The requirements of the Recreational Craft Directive shall apply:

(a) with regard to design and construction, to:

(i) Recreational craft and partly completed boats;
“recreational craft”: any boat of any type intended for sports and leisure purposes of hull length from 2,5 m to 24 m, measured according to the harmonized standard, regardless of the means of propulsion; the fact that the same boat could be used for charter or for recreational boating training shall not prevent it being covered by this Directive when it is placed on the Community market for recreational purposes;

A partly completed boat is a boat consisting of a hull and one or more components. The “partly completed boat” does not fulfil all the essential requirements of the Directive and is destined to be completed, i.e. completely fulfil the essential requirements, by another party who will be regarded as the manufacturer.

Kit boats may be envisaged as boats purchased from a manufacturer where all parts necessary to complete the construction of the boat in compliance with the Essential Requirements of the Directive are provided. When the kit boat manufacturer has supplied all parts necessary for completion, as defined above, then subject to written confirmation that the boat was completed in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions being returned to the kit boat manufacturer, CE marking shall be fixed accordingly. Compliance with the Directive shall in these cases be ensured for all variations available from the manufacturer, especially those that would change the stability characteristics from the basic model e.g. variations in mast configuration and rigging. The above does not absolve the kit manufacturer of his responsibilities.

(ii) Personal watercraft;
“personal watercraft”: a vessel less than 4 m in length which uses an internal combustion engine having a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion and designed to be operated by a person or persons sitting, standing or kneeling on, rather than within the confines of, a hull;

1. Ignition-protected equipment for inboard and stern drive engines.

2. Start-in-gear protection devices for outboard engines.

3. Steering wheels, steering mechanisms and cable assemblies.

4. Fuel tanks intended for fixed installations and fuel hoses.

5. Prefabricated hatches and port lights.

(i) Propulsion engines which are installed or specifically intended for installation on or in recreational craft and personal watercraft;
“propulsion engine”: any spark or compression ignition, internal combustion engine used for propulsion purposes, including two-stroke and four-stroke inboard, stern-drive with or without integral exhaust and outboard engines;

The requirements for exhaust emissions apply to propulsion engines, not boats.

For personal watercraft, the requirement applies only to the propulsion engine unit, not the craft.

(ii) propulsion engines installed on or in these craft that are subject to a “major engine modification”
“major engine modification”: the modification of an engine which:
- could potentially cause the engine to exceed the emission limits set out in Annex I.B. excluding routine replacement of engine components that do not alter the emission characteristics, or
- increases the rated power of the engine by more than 15 %;

If an engine is modified in a way that the gas emissions could potentially exceed the limits of this Directive, then it would be considered a major engine modification even if the power output increases by less than 15%.

Applies only to engines modified according to 3(d) after having been first placed on the market as recreational craft/personal watercraft engines in accordance with (b)( i) above after the date of entry into force of this Directive.

(c) with regard to noise emissions, to:

(i) recreational craft with stern drive engines without integral exhausts or inboard propulsion engine installations;
The noise emission limits for inboard engine installations apply to the boat with the engine running and are the responsibility of the boat builder, not the engine builder.

(ii) recreational craft with stern drive engines without integral exhausts or with inboard propulsion installations which are subject to a major craft conversion and subsequently placed on the Community market within five years following conversion;
“major craft conversion”: a conversion of a craft which:
- changes the means of propulsion of the craft,
- involves a major engine modification,
- alters the craft to such an extent that it is considered a new craft;
“means of propulsion”: the mechanical method by which the craft is driven, in particular marine propellers or waterjet mechanical drive systems;

(iii) personal watercraft;

(iv) outboard engines and stern drive engines with integral exhausts intended for installation on recreational craft;
The noise emission limits apply to the engine only and are the responsibility of the engine manufacturer.

(d) for products falling under (a)(ii), (b) and (c), the provisions of this Directive shall only apply from the first placing on the market and/or putting into service after the date of entry into force of this Directive.
Applies to personal watercraft (a)(ii), exhaust gas (b) and noise emissions (c) as follows:
- personal watercraft that are in service prior to the date of entry into force are not required to comply with this Directive, even if subsequently placed on the market again.
- engines of recreational craft or personal watercraft that are in service prior to the date of entry into force are not required to comply with the gas emission requirements, even if subsequently placed on the market again or subject to a ‘major engine modification’.
- recreational craft that are in service prior to the date of entry into force are not required to comply with the sound emission requirements, even if subsequently placed on the market again or subject to a ‘major craft conversion’.