It's simple:

If you discover that your boat has a safety defect you have to;

1. . Tell the Coast Guard. 202-372-1073  or FAX 202-372-1934

or write to:  Commandant G-PCB-3, US Coast Guard, 2100 Second St SW Washington DC, 20593

2. Determine what boats are affected and how many.

3. Determine how to fix the problem.

This means:

You have to keep a list of people who bought the boats.

4. Notify all of the people who bought the boats from you.

5. Fix the problem.

6. Pay the cost to fix them, including transportation if necessary.

If the Coast Guard tests your boat and it fails, or if they find a safety defect, or it doesn't comply with the law, they can direct you to do all of the above.

What's a safety defect? Something that can kill or injure you. It doesn't have to be required by a Coast Guard regulation. For instance, if you have AC electric circuits on your boat, and they are not wired correctly, that could be a safety defect. Another example is if your boat collects carbon monoxide in the cabin, that's a safety defect.

Much simpler, is if you violate any of the Federal Regulations, such as not enough flotation, too much horsepower or too large a capacity on the label, those are all safety defects.

So what is not a safety defect? Crazing in the gel coat. An engine that has a bad habit of quitting, or not starting. Something that can cause injury but doesn't sneak up on you, that is, you know it's there but you ignore it until it becomes so bad you have an accident.

A word about defects. What the Coast Guard considers a safety defect changes from time to time. Each case is considered individually. Sometimes things that were not considered a safety defect become a safety defect. For instance up until about 2003 the Coast Guard had never considered hull defects "a defect that creates a substantial risk of injury". Their words. However, in 2004 they directed a major manufacturer of offshore sport fishing boats to recall a specific model because of hull cracks that could result in catastrophic failure, even though the cracks didn't develop "suddenly and without warning" (again their words).

So times change and so do the opinions about what is a safety defect.

Also there are consumer groups, such as the Boat Owners Association of the United States (BOAT/US) that have their own definition of a defect. They can put a tremendous amount of pressure on a manufacturer to fix a problem, even if the coast Guard doesn't require it.

There is a thing in the business world know as "goodwill". Large corporations even place a monetary value on goodwill when the make their financial statements, and when they are selling the company. Goodwill is really the reputation of the company. So remember to protect your reputation, and the best way to do this is to take care of the customer.

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