Boo-reaucracy

There are very few things in this world that I quite literally, actually fucking hate. Bureaucracy being very near the top of that list. I am also, if you didn’t already know,  somewhat of a non-conformist a right leaning believer in a smaller state. Because, fuck those arseholes, fuck your taxes and most of all fuck your jobsworth paperwork bollocks.

That said, and it pains me to say this, I want to do this boat thing correctly and through the proper channels. The very last thing I want is for some jumped up, cuntish jobsworth twat to inform me that my boat is not registered/licensed/insured correctly and for that mortal sin they’re going to take my boat away despite all the work I have done on it. That’d be worse than the heap of shit sinking on its maiden voyage.

So with that in mind I have been perusing the interwebs to see what I actually need to do to get this floating turd legal and beyond the  greedy claws of the state. It does of course cost money every step of the way. Natch.

Registering the Boat Name

For me the natural first stop was to find out how to register your boat name. As far as I can tell I only need to complete part one of the register as the intended use of the boat is pleasure and/or commercial.

• You can use Part 1 of the register if you have either:
  • a commercial boat, unless you plan to use it for fishing
    a ‘pleasure vessel’ – this means you do not make any money from it
    Registering your boat on Part 1 of the register means you’ll be able to:
    • get a marine mortgage against your boat
      spend more than 6 months outside the UK
      It costs £153 to register for 5 years.
    • You’ll be sent a renewal notice when it’s time to renew. It costs £72 to renew your registration for another 5 years.
• In order to register the vessel name you need one or more of various documents. For me it would be the bill of sale. Which I don’t have, and in order to get one I just need the person who sold me the boat to complete the bill of sale. A template for a bill of sale costs money. Unsure of how. much just yet.
• They’re also asking for the HIN (hull identification number) which my boat doesn’t have as it was built before 1997.
• Just to submit the application costs £35.
• Tally so far – £188 if my submission is successful.

Hull Identification Number

The next natural step for me was to see how easy it’d be to get a HIN. According to the Net of Inters, you have to apply to the RYA for a craft identification number. That costs £50.

Canal and River Trust Licence

Next up you need permission to use the rivers and/or canals in the UK. You need a licence from the Canal and Rivers Trust. Before you can do that though, you need to have insurance AND a BSS (Boat Safety Scheme) certificate. Happily for me, my boat currently does not require a BSS certificate but will need one once it is complete as it will have an engine and electricity etc. I do however have to apply for a BSS Exemption Certificate… Once you have the certificate and insurance you can apply for a licence which costs £153.77 per year.

BSS Certificate

If I eventually do require a BSS certificate I will need to find a BSS Certified Examiner and enquire about prices there. My guess is, that it won’t be cheap.

Insurance

I have gone to a boat insurance website, entered the relevant information and was pleasantly surprised at the annual cost of £196.

Overall tally annually the cost is around £587 and that’s without the BSS certification.