A L U M I N I U M
I S S U E
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n° 3 0 •
ALU MIN IUM
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ISS UE - n° 30 - 202 2 - € 10
[ AGAINST THE WIND ]
THE CE MARK EVERYTHING HAS ITS LIMITS by Andrea Pezzini, CEO & Co-Founder of Floating Life
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hen COVID put the brakes on the industry, many if not all yards overhauled their production lines with the result that we are now seeing more and more large yachts with the CE Mark. I have never had anything against exploiting the regulations for the benefit of either yard or client, but I do think there has to be a limit to everything. The limitations of the CE Mark are well known to builders as it was intended for small yachts. It has serious shortcomings in terms of safety because it was designed for craft that were not high performance or long-range. But there is many a slip between intention and reality unfortunately. Today, certain yachts with a “real” length of well over 24 metres with extremely powerful engines and bluewater capabilities just don’t tick the safety boxes for this kind of use. I am not saying they are illegal – they wouldn’t be awarded certification if they were. But they are definitely treading a fine line if not going over it. I will take one example from a yard that will remain nameless. It presented a yacht of almost 30 metres (real LOA) which didn’t have to pass a stability test at sea but
instead was approved on theoretical calculations. It didn’t need fire dampers to cut off ventilation in case of a fire in the engine room and could have just one bilge pump. These examples put me in an embarrassing situation when, as a technician, I went to visit the yacht on behalf of a client. Because I am old school, I would not have accepted them, but the yard countered me by waving the regulations under my nose and had every right to do so. Of course had I been involved at the contract stage rather than the delivery one, I would probably have asked for some simple modifications to be made. I would also probably have had to pay extra for those but as far as I am concerned they should be compulsory anyway for the sake of both owner and crew. So, yards, please stop bending the rules for the sake of very small savings. Once upon a time, as technicians we spoke proudly of “good practice and good sense”, knowing that we were expert, conscientious builders that respected the sea and those that sail it for passion and profession.
Clearly, these are words shouted against the wind… though I continue to hope that someone will read and heed them…
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