Whilst it is for the manufacturer to consider whether or not his craft is eligible under one of these exemptions or not, advice may be sought from the competent Member State Administration, in order, perhaps, to check the validity of the outcome of his consideration. The comments below may be used for guidance. If a Member State  Administration is, at the end of the day, still unsure, even after consultation with a notified body, then advice may be sought from the Commission services.

(a) with regard to design and construction:

(i) craft intended solely for racing, including rowing racing boats and training rowing boats, labeled as such by the manufacturer;
Some racing boats are by their very design so extreme in their racing profile that they could in no way be examined against the requirements of the Directive. It is these designs for which this exclusion was drafted. If, in the future this boat is placed on the EEA market not as a racing boat, perhaps because the design is no longer competitive, the boat then falls under the requirements of the Directive as this would constitute the “first placing on the market” as a recreational craft.

“Manufacturer”: any natural or legal person who designs and manufactures a product covered by this Directive or who has such a product designed and/or manufactured with a view to placing it on the market on his own behalf;

(ii) canoes and kayaks, gondolas and pedalos;

(iii) sailing surfboards;

(iv) surfboards, including powered surfboards;
Powered surfboards or similar powered craft are considered to be craft carrying no more than 2 persons sitting, standing or kneeling on the craft's hull and fitted with flotation and fail-safe controls.

(v) original historical craft and individual replicas thereof designed before 1950, built predominantly with the original materials and labeled as such by the manufacturer;
In this respect, predominantly means using the original material for both the hull and the deck, but allowingcontemporary use of materials e.g. plywood instead of solid timber, laminated frames, modern adhesives, paints, sealant and fastenings. Series production by means of moulds (e.g. GRP production) shall not be possible in these cases.

(vi) experimental craft, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market;
Such craft may be placed on the EEA Market only if their design and construction is subsequently certified in conformity with the Directive.

(vii) craft built for own use, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market during a period of five years;
This does not preclude the sub-contracting, by the builder, of specialists in certain aspects of the fitting out of the boat e.g. electrical or electronic engineers.

A kit boat bought by its end user, from the kit boat manufacturer, not completed in accordance with the kit manufacturers instructions (i.e. modified*) but to the “desires” of the end user is considered to be a “boat built for own use”.

A member of the general public building his own boat (in his garage or garden , for example), from materials bought on the open market is deemed to be “building a boat for his own use”. This boat lies outside of the Directive and does not require compliance with the essential requirements and thus CE Marking. If for whatever reason this situation changes then the provisions detailed above would be seen to apply.

Boats built for own use have the concept that a person is building their own boat and not having it built by others.

(viii) craft specifically intended to be crewed and to carry passengers for commercial purposes, without prejudice to paragraph 3(a), in particular those defined in Council Directive 82/714/EEC of 4 October 1982 laying down technical requirements for inland waterway vessels (*), regardless of the number of passengers;

(ix) submersibles;

(x) air cushion vehicles;

(xi) hydrofoils;

(xii) External combustion steam powered craft, fuelled by coal, coke, wood, oil or gas;
Where a boat uses a steam engine(s) as described above for propulsion, both the boat and the engine(s) are excluded from the scope of the Directive.

(b) with regard to exhaust emissions:

(i) propulsion engines installed or specifically intended for installation on the following:

- craft intended solely for racing and labeled as such by the manufacturer,

Engines for propulsion of racing boats are excluded from the scope of the Directive provided that the racing boats are marked with a label stating that they are ‘intended solely for racing’. In this context ‘racing’ refers to racing under engine power.

- experimental craft, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market,

- craft specifically intended to be crewed and to carry passengers for commercial purposes, without prejudice to paragraph 3(a), in particular those defined in Directive 82/714/EEC, regardless of the number of passengers,

- submersibles,

- air cushion vehicles,

- hydrofoils;

(ii) original and individual replicas of historical propulsion engines, which are based on a pre-1950 design, not produced in series and fitted historical craft or craft built for own use;

Individual replicas’ may be built one after another and still excluded, provided that they are built to order and not series produced.

Engines built after 1950 and placed on the market and/or put into service before the date of entry into force of this Directive are also excluded from the gas emission requirements (see comments on 1(d) above).

(iii) propulsion engines built for own use provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market during a period of five years;

An engine ‘built for own use’ must have been substantially built by the owner. An engine that is marinised by the owner or otherwise adapted by modification or replacement of parts is not ‘built for own use’.

(c) with regard to noise emissions:
- all craft referred to in point (b) of this paragraph,

- craft built for own use, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Community market during a period of five years.