2022-03-24, 09:51 AM
This is a quite complex topic and it heavily depends on how each one's country handle certification agencies and processes, imho. Of course most certifications are there for a good reason, but some countries use some of them just to make you pay. For example in Spain, at you moment you untie the lines you are forced to have on board a number of items: from basic safety stuff, which is great, to a couple of books and nautical charts that must be printed on paper. Nothing you have on digital format is valid. Unless, of course, you pay for a certification.
One of the most extreme examples i found is that even a live raft (mandatory equipment for non-coastal navigation) that is certified to last 10 years (not only by the manufacturer, but also international agencies), you are forced to buy a new one every 5 years (or re-certify, which cost almost the same as a new one). This happens with a lot of the equipment, and does not make any sense. When there's a scenario with double or triple certification, the end user is forced to comply with the most restrictive one, so what's the point of the others?
Another example is that a lot of marinas around the one we have the boat at, are starting to forbid non-professionals to work on the boatyard (on their own boat).
So at least in spain, which is the regulation I know, certification doesn't always equals safety.
Also, isn't this the whole point of OpenPlotter?
One of the most extreme examples i found is that even a live raft (mandatory equipment for non-coastal navigation) that is certified to last 10 years (not only by the manufacturer, but also international agencies), you are forced to buy a new one every 5 years (or re-certify, which cost almost the same as a new one). This happens with a lot of the equipment, and does not make any sense. When there's a scenario with double or triple certification, the end user is forced to comply with the most restrictive one, so what's the point of the others?
Another example is that a lot of marinas around the one we have the boat at, are starting to forbid non-professionals to work on the boatyard (on their own boat).
So at least in spain, which is the regulation I know, certification doesn't always equals safety.
Also, isn't this the whole point of OpenPlotter?