Office of Boating Safety
All vessels of 15 gross tonnage or less must meet the construction requirements of the Small Vessel Regulations (SVR) if they are:
- propelled or designed to be propelled by an engine;
- permanently fitted with an auxiliary engine; or
- fitted with a fuel-burning appliance or system that uses gaseous fuel, liquefied petroleum gas, compressed natural gas or naphtha.
There are a few exceptions in the application of the construction requirements, mainly:
- Pleasure craft of more than 24 metres in length must be built in accordance with the applicable recommended practices and standards of a marine classification society or any other organization that publishes appropriate rules or standards, and must also comply with sections 701, 703 and 704 of the SVR.
- Personal watercraft may be built according to the standard ISO 13590 (Small craft —Personal watercraft — Construction and system installation requirements) and sections 701, 702, 704 to 709 and 711 of the SVR.
- Tugs must be built according to the requirements of the Hull Construction Regulations, Marine Machinery Regulationsand other applicable Transport Canada regulations and standards. The Critical Safety Requirements of Part 6 of the SVR also apply to tugs.
- Tier 1-Policy-Accepting alternative electrical standards for small electric and hybrid vessels, allows alternate electrical standards for vessels less than 24 metres in length that have hybrid or electric propulsion.
The construction requirements are stated in Part 7 of the SVR. The SVR also incorporates by reference a number of documents that must be complied with such as the standard TP 1332 Construction Standards for Small Vessels.
Acceptance of ABYC Standards by Transport Canada
Note:Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security (TCMSS) has published a policy on the acceptance of American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) standards in lieu of TP 1332 Construction Standards for Small Vessels. This policy is applicable to pleasure vessels less than 24 meters and non-pleasure vessels of not more than 15 gross tonnage constructed, manufactured, rebuilt in, or imported into Canada.
As an alternative to the existing TP 1332 standard, TCMSS will accept the equivalent standards published by ABYC (with some Canadian modifications) as an approved method for small vessel compliance in Canada. See: Acceptance of alternative construction requirements for small vessels for more information.
For ease of reference, the construction requirements of the SVR have been included in information boxes in the TP 1332 standard.
Pleasure craft must comply with the construction requirements that were in force at the time the vessel was built, as stated in section 702 of the SVR. If the pleasure craft was built or imported before May 2010, it must comply with one of the previous editions of the TP 1332 standard. Previous editions of the TP 1332 standard were published in 1974, 1978, 1999, 2002,2004, 2010 and 2024.
Vessels other than pleasure craft built between April 1, 2005 and the coming into force of the new Small Vessel Regulations (April 29, 2010) must comply with the 2004 edition of the TP 1332 standard as stated in paragraph 707(2) of the SVR.
As stated in section 708 of the SVR, vessels other than pleasure craft built before April 1, 2005 must meet the safety objectives of the 2004 edition of the TP 1332 standard, or the recommended practices and standards that provide a level of safety at least equivalent to that provided by the 2004 edition of the TP 1332 standard for safety critical elements. These vessels must also comply, as far as is reasonable and practicable, with then non-critical safety elements of the 2004 edition of the TP 1332 standard.
As stated in section 4 of the TP 1332 standard, monohull vessels of not more than 6 metres that are subject to swamping must be fitted with flotation. Information on buoyancy material is available.