Life Saving Equipment Regulations

General

• 1 Every boat shall be constructed in accordance with drawings submitted to and approved by the Board.

• 1.1 Every suitable boat and every approved boat shall have a capacity of not less than 1.416 m³.

• 2 Every suitable boat and every approved boat shall

  • (a) be capable of maintaining positive stability when open to the sea and loaded with its full complement of persons and equipment;

  • (b) be provided with lifting hooks or other suitable means of enabling the boat to be raised or lowered;

  • (c) be capable of being propelled by oars or paddles; and

  • (d) be provided with means for the stowage and securing of the equipment prescribed by these Regulations for the boat.

• 3 [Repealed, SOR/96-218, s. 53]

• 4 Every suitable boat and every approved boat shall be provided with retro-reflective material that

  • (a) is fitted in the manner set out in section 1 of Annex 1 to International Maritime Organization Resolution A.658(16), adopted on October 19, 1989 and entitled Use and Fitting of Retro-Reflective Materials on Life-Saving Appliances, as amended from time to time; and

  • (b) meets the technical specifications set out in the following Canadian General Standards Board Standards, as amended from time to time:

    • (i) in the case of material fitted on flexible surfaces, sections 4 and 5 of 62-GP-12, Standard for: Marking Material, Retroreflective, Enclosed Lens, Flexible Type, dated January 1975, and

    • (ii) in the case of material fitted on rigid surfaces, the provisions referred to in subparagraph (i) or sections 5 and 6 of 62-GP-11M, Standard for: Marking Material, Retroreflective Enclosed Lens, Adhesive Backing, dated May 1978.

Rigid Boats

• 5 Every rigid suitable boat and every rigid approved boat shall be constructed of wood, aluminium, steel or fibrous glass-reinforced plastic.

• 6 Every rigid boat shall be

  • (a) capable of supporting without deformation, while suspended by its lifting hooks, a weight equal to the aggregate of

    • (i) the product obtained by multiplying the maximum number of persons that the boat can carry, as determined in accordance with section 17 of this schedule, by 75 kg, and

    • (ii) 10 per cent of the product referred to in subparagraph (i); and

  • (b) as inherently buoyant as a Class 2 wooden lifeboat.

• 7 The buoyancy medium of every rigid boat shall be resistant to deterioration or loss of effectiveness from contact with petroleum products and suitably protected from wear and tear.

• 8 The ratio of length to breadth to depth of every rigid boat shall be approximately 7 : 2.5 : 1.

• 9 The girth amidships of every rigid boat, measured from gunwale to gunwale under the keel, shall be approximately the sum of the breadth and 1.5 times the depth.

Inflatable Boats

• 10 [Repealed, SOR/96-218, s. 54]

• 10.1 Every inflatable boat shall be carried on board ship in a fully inflated operational condition and ready for use in case of an emergency.

• 11 Every inflatable boat shall be provided with suitable lifting connections so that it may be lowered and raised in inflated condition with full equipment.

• 12 Every inflatable boat shall be so constructed that the buoyancy chambers contain in the aggregate not less than four compartments, which compartments shall

  • (a) be as nearly as practicable of equal volume;

  • (b) comprise in the aggregate not less than 80 per cent of the inflated buoyancy space of the boat;

  • (c) be evenly distributed port and starboard; and

  • (d) be so constructed that deflation of any one compartment will not cause deflation of any other compartment.

• • 13 (1) In this section, CGSB means the Canadian General Standards Board and A.S.T.M means the American Society for Testing and Materials.

  • (2) The materials used in the construction of the buoyancy chambers of an inflatable boat shall

    • (a) have a breaking strength of not less than 2 000 N, tested in accordance with CGSB Specification No. 4-GP-2 Method 9.1 for the one inch strip method;

    • (b) be resistant to weathering so that after 30 cycles in an Atlas twin-arc Weatherometer the tensile strength of the material does not decrease by more than 10 per cent;

    • (c) be resistant to petroleum products so that after 24 hours immersion in solvent, Reference Fuel A, A.S.T.M. D-471, the tensile strength of the material does not decrease by more than five per cent; and

    • (d) be abrasion resistant to the extent that at least 5 000 revolutions of a Taber abraser, using No. H22 wheel and 10 N loading, are required to completely wear through a sample.

• • 14 (1) The breaking strength of the material incorporating a seam in the buoyancy chambers of an inflatable approved boat shall be not less than 90 per cent of the breaking strength of the material.

  • (2) The breaking strength of the material incorporating a seam referred to in subsection (1) shall be tested by pulling the material at right angles to the seam.

• 15 All repairs on inflatable boats shall be made in accordance with the manufacturer’s repair manual using only materials recommended by the manufacturer.

Inspection

• 16 Every boat shall, to determine whether it meets the requirements of this Schedule, be inspected by an inspector, as follows:

  • (a) the boats shall be swung out and lowered into the water at every inspection;

  • (b) boats shall be inspected after all movable equipment has been removed;

  • (c) all boat equipment shall be inspected, checked and properly re-stowed;

  • (d) rigid boats shall be inspected for signs of deterioration and where internal buoyancy is fitted it shall be inspected in the same manner as the internal buoyancy required to be fitted in lifeboats; and

  • (e) inflatable boats shall be inspected for signs of deterioration and wear and the inspector may require deflation of one or more buoyancy chambers in order to check the gas-tight integrity of chamber separations.

Determination of Capacity

• 17 An inspector shall determine the maximum number of persons that a boat can carry in the following manner:

  • (a) in the case of a rigid boat, the number shall be equal to the lesser of

    • (i) the product of the length, breadth and depth of the boat multiplied by 1.766, and

    • (ii) by using a seating test, the maximum number of persons that can sit in the boat; or

  • (b) in the case of an inflatable boat, the number of persons for each of whom the boat provides

    • (i) 0.37 m² of floor space, and

    • (ii) 0.17 m³ of buoyancy space in the buoyancy chambers of the boat.

Marking

• 18 A steamship inspector who has determined the capacity of a boat and, following an inspection of the boat, that it meets the requirements of this Schedule shall cause the boat to be permanently marked with the following symbol and information:

  • (a) the symbol “$”;

  • (b) the maximum number of persons to be carried;

  • (c) the date of inspection of the boat; and

  • (d) his initials.