How to start a boat building/manufacturing business.

Everything Boat Building Don't tell me that I can't. Tell me how I can.
I can also be found on Pinterest Instagram Linkedin	Custom Search
Help keep this website free. We gratefully accept donations of $5.00. or less. If you appreciate this website and it has helped you in your boat building business, or as a boat owner, please consider donating to keep this site free. Donations will be used for the maintenance and updating of this site and to pay our Internet Service Provider for the site space and domain. Thank you for your donation.
The entire Electrical Pages, Capacity and Flotation Course, Gasoline Fuel Systems, Engines and Related Systems, and supporting spreadsheets, of this website may be purchased and downloaded. They are in ebook PDF format and the spreadsheets are in excel. Payment is through PAYPAL Go to the store here
Disclaimer: I am not a spokesperson for the US Coast Guard or ABYC. For an official interpretation of regulations or standards you must contact the US Coast Guard or other organization referenced.. More.....

Chart Of US Federal Regulations

For Canada,
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/marinesafety/tp-tp1332-menu-521.htm

For other imported boats Look here:

For Europe go to
Ike's List or the Recreational Craft Directive.
https://ec.europa.eu/growth/single-market/european-standards/harmonised-standards/recreational-craft_en

For U. S. builders Start Here.

1. Read The Business of Boatbuilding and Legal Stuff for information on running a boat building business.

2. USCG Certified? Read about: How do I get my boats certified by the US Coast Guard?

3. View the USCG video, So You Want To Be A Boatbuilder? at the right. You can also download it. It is an .swf file and runs in Adobe Flash Player This file is virus free however, you should run a virus scan when you download files. It is available in mov format. This may be copied and distributed free, but not be sold.
uscg_boatbuilder.mpg uscg_boatbuilder.mov

So You Want To be A Boatbuilder?
Courtesy the US Coast Guard

See the US Coast Guard's Safety Afloat Website

Link to the current
US COAST GUARD BOATING SAFETY CIRCULAR(current information for boat manufacturers)

4. Go to the Coast Guard website at Safety Afloat and take the MIC certification course. It's free. On completion you will be allowed to apply for a Manufacturer's Identification Code. Or you can call the U S Coast Guard at 202-372-1052.

Or E-Mail the US Coast Guard at micapp@uscg.mil This e-mail address is for MIC applications only.

5. Look at the Boat Builders Tool Kit and the Boatbuilder's Handbook on the Safety Afloat Website

For any other issue related to recreational boat manufacturer compliance with U.S. Coast Guard safety requirements email rbscompliance@uscg.mil

For general inquiries call 202-372-1077

Or write to:

Commandant
U.S. Coast Guard
Chief, Recreational Boating Product Assurance Branch (CG-BSX-23)
Office of Auxiliary and Boating Safety
2703 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20593-7501

Read the history behind the regulation of recreational boats: Here

Look at the top row of the chart below for the type of boat you are building. Move down to see which regulations apply. Click on Yes to read about the regulation. Click on the pontoon boat, sailboat, inflatable, or canoe for information on this type of boat,.

	Manually Propelled	Out board Power	Stern drives	In boards	Multi hulls	Sail boats	Canoes kayaks	Inflatable
Boat Type
HINs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Labels	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes If Gas IB	Yes If Gas IB	No	Yes
Safe HP	No 2HP or less	Yes	No	No	No	No	No	No
Safe Load	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Flota-tion	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No	No	No
Fuel System	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes If Gas IB	Yes If Gas IB	No	Yes If Gas IB
Elect System	No	No	Yes	Yes	Yes If Gas IB	Yes If Gas IB	No	Yes if Gas IB
Vent-ilation	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes if Gas IB	Yes If Gas IB	No	Yes If Gas IB
Recalls	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Nav Lts	No	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes

Regulations Not In the Chart Above:

Imported Boats: See the HIN page

Start-In-Gear Protection: outboard motors with greater than 115 lb. of thrust. (Over 2 HP = 1.5 KW)

Engine Cut Off Switch/Kill Switch, Less Than 26 Ft, Propulsion Machinery capable of more than 115 lb thrust (approx 3 HP) includes outboards, inboards, sterndrives and jet boats.

EPA - Evaporative Emissions for boat fuel systems

EPA - Exhaust Emissions for Boats.

Boats marked "For Commercial Use Only"

This Web site may contain copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material available in my efforts to advance understanding of educational, economic, and scientific issues, etc. I believe this constitutes a "fair use" of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this Web site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit educational purposes. For more information see: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this Web site for purposes of your own that go beyond "fair use", you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.