Small Vessel Regulations (SOR/2010-91)

Hull Design

715 The design of the hull of a pleasure craft that is not more than 6 m in length shall conform to the construction standards for buoyancy, flotation and stability.

• 716 (1) The stability of a vessel other than a pleasure craft shall be adequate to safely carry out its intended operations.

• (2) The owner of a vessel shall demonstrate, on the request of the Minister, that the vessel has adequate stability to safely carry out its intended operations.

• 717 (1) This section applies in respect of a vessel, other than a pleasure craft,

  • (a) whose date of construction, manufacture, rebuilding, importation or change of use, whichever occurs later, is on or after April 1, 2005; and

  • (b) whose date of construction, manufacture, rebuilding, importation or change of use, whichever occurs later, was before April 1, 2005, if the type of operation or the area of operation of the vessel changed on or after April 1, 2005.

• (2) The buoyancy, flotation and stability of a vessel that is not more than 6 m in length shall conform to the construction standards.

• (3) The stability of a vessel that is more than 6 m in length shall conform to

  • (a) the construction standards; or

  • (b) the recommended practices and standards for the type of vessel, other than a monohull vessel.

• (4) The builder, manufacturer, rebuilder or importer of the vessel shall provide the end user or reseller with a document setting out the design limitations of the vessel, if any, including capacity, power and environmental limitations.

Ventilation

• 718 (1) On a vessel, an enclosed space that contains a source of gasoline vapour shall have, in accordance with the construction standards, a natural ventilation system designed to remove any accumulation of combustible vapours.

• (2) A compartment that, in accordance with the construction standards, has the characteristics of an open space is not required to have a natural ventilation system.

• (3) On a vessel that is propelled by an outboard engine, any space that is under an engine well or that does not have the characteristics of an open space, and that is capable of accommodating a 23 L portable gasoline tank but is not designed to do so, shall display a safety notice to indicate that the space is not to be used for gasoline tank storage.

• (4) No supply or exhaust ducting that forms part of the ventilation system shall open into any accommodation space.

719 On a vessel other than a personal watercraft, an enclosed space that contains a gasoline engine shall meet the following conditions:

• (a) its ventilation system shall be supplemented by powered ventilation in accordance with the construction standards; and

• (b) at each engine ignition switch, a safety notice shall be displayed indicating that the blower is to be operated for four minutes before the engine is started and containing the information set out in the construction standards.

720 On a vessel, a space that contains a combustion engine shall be ventilated to ensure a sufficient supply of air for combustion and cooling.

Fuel Systems

• 721 (1) No person shall install a fuel-burning appliance or system on a vessel unless the appliance or system and its installation conform to the recommended practices and standards.

• (2) No person shall install on a passenger-carrying vessel a fuel-burning appliance or system that uses gaseous fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas or naphtha.

• (3) No person shall install a fuel-burning appliance or system that uses gaseous fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas or naphtha on a vessel in a manner that permits or is likely to permit ingress or trapping of the fuel or vapours below deck.

722 No person shall install below deck or enclose by boxing, on a vessel, an inboard engine that uses gasoline as a fuel unless the design of the carburetor or throttle body fuel injector, if any, is in accordance with the construction standards and the carburetor is fitted with a flame arrestor that meets those standards.

723 No person shall install or maintain a fuel tank or a fuel system on a vessel in a manner that permits or is likely to permit leakage of fuel or spillage of fuel.

• 724 (1) A fuel system on a vessel shall be installed, tested and maintained in accordance with the construction standards.

• (2) A fitting, joint or connection on a fuel system shall be accessible.

• (3) A component of a fuel system shall be liquid-tight and vapour-tight to the hull interior in accordance with the construction standards.

• (4) On a vessel other than a personal watercraft, a fuel tank, fuel filter or fuel-line fitting shall not be installed over a source of ignition.

• 725 (1) A fixed fuel tank shall be

  • (a) manufactured and tested in accordance with the construction standards or with the recommended practices and standards that provide a level of safety at least equivalent to that provided by the construction standards; and

  • (b) installed in accordance with the construction standards.

• (2) A fixed fuel tank shall be fitted with filling and venting arrangements in accordance with the construction standards.

726 A fuel system on a vessel shall display, at a point of frequent servicing of the vessel, one or more permanently attached safety notices indicating the precautions that must be taken to minimize the risk of fire, explosion and any other hazard, and containing the information set out in the construction standards.

• 727 (1) A flexible hose in the fuel system shall be marked or tagged in accordance with the construction standards.

• (2) The point of fuelling shall be marked in accordance with the construction standards to indicate the type of fuel to be used.

• (3) A valve in the fuel system shall be marked to indicate its function and the meaning of each valve position.

• (4) A fuel tank shall be permanently marked to indicate the information set out in the construction standards.

Electrical Systems

Standards

• 728 (1) The electrical systems on a vessel shall meet the following requirements:

  • (a) in the case of an electrical system of 50 v or less,

    • (i) the requirements of the construction standards, or

    • (ii) the requirements of American Boat and Yacht Council Standards E-10, Storage Batteries, and E-11, AC and DC Electrical Systems on Boats, with, for a safety notice, the Canadian modification set out in the construction standards; or

  • (b) in the case of an electrical system of more than 50 v,

    • (i) the requirements of American Boat and Yacht Council Standard E-11, AC and DC Electrical Systems on Boats, with, for a safety notice, the Canadian modification set out in the construction standards, or

    • (ii) the requirements of the recommended practices and standards that are appropriate for the system voltage and that provide a level of safety at least equivalent to that provided by Standard E-11.

• (2) Every component of the electrical system shall be accessible and shall be marked with the information and specifications set out in the construction standards.

Batteries and Means of Charging

• 729 (1) A battery shall

  • (a) be installed and secured in accordance with the construction standards and meet the specifications set out in those standards;

  • (b) be accessible; and

  • (c) if it is an engine starting battery, be provided with an automatic means of charging.

• (2) A means of charging a battery shall prevent overcharging.

730 The location in which a battery is installed shall be dry, well-ventilated and above bilge water level.

Ignition Protection

• 731 (1) An electrical component shall be certified by a product certification body or a testing laboratory as being ignition-protected in accordance with

  • (a) Society of Automotive Engineers Recommended Practice SAE J1171, External Ignition Protection of Marine Electrical Devices; or

  • (b) Underwriters Laboratories, Inc. Standard UL 1500, Ignition-Protection Test for Marine Products.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not apply if

  • (a) the vessel uses diesel as its only fuel source;

  • (b) the electrical component is isolated, in accordance with the specifications set out in the construction standards, from fuel sources such as

    • (i) engines and cooking appliances,

    • (ii) valves, connections or other fittings on vent lines, fill lines or distribution lines, and

    • (iii) fuel tanks; or

  • (c) the electrical component is located in a compartment where the only source of flammable vapour is from liquified-petroleum-gas or compressed-natural-gas appliances, cylinders, fittings, valves or regulators, and the compartment

    • (i) has, for every cubic metre of net internal volume, at least 0.34 m² of open area exposed to the atmosphere outside the vessel, or

    • (ii) is an accommodation space.

Emergency Lighting

732 Every vessel, other than a pleasure craft, that is more than 6 m in length shall have emergency lighting installed in accordance with the construction standards to allow passengers and crew to exit from any area of the vessel in case of an emergency.

Machinery Systems

Exhaust Systems

733 Every exhaust system and muffler on a vessel equipped with an inboard or stern-drive engine or a permanently installed auxiliary engine shall prevent the leakage of exhaust gases and shall conform to the construction standards.

Auxiliary Machinery

734 Sections 735 to 739 apply in respect of a vessel, other than a pleasure craft, that is more than 6 m in length.

• 735 (1) Every machinery system on a vessel shall conform to the construction standards.

• (2) Guards shall be installed on a vessel to protect persons from injury where persons may come into contact with moving parts of machinery systems on the vessel.

• (3) Every operating position on a vessel shall be fitted with the instruments and controls set out in the construction standards.

• 736 (1) A watertight compartment on a vessel shall be provided with a means of pumping or with access for bailing when the vessel is in any operating condition, unless the vessel cannot retain a sufficient quantity of water to make it capsize or the compartment is sealed and is not readily accessible.

• (2) If the bilge space on a vessel is not easily visible from the operating position, the space shall, in accordance with the construction standards, be fitted with

  • (a) an automatic high bilge-water alarm; and

  • (b) a bilge pumping system or, in the case of a vessel that is not more than 12 m in length, a permanently installed automatic bilge pump that is connected to an indicator showing when the pump is running and to an overriding manual switch, both of which are to be located at the operating position.

• (3) An automatic bilge pump or a bilge pumping system shall have a minimum capacity of 0.91 L/s.

• 737 (1) A vessel shall be fitted with a safe and reliable main steering gear that is operable from the operating position and capable of manoeuvring the vessel under normal operating conditions.

• (2) The main steering gear shall be protected from obstructions, excessive heat and mechanical wear.

• (3) A vessel shall be fitted with a means of emergency steering in accordance with the construction standards if

  • (a) the vessel is operated in remote areas or areas where help is not readily available; or

  • (b) the main steering gear is fitted with a remote control.

• (4) A means of emergency steering is not required if the vessel is fitted with a main steering arrangement that is

  • (a) a rudder and hand tiller; or

  • (b) an outboard engine or stern-drive.

738 A person installing a combustion engine on a vessel for propulsion or auxiliary purposes shall ensure that the engine is designed for marine use.

739 The materials and dimensions of shafting and propellers shall be determined in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications or with the recommended practices and standards.

Fire Safety

740 A vessel, other than a pleasure craft, that is more than 6 m in length shall be fitted, in accordance with the construction standards, with

• (a) a fire alarm panel;

• (b) a dual action rate-of-rise and fixed temperature detector in each engine space; and

• (c) a fire detector in each accommodation and service space, other than in low-risk spaces such as washrooms and void spaces.

• 741 (1) Every vessel, other than a pleasure craft, that is more than 6 m in length and that has an enclosed engine space shall

  • (a) be fitted with a fixed fire extinguishing system having a sufficient quantity of fire extinguishing agent for the protection of the space in accordance with the construction standards; or

  • (b) have provision for discharging a portable fire extinguisher that meets the requirements of section 416 or 514 directly into the engine space without the need to open the primary access to that space.

• (2) A gas, other than carbon dioxide, that is used as a fire extinguishing agent shall provide protection at least equivalent to that provided by carbon dioxide.

• (3) A fixed fire extinguishing system shall be certified for marine use by a product certification body or a classification society and installed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.

• 742 (1) A vessel, other than a pleasure craft, that is more than 6 m in length shall be provided with a minimum of two means of escape in each accommodation, service and engine space, in accordance with the construction standards.

• (2) Only one means of escape is required in an accommodation, service or engine space if

  • (a) the space is not normally occupied;

  • (b) the dimensions of the space do not permit more than one means of escape; or

  • (c) the deck area is not more than 28 m².

PART 8Compliance Notices

Application

• 800 (1) This Part applies in respect of a vessel that is propelled or designed to be propelled by an engine and that is constructed, manufactured or rebuilt in, or imported into, Canada to be sold or operated in Canada.

• (2) This Part does not apply in respect of

  • (a) a vessel that is registered in another country as having the right to fly the flag of that country;

  • (b) a vessel that is principally maintained and operated in another country and that is not licensed or registered in Canada;

  • (c) a pleasure craft that is 24 m or more in length;

  • (d) a tug; or

  • (e) a high-powered, low-volume vessel that is used exclusively for racing.