Product Safety
In shopping for replacement parts for your boat's engine, you may discover
an annoying price difference between "Marine" parts and common automotive
parts. The difference is due to small but important modifications, which
are not intended to keep you poor but rather to keep you healthy.
Starters, alternators, distributors, starter solenoids, and all the
electrical motors should be ignition protected if they are intended
for marine use. This means they are sealed to contain sparks, which
are produced in normal use. Sparks under the hood of your car are not
a hazard, since a constant draft prevents an accumulation of flammable
vapors. In the confined spaces of your boat's bilge, however, one spark
plus one small gasoline leak can mean disaster. Propane, CNG charging
batteries, and even methane (holding tank) gas pose a potential for
flammable gas leaks.
Some automotive carburetors and fuel pumps are designed to leak. They
have vents, which emit small amounts of gasoline if a carburetor float
chamber overflows or a fuel pump develops an internal leak. The gas
drips harmlessly out of the car. On marine carburetors, these vents
lead into the carburetor throat so that any overflow is consumed by
the engine. Marine fuel pumps eliminate external leaks.
Shop the best price, but make sure the unit you buy is marked "Marine"
or "Ignition Protected." Hazardous equipment is no bargain.
The following standards have made it a lot easier to buy safe marine
equipment for your boat. By using any of these names, a manufacturer
is stating that their products have either been produced following or
been tested to meet these standards. Look for these in the descriptions
of products in this catalog.
Underwriters
Laboratory Listing
This is one of the most common Underwriter Laboratory's marks. If a
product carries this mark, it means UL found that samples of this product
met UL's safety requirements. These requirements are primarily based
on UL's own published Standards for Safety. This type of mark is seen
commonly on appliances and computer equipment, furnaces and heaters,
fuses, electrical panelboards, smoke and carbon monoxide detectors,
fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems, personal flotation devices
like life jackets and life preservers, and thousands of other products.
The UL Marine mark appears on products which have been evaluated specifically
for marine use. Products bearing this mark have been evaluated to UL's
published Marine Safety Standards and other applicable standards and
codes. These requirements address hazards that can occur as a result
of exposure to harsh marine environments such as vibration, shock (impact),
ignition protection, water ingress, and salt spray corrosion common
on pleasure craft and boats. Examples of the type of equipment suitable
for the UL Marine mark include alternators, battery chargers/power inverters,
navigation lights, and fuel tanks, filters and pumps.
American
Boat and Yacht Council
As a result of strong industry support, ABYC's voluntary standards program
is a viable alternative to further development of mandatory government
regulation of the marine industry. Companies use ABYC standards in all
phases of development, production, and maintenance of boats and their
accessories. ABYC standards and recommended practices are the basis
for certification programs, marine surveys, inspections and military
specifications (MILSPECS). Standards enable marine industry professionals
to support decisions on design, construction, and installation of equipment.
Uniform standards increase consumer confidence in product safety. In
lawsuits involving product liability, ABYC standards are a reliable
and authoritative reference for evaluation issues of design, construction,
maintenance, and product performance. Standards and Recommended Practices
for Small Craft is the product of a consensus of representatives of
government, industry, and public sectors. The manual includes approximately
65 standards and technical information reports to the manufacturer,
the consumer, and the general public in the design, construction, equipage,
and maintenance of small craft.
National
Fire Protection Association
For more than 100 years the NFPA has been developing and updating codes
and standards concerning all areas of fire safety. An international,
non-profit organization with more than 65,000 members from 70 nations,
NFPA's mission is to reduce the burden of fire on the quality of life
by advocating scientifically based consensus codes and standards, research,
and education for fire and related safety issues. While the NFPA is
involved with extensive fire research and produces numerous fire safety
educational programs and materials, it's lifeblood is its codes and
standards making system.
United
States Coast Guard
The Federal statutes that authorize the U. S. Coast Guard to regulate
the manufacture of recreational boats appear in Title 46, United States
Code and the safety standards and regulations applicable to manufacturers
of recreational boats and associated equipment are found in Titles 33
and 46, Code of Federal Regulations. These regulations govern the design
and construction of recreational boats and include: manufacturer certification,
identification of boats, display of capacity information, safe loading,
safe powering, flotation, electrical systems, fuel systems, ventilation,
start-in-gear protection, navigation lights, and backfire flame control.
Information
courtesy of Seaworthy, a BoatUS Marine Insurance publication.
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