T&T: T&T Seaworthy Trawlers

[Roger Bingham]

Marin wrote
> I think this allows one to more accurately compare boats that
> are intended for a particular use.  Let's say someone is
> shopping for a trawler-type boat to use only on the inside
> waters of the Pacific Northwest.  That person wants a safe,
> stable, seaworthy boat obviously, but using a Nordhavn as the
> baseline for this won't help him much (unless he specifically
> wants and can afford a Nordhavn).  Maybe what he wants to
> know is how an older Grand Banks design compares to an older
> Nordic Tug design in terms of seaworthiness?  What he means
> is seaworthiness in the conditions in which he's going to be
> boating.  The answer that "well, neither one of them is as
> seaworthy as a Nordhavn" doesn't really tell him what he
> wants to know.  What he wants to know is if x-model Grand
> Banks and y-model Nordic Tug can safely handle the conditions
> he's going to encounter and if one will do better in this
> regard than the other.  That's why I prefer to include the
> boat's intended operating environment in the description of
> its seaworthiness. The fellow shopping for a towboat to push
> barges on the Mississippi doesn't need to know how the boat
> will handle the Bering Sea in the winter, so there's not much
> point in rating its seaworthiness on the same scale as a
> crabber's.  There is a point, however, in rating its
> seaworthiness against a towboat of a different design.  So
> one towboat could be extremely seaworthy, the other less so.
> On the river.  They could both be deathtraps out in the Gulf.

Hi All

OK. So how do you feel about the EU RCD categories for recreational boats?
Does this do the job?

EU Recreational Craft Directive
Applies to all pleasure vessels 2.5m - 24.0m built in the EU or imported
into the EU after 16th June 1998. This gives you a yardstick against which
to measure the suitability of a new craft against your own requirements.
Obviously it can only give you a guide and remember that these are minimum
standards, but if you are considering two seemingly similar vessels each
having different RCD categories, it opens up a series of questions to put to
manufacturers to lead you towards the one which really should fulfil your
needs.

CATEGORY	SUITABILITY			MEAN WAVE HEIGHTS
A		Ocean				More than 4 metres (13' 1")
B		Offshore			Up to 4 metres (13' 1")
C		Inshore			Up to 2 metres (6' 7")
D		Sheltered Waters		Up to 0.5 metre (1' 8")

Regards

Roger Bingham
France