[Buckeye David]

can anyone inform me about yacht "built to" classes? You see it referenced in many articles,international, american and european standards, but never are they explained. What are the major types and what do they mean in a general definition.thank you in advance.

[K1W1]

Hi,

Welcome to YF.

Built to class will mean that the yacht has been built to comply with the rules and regulations of a classification society. The MCA is not a classification society as such.

The common classes found associated with yachts are.

LLOYDS
ABS ( American Bureau of Shipping)
DNV (Det Norske Veritas)

Other sets of rules and regs that boats will have to comply with depend upon Gross Tonnage but can and often do include MCA, Flag State and some SOLAS ( The bigger the boat and the more passengers and the more SOLAS you will have t comply with)

I hope this has unlocked the mystery for you.

[C4ENG]

If I am correct, all societies (ABS, MCA, LYODS) make sure you follow the rules set forth by the IMO..... Which is good becuase all those other classes make sure you are in compliences with the all mighty..... IMO....

[K1W1]

Hi,

C4ENG you are a little off course here.

The MCA is NOT a classification society, they are a UK Government organization which amongst other tasks has upon consultation with others produced two versions of what is known now as The Large Yacht Code (You can get a copy of it here and have a read http://www.ingenierosnavales.com/uploaded/Mca-yates.pdf)

The IMO is different again, this is an Organization that has at the moment 6 Annexes in force that must be complied with to various degrees depending upon the vessel and in some instances where it is operating.

Briefly these are known as:

Annex I: Prevention of Pollution by Oil
Annex II: Control of pollution by noxious liquid substances
Annex III: Prevention of pollution by harmful substances in packaged form
Annex IV: Prevention of pollution by sewage from ships
Annex V: Prevention of pollution by garbage from ships
Annex VI: Prevention of Air Pollution from Ships

If you want to know more about how it all came about and read some of the never ending amendments to these annexes have a look here. http://www.imo.org/Conventions/conte...topic_id=258#9

Both of the links I posted are a sure cure for insomnia.

[Buckeye David]

Thank you for your quick reply. I went to the web sites you referenced and I found them to be very interesting(a sign of a really sick Boat mind?) Any other reference material on yachts-general, construction, etc., etc. you can recommend would be appreciated, you seem to be very knowledgeable. Thank you again for your help.

[Innomare]

Originally Posted by C4ENG

If I am correct, all societies (ABS, MCA, LYODS) make sure you follow the rules set forth by the IMO..... Which is good becuase all those other classes make sure you are in compliences with the all mighty..... IMO....

For seagoing vessels, most class societies (at least those belonging to IACS) have harmonised their rules. So the rules are basically the same.
However for yachts, each class society has their own set of rules, which are quite different.

The applicable rules set by the IMO (SOLAS, IOPP, COLREG, ISPS,...) are of course the same. Basically it is the flag state who will verify compliance with those rules, but flags often delegate this to class societies.

hope this helps