PRESIDENT'S REPORT

As I said last time, when the going gets tough the tough get going, but in the case of brokerage it has without doubt been Euroland that has really helped the UK broker keeps his head above water.

Starting in the early Autumn were the Scandinavians. As they froze up, the interest has travelled down Europe, with the French now taking a keen interest in UK boats. The slowing in new boat sales is also going to affect the brokerage market in the future, with less boats available for brokerage in 2 or 3 years' time, which may mean improved new boat sales when the market turns. Of course the £ may then be strong and our clients will all be heading for Europe, redressing the balance!

How do we plan for this market? I think "with difficulty" is the answer, but it comes back to taking what is in front of us today and as always doing the basics as best we can.

A bientôt.

Nick Ryley

MEMBERSHIP NEWS The following were elected at the YDSA December 2008 meeting: New Member: Richard Rapp – Affiliate Up-grading: Ed Horne-Wingett – Accredited Member Mark Dorrington-Niblett - Accredited for his specialist machinery and systems surveys The following were elected at the AGM at the end of November: Fellow: Bill Dunlop (YDSA) Honorary Members: Owen Box (ABYA), Brian Watkin (ABYA), Peter Tier (YDSA) The Leslie Oliver Award for a recently elected member surveyor who has shown most promise was approved by the AGM for Steve Roberts from Liverpool and will be presented at the next Northern Forum.  Lost friends We are sad to report the recent deaths of two of our members. Mike Atkin, Lymington-based surveyor member since 1989, and YDSA & CA Committee member for a number of years, died on Tuesday January 6 following a long battle with cancer. Donations in memory of Mike are to Starlight Children's Foundation or phone 020 7262 2881. Derrick Davison, YDSA member since 1989, died on October 30 in Derby Infirmary, following a stroke. Well known throughout the inland waterways network, Derrick set up the Narrowboat Register brokerage and was the founding chairman of the YDSA Inland Waterways Group. Balliol Fowden has written a tribute to Derrick which is published on the YBDSA website.   RCD 10 YEARS ON ABYA & YDSA's Recreational Craft Directive conference, subtitled "Myths & Misunderstandings", was held on Tuesday November 25 at The Watermen's Hall, London, the day before the AGM. The conference reviewed progress of the RCD since its inception, aimed to clarify some of the issues that have arisen during that time, and also presented current discussions for revision of the RCD. Nik Parker, Director of Technical Services at the British Marine Federation, and Nigel Saw, Technical Manager at BMF, kicked off with an overview of the RCD and related standards. Nick Riordan, Trading Standards Officer from Hampshire County Council, presented Market Surveillance – Myths and the Reality, giving experiences as a TSO and examples of compliance issues with vessels arriving from the USA. Delegates heard that a TSO has a 12-month window for prosecution, meaning that few people have been pursued under the RCD. More usually, prosecution is under the Product Safety Directive. Next, a User's Perspective of the RCD was given by Ken Kershaw, RYA Technical Manager, and a Notified Body Perspective of the RCD by Tricia Grady, RYA Technical Standards Co-ordinator. In particular, there is concern about the Design Categories which it is hoped will be re-assessed shortly. James Renn, YDSA member based in Maryland, concluded the conference by giving a brief overview of the current issues as seen in the USA. There were a number of questions, including about access to the boat's Technical File – it was confirmed that sight of the File is not available to the owner or surveyor at any time, it is only available to TSO's and enforcement agencies.   REPORT WRITING SEMINAR The YDSA Report Writing Seminar was held at the Glass Works on November 12. Led by Anthony Byrde of AW Byrde & Associates, delegates received training on honing their skills to produce more effective reports. Pictured (left to right) are John Cherry, Anthony Byrde, Chris Nicholle, Tricia Hills, Aidan Tuckett and Jane Gentry.   BRITISH SHIP RADIO LICENCES and MMSI – NEW PROCEDURES Surveyors are frequently asked how to go about obtaining a ship radio licence and, more usually, how to obtain an MMSI number. The procedure has recently changed considerably. Brand new licences – i.e. for British-registered vessels that have never had a radio licence/MMSI – are now issued as "lifetime" licences and are free of charge. This link will take you to the appropriate page on the OFCOM site. For a brand new licence, click the first link and register yourself. You will be sent a username which will give you access to the application site. To reinstate an old licence/MMSI, you have to apply in writing and there is a fee of £20.00 – click the second link to obtain the form. Information supplied by Graham Booth, Marine Surveys.

NON-METALLIC SEACOCKS – INSPECT YOUR CLAMPING BOLTS! On the YBDSA website, YDSA Chairman Richard Ayers offers some advice that can prevent a potentially catastrophic failure.

VAT & CHARTER BOATS – SELLERS BEWARE OF GIVING WRONG ADVICE! Boat sales personnel should be aware of the changes at HMRC regarding recovery of VAT on charter boats. Following an EU court case, HMRC are generally working on the Lennartz Principle, which gives the purchaser 20 VAT quarters (5 years) over which to pay off the VAT. The owner has to keep a detailed log of boat usage showing personal and commercial usage. Only the commercial usage can be offset against VAT, so in some quarters – for instance the summer – owners can offset most and maybe all of the use against the business. But during the winter, with only a few charters, the picture could be quite different. It is therefore incorrect for an Agent/Dealer to suggest that a purchaser can claim back all the VAT, as it is most likely that he will not be able to do so, unless the boat is to be totally commercially used. It is also becoming more difficult to set up a company for charter purposes if there is little or no obvious evidence for proposed commercial use of the vessel – HMRC can reject the request for a VAT registration. Agents/dealers should advise buyers to seek advice from HMRC on their particular circumstances. If there are problems, suggest that the buyer ask for it to be passed to the HMRC Unit of Expertise on Yacht Matters.

FORTHCOMING EVENTS These are also listed on the Association website. You can send in the form from the events listing to indicate your interest in attending an event. January 28 – YDSA Surveyors Up-grading Exam, Glass Works (or remotely) January 29 – Boat Safety Scheme Revision Day, Ellesmere Port Boat Museum February 10 – YDSA Committee Meeting, London February 12 – ABYA Committee Meeting, Glass Works March 5 – Northern Forum, Ellesmere Port Boat Museum March 9/10 – Practical Yacht Brokerage Course, Marwell Hotel, Winchester March 11 – Senior Brokers Course, Marwell Hotel, Winchester March 31 – YDSA Annual Conference, Royal Institute of Naval Architects   TITLE OF YACHTS – BEWARE OF SCAMS! In the light of recent scams that have been brought to our attention, it is increasingly important to establish whether there is outstanding finance on a vessel offered for sale and also to investigate title. Surveyors should especially make a point of giving this advice to purchasers if they are asked to value a yacht that is offered for sale considerably below the value of similar boats. For example, a YDSA member was recently asked to survey a Beneteau for an American who was in a hurry to complete a purchase as he had struck a deal at £40k on a boat that should be around £110k. The survey was cancelled because the "vendor" was not the owner, and had cloned the details and photographs from a disconnected broker, who turned out to have taken the boat as a part exchange! It turned out to be a scam by the (non-ABYA) broker to try and get the purchaser to pay a 10% deposit to secure the deal. The only way a purchaser or a broker can check on outstanding finance is to contact the major finance houses – Lombard, BoS, Barclays, Close, Royscot Larch, etc. and ask if they can confirm they have no interest in the vessel. The finance house is not entitled to divulge the information so you cannot ask if they do have an interest, only the other way round (Data Protection Act)! The broker should do this if he has any reason to be concerned, regardless of whether the vendor tells him there is no outstanding finance. It is also worth checking with the Registry if the boat is registered, as this will show any outstanding financial interest over £60k. Sadly the finance houses don't require registration for loans under this amount. The loan automatically sticks to the boat if it is a marine mortgage – personal loans may have the boat as security, of course, but these are impossible to track down. The important thing for a broker is to get the vendor to sign the Listing Agreement, the Sale & Purchase Agreement and the Bill of Sale which state that the boat is free from fees and encumbrances. If it isn't, then he has committed fraud and there is something to hang an action on. The broker should do his best to find out and pay off any outstanding fees or encumbrances from the completion monies before handing the balance over to the vendor. At the end of the day there is always the problem of whether the vendor has any assets to sue for – but this problem is not limited to the marine industry! Information supplied by David Greening, David Greening Naval Architect Ltd.   SAFETY ALERT – DANGEROUS H20 FAKE COPIES! Buzz White of Guernsey tells us about a warning circulated by Swedish manufacture Hammar about fake copies of Hammar's Hydrostatic Release Unit, the H20. The copy is almost identical to the original product, with Hammar's logo and address on the labels, with one important difference - it does not work! Members who come across these units in the course of their work might usefully check out the details on the Hammar website.   NEW PRODUCTS & SERVICES Propeller Solutions Propeller Solutions is a new specialist propeller repairer company formed by previous employees of Propeller Revolutions and funded by a third party. Based in Sturminster Marshall, Dorset, they cover from Southampton to Teignbridge repairing bronze, stainless and aluminium props and also rebush props as well as re-pitching and giving generous amounts of free advice. See www.propellersolutions.co.uk.   Five Fingers Jane recently visited the Yoga Show at Olympia and saw a stand selling these amazing-looking shoes that are like gloves with grip! It turns out they were designed by an Italian who is a keen sailor: they look ideal for those of you who like to sail barefoot but get cold, or end up with bashed feet and nails. More details at www.fivefingers.co.uk.   TOOLROOM Upgrading moisture meters Ian Anderson of AND Marine writes to tell us of worthwhile upgrades to Sovereign Quantum moisture meters (the yellow box ones), including a changeover button to the sensor head that allows one-handed changes from deep mode to shallow mode - more convenient than using the switch on the meter display panel. The upgrades cost approximately £35. Call Glasson Electronics on 01524 752208 for further details or email info@glassonelectronics.co.uk or see Ian's comments.   Scubar – Portable Inspection Camera System The Scubar camera system is lightweight, portable and easy to assemble and offers many benefits in all areas of boat surveys, especially when carrying out external surveys for possible damage or repair and pre- purchase surveys. The system comprises a camera unit, telescopic extension pole and monitor/battery pack. See the Scubar website for details.     Tool exchange Wanted: Tramex moisture meter – please contact mandy.bruce@magellan-house.co.uk who is interested in purchasing second-hand tools, in particular a Tramex moisture meter. If you have any tools that you no longer need, but that might be useful to another member, let us know and we will try to find them a new home!