passing down the superstructure spanning main deck saloon, galley and dining areas, points out Trend Marine’s Jim Boulton.
Glazing helps vessel ventilation and also enables maximum light into a vessel.
“Large format single piece screens allow uncluttered panoramic views from the helm,” said Jim. “Switchable glass interior panels offer hi-tech options for separating spaces but allowing light to transmit through the boat.”
The rescue line of the throw bag failed during a boat capsize drill
On the evening of 24 March 2018, the Warrington Rowing Club was carrying out a boat capsize drill in a swimming pool. At around 1830, as a young person was being pulled to the side of the pool using a throw bag rescue line, the line parted. The young person was uninjured during the incident. The parted line was examined and found to be made up of four pieces of rope thermally fused together, and it had failed at one of the joints. A customer notification campaign by the manufacturer, RIBER, and prompt publication of the incident in British Rowing’s newsletter, identified a total of ten throw bags with defective rescue lines. Laboratory tests conducted for the MAIB established that the joined sections were 12 times weaker than the rope itself.
RCR engineers frequently come across vessels with no smoke or CO alarms that have fire risks and ventilation issues.
River Canal Rescue (RCR) is urging boaters to pay more attention to vessel maintenance and safety following an increase in the number of call-outs for faults caused by what it describes as a general lack of maintenance.
In 2016, this amounted to 948 call-outs, in 2017 there were 1031 and in 2018 RCR had 1081 call-outs due to lack of maintenance and safety, together with continuing fires and CO poisoning incidents.
“Boaters who fail to maintain their vessels or pay attention to boat safety put themselves and others at risk,” said RCR operations director, Jay Forman.
The system is designed to augment a captain’s boat handling skills using the system’s Virtual Bumper zone technology around the vessel.
FLIR Systems has launched the Raymarine DockSense assisted docking system, which it bills as the marine industry’s first intelligent object recognition and motion sensing assisted docking solution for recreational boating.
The DockSense system uses FLIR machine vision camera technology and video analytics to integrate intelligence gathered from surrounding imagery with the vessel’s propulsion and steering system to assist boat owners in tight quarter docking manoeuvring.
“Raymarine DockSense assisted docking system embodies our focus on solutions by combining FLIR navigation, machine learning and sensing technologies,” explained Jim Cannon, FLIR president and CEO.
The announcement follows the setting up of Clipper China, Clipper Ventures’ Chinese sail training division aimed to meet the country’s growing participation in offshore sailing.
“The decision to buy the Hamble School of Yachting is part of a wider strategy to develop our offering within the offshore sailing industry,” said Clipper Race chairman and co-founder Sir Robin Knox-Johnston.
A new code came into force on 1 January 2019 allowing pleasure craft to be in temporary commercial use at sea for a number of defined purposes.
The Intended Pleasure Vessels (IPV) Code, which permits the temporary use of pleasure craft in temporary commercial use such as businesses purposes and as race support without the current requirement for inspection, marks a huge step forward for the UK’s leisure marine sector.
Testing, trialling and delivery of sea-going vessels legally will now be cheaper and easier for boatbuilders, brokers, surveyors, repairers, delivery companies and equipment service providers under the exemptions laid out in Part 1 of the new Code. It delivers an easier and clearer way for businesses to comply with regulation and will have resulting, long-term benefits for the end-user.
NTSB determines that the probable cause of the fire onboard Island Lady was Tropical Breeze Casino Cruz’s ineffective preventive maintenance program and insufficient guidance regarding the response to engine high-temperature conditions.
The NTSB has released the official investigation report on the fire onboard the small passenger vessel ‘Island Lady’ on the Pithlachascotee River, near Port Richey, Florida, on 14 January 2018. NTSB held a public meeting in mid-December where it identified insufficient preventative maintenance program and lack of guidance for responding to engine high-temperature conditions as key causes of the accident.
About 1600 on the afternoon of 14 January 2018, a fire broke out in an unmanned space on the small passenger vessel Island Lady near Port Richey, Florida, during a scheduled transit to a casino boat located about 9 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. 53 people were on board the Island Lady. After receiving a high-temperature alarm on the port engine, the captain turned the Island Lady around to return to the dock. During the return trip, smoke began filling the lazarette, main deck, and engine room. The captain deliberately Continue reading “NTSB publishes its official report on Island Lady fire off Florida”
LDC is the UK’s leading mid-market private equity investor
The Canal & River Trust has finalised the sale of its wholly-owned marina subsidiary, BWML, in a transaction that sees Lloyds Development Capital (LDC) invest in the business, supporting the existing management team.
Stuart Mills, Chief Investment Officer at the Canal & River Trust, says: “We are delighted to have completed the sale of BWML and will be investing the proceeds into other income-generating assets to support our core work of caring for the nation’s canals and rivers.
“BWML is performing well and we believe its prospects for future growth are good. Coupled with the expertise of LDC we believe the business will benefit and, by extension, its boating customers will Continue reading “Canal & River Trust finalises sale of BWML”
Known as Project Brio during the build, the highly-anticipated project will cruise as SCOUT upon delivery to her experienced owners in Spring 2019.
Hakvoort Shipyard in Monnickdam, Holland, has successfully launched the yard’s largest project to date. The 63.72-metre explorer yacht SCOUT was designed by renowned British design studio and H2 Yacht Design.
Known as Project Brio during the build, the highly-anticipated project will cruise as SCOUT upon delivery to her experienced owners in Spring 2019.
Measuring 63.72-metres with a beam of 11.6 metres and a draft of 3.25 metres, SCOUT emerged from the Hakvoort shed in Monnickendam in North Holland on 1st December before being towed to Amsterdam for final completion. Amongst the works that will be completed in the Dutch capital is the installation of her mast, crow’s nest, radars, stabilizers and propellers.
As a result, given that the regime will come to an end on 31st December 2018, yacht owners benefitting from the regime must now choose one of a number of different options in order to keep their yachts in Spanish waters.
On 31st December 2018, the Spanish Yacht registration tax relief, which was established in the General Budgets Law passed on 4th July 2018, will come to an end.
The provisions for the Spanish Touristic Registration tax regime are laid down in Royal Decree 1571/1993. It is a sort of Temporary Admission customs regime whereby non-Spanish residents could register a yacht under Spanish flag exempt from VAT (Non-EU residents) or Matriculation Tax (EU residents but not Spanish).
Matriculation Tax is a tax applicable to leisure yachts, new or used, when registered under Spanish flag or when they are intended for use in Spanish territory by individuals or entities residing in Spain or holding establishments located in Spain. The tax levied is 12% of the yacht’s value.
The New Zealand’s national regulatory, compliance and response agency for the safety, security and environmental protection of coastal and inland waterways, MaritimeNZ, has reminded operators of New Zealand that they must install float-free EPIRB distress beacons on commercial fishing vessels by 1 January 2019. The regulation applies to vessels between 7.5 meters and 24 meters operating outside enclosed waters.
Domonic Venz, Maritime NZ’s Assistant Compliance Manager for Southern Region, who has experience in commercial fishing, says, “Float-free EPIRBs really do increase your chances of survival because they call for help when you can’t. It’s easy to get one on your boat”.
In a recent public meeting, the US National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that an insufficient preventative maintenance program and lack of guidance for responding to engine high-temperature conditions were the key causes of the fire aboard the small passenger vessel ‘Island Lady’ in January 2018, carrying over 50 people, that occurred in the waters of the Pithlachascotee River, near Port Ritchey, Florida.
