59 Vol. 83, No. 1 | Proceedings Guard will require all vessels to be fixed. Flotation Testing Program The Flotation Testing Program is a key component to verifying compliance with flotation standards. Outboard powered boats less than 20’ in length are required to have foam or other suitable flotation installed so that if a boat is swamped it stays afloat and relatively level so that boaters do not have to enter the water. If they do enter the water, the boat can serve as a safety platform to hold onto until help arrives. To test compliance with the level flotation requirement, CG-BSX-23 purchases about 35 vessels per year on the open market. They are carefully derigged, and weight is added to simulate engines, fuel, and other key weights at a facility in southern Maryland. The boat then undergoes a series of tests, including swamping the vessel, to evaluate compliance with the required regulations. If the vessel fails, the Coast Guard works with the builder to install enough flotation to pass and then, through a recall process, requires the builder to fix all the vessels that have been sold. Boat tests are the most thorough inspection. During a boat test, compliance inspectors calculate safe loading and powering, and test boats for flotation. During the 2023 calendar year, there were 43 initial boat tests. Of these, 26 failed at least one of the eight categories tested. Seventeen boats were retested after failure, resulting in just five repeat failures. Manufacturer Inspections The Coast Guard inspects about 400 manufacturers per year, or about 13% of the more than 3,000 regis- tered builder’s and/or importers in the United States are visited per year. A manufacturer inspection typi- cally occurs at the manufacturing facility, which ranges from an assembly line production to a builder’s home garage. This visit facilitates direct one-on-one interac- tion between the builder and the Coast Guard’s compli- ance inspectors (CI) while giving inspectors access to the boat while it is under construction. The CI will go over administrative requirements, conduct a general audit of overall compliance, and perform an inspection of a vessel under construction. Specific regulatory require- ments can be reviewed on our Compliance Inspection Checklist. This is a useful tool that contains all the Coast Guard regulatory requirements for recreational vessels, as well as the regulatory citations so the specific require- ments can be reviewed. Dealer Visits and Boat Shows CIs visit dealer locations and boat shows to conduct research on the industry and follow the latest trends in recreational boat building. This is particularly important given the self-certification basis for the compliance program. It allows the Coast Guard to stay current and continually assess the risks associated with recreational boats and their increasingly complex systems. These visits are not thorough inspections, but allow the CI to identify any manufacturers that need an inspection and boats that may not meet the flotation requirements, making them good candidates for a boat test. Recalls If a recreational vessel or associated equipment has a defect, it may be subject to a recall. Title 46 U.S.C. § 43 grants the Coast Guard authority to recall recreational vessels and associated equipment. The rules implement- ing this authority are found in 33 CFR § 179. A boat recall can occur for one of two reasons— regulatory non-compliance or a substantial risk defect. When the manufacturer or the Coast Guard determines a recreational vessel fails to comply with minimum safety standards found in 46 U.S.C. § 43 and 33 CFR Subchapter S, it is in regulatory non-compliance. If a recreational vessel contains a defect that the manufac- turer or the Coast Guard determines creates a substan- tial risk of personal injury or death, this is a substantial risk defect. Regulatory non-compliance is straight for- ward. If a recreational vessel fails to comply with Coast Guard safety standards, that vessel may be subject to recall. Substantial risk defect determinations are a little more complicated and are made on a case-by-case basis. The Coast Guard considers the following criteria when determining whether a vessel or equipment may have a substantial risk defect: 1. The defect creates an unanticipated hazard. An obvious risk that is typical of normal vessel operations or normal wear and tear does not normally create the basis for a defect. 2. The defect occurs with some frequency. One isolated occurrence may not constitute the basis for a finding of a defect for an entire product line. 3. The defect clearly presents a risk of death or personal injury. At the time of the writing, there were 182 open recalls that affected more than 1.5 million units. What Are We Finding A detailed look at inspection data for 2023 revealed man- ufacturer inspections and boat tests had a 29% deficiency rate, while retail and boat show inspections had only a 7% deficiency rate. This is expected as the retail and boat show visits are much less rigorous. While it appears manufacturer visits and boat tests are much more effec- tive, dealer and boat show visits are beneficial, providing visibility of the more than 3,000 manufacturers active in
