CE certification

[ExcaliburII]

I suggested Rouse as they are local to you and relatively inexpensive for vinyl, which is what they do a lot of. I wrongly assumed the boat was near to Cheltenham from your profile, but I now see it's on the South coast. Rouse had never used sunbrella when I visited them for a quote last year and I suspect the high price was to cover purchase of a quantity of material that they may have had no further use for, plus a bit of experimenting with stretching allowances etc during manufacture.

I ended up getting my new cover made by Mark Llewellyn of Neyland, Pembrokeshire (01646 600112) who did a superb job from scratch, including all template work. I had already fitted a fixed stainless arch to the boat as I had got fed up with wrestling with the old canopy sticks every time I wanted to put the old cover on or take it off, so there was no existing design which he could copy. Mark was very helpful with advice before I gave him the go ahead, his price was competitive, and the boat was in Pembs at the time, so it was a no-brainer really. He suggested a few minor changes to my design proposals, and the finished result is superb.

Frank Rouse would be OK for a cheap vinyl tonneau cover, but if you want a full canopy in sunbrella, a marine specialist would probably be better. Not sure if you're planning to keep it on a trailer; if so, you will probaby need a tonneau at some stage anyway.

[Solitaire]

This is a case of buyer beware. The original importer of the boat should have had the boat CE plated before first use. In real terms the original owner/seller is responsible for getting it through. If you buy it and then want to sell it you then become liable and it could cost in the long run.

It will cost around £2,000 to be correctly plated. I checked this price with our surveyor this afternoon.

[me2]

You say it has a trailer which has been made in the US if it has then it will be over 7'6" and have a 2" hitch and for sure wont be legal ( I have be caught in a road side check with one and been fined ). You will need to look into the cost of a new trailer if you do alot of towing.

[spinreach]

Had my US boat ce marked - circa £1800. For me the only reason for getting the ce plate was for future sale purposes, as I have no concerns as to the quality / safety of the boat. The ce requirement is all about paperwork. Although currently there seems to be no enforcement, it is still illegal to sell an uncertified boat with potentially a custodial sentence.

Even with little or no risk of regulation, let alone criminal proceedings, people are gradually becoming more aware of the need for a ce plate and so without it, the boat is likely to become unsellable in the future, particularly if some beaurocrat decides to introduce some form of checking. [img]/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

The only problem you may encounter is that for a relatively recent import, the engines may require emmission testing, which could add a lot of cost to the above estimate.

[ontheplane]

I'd check the legals on this - if YOU buy it non-CE certified then that's your lookout, but I really wouldn't fancy trying to then sell it on NON certified to another owner - and sell it on you will certainly want to do one day even if thats 3 years down the line. And if you sold it to someone who didn't know it needed a CE certificate, and then there was a dispute at a later date, you have committed the offence for selling it uncertified - indeed I am not sure you are allowed to sell it uncertified even if the buyer knows the implications of that. What if there was an accident with someone on board, would you be insured knowing it should have been CE Marked when you bought it?

If it was me, I'd insist that it was certified, OR get £2000 or so knocked off what you think it's worth to cover the cost of you getting it done at a later date - then consider whether you do it yourself, or wait till you come to sell - but one thing I DO know is I'd check VERY carefully with the RYA what the exact law is and what the implications are - and check with a couple of insurance companies tell them the truth, that you aren't the importer and it is not CE marked and see what they say, and if they say OK get it in writing.

[Gilly1]

Fully appreciate what your saying there solitaire and i had a gut feeling it wasn't CE plated, not for 11K. Yes, fully aware the previous should have had it done, though he may not have been aware. Story is, they were in America, had been out on a boat,he fell in love with the idea, got back home and decided to import one for himself but his wife and daughter weren't too keen on it in this country. Sold it a year ago for 13K so hasn't made any money on it.
I do still feel that its a complete rip off though and in my opinion,not necassary, its just a money making scheme. Thankyou though for finding out the cost, appreciate that solitaire.

[Kipper]

If the trailer is a continantal it will be fine

[me2]

where are continantal trailers made ?

http://www.continentaltrailers.com

[Gilly1]

Hi me2. My mate was the one who drove it back from Wigan to Weymouth without any problems, said it towed like a dream so i guess the hitch was sorted. I really dont get why(not what your saying but in general) the trailer width should be illegal. I'm pretty sure if authorities in this country were that concerned,they wouldn't be allowed out of the dockyard. Its certainly no wider than the boat so its madness for authorities to say otherwise. Bloody pen pushers again. How wide is an articulated lorry for heavens sake ! ? :-)
It would only be towed from weymouth to poole anyway and boat then left on trailer in yard.

[Gilly1]

[ QUOTE ]
where are continantal trailers made ?

http://www.continentaltrailers.com

[/ QUOTE ]

[img]/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] easy to think its our continent :-) Yep, Florida. I still really dont get why they're illegal,its just plain ridiculous.This particular trailer has disc brakes alround and is as strong as an ox. A ball hitch is an easy fix if thats the problem.