I was wondering if NSW Maritime has the legal right to insist that boat owners have to have their moorings checked commercially every 12 months? Although probably a good idea but for some might be a financial burden
Personally I think that it's fair.
Like you said some people do not have much money, meaning when their boat breaks free in a storm some other poor smuck has to foot the bill
In ten years of 30ft+ boating we had 3 boats break free from moorings and smack straight into ours.
This is an excellent idea.
From the NSW Maritime website,
"To help ensure your mooring is installed correctly, Maritime recommends you engage an experienced mooring contractor and use only quality materials. The mooring must be serviced as a minimum, once a year, to maintain it in good order and condition."
"Must be serviced" indicates that it is mandatory.
"Recommends you engage" indicates that it's optional.
So, my reading is that you can service your mooring yourself, but it must be serviced every year.
I expect if you use a commercial mooring contractor you would get a better insurance deal (but I am speculating about that)
It is all on www.rms.nsw.gov.au/maritime/index.html
JB
Yes rather confusing wording...
The chains for my dock broke loose (rust) just couple weeks ago, with mild damage to a couple of boats. I woulda agreed with the idea of regular checking, but even more so now...
Disclaimer - I knew nothing about this 5 minutes ago but I'm bored...
If you follow JayBee's link then dig a bit further, then Google a bit more I ended up with-
Yes, you have to have your mooring serviced every 12 months as a condition of the mooring license and you are obliged to provide proof of service on request. And it looks like the authority to issue a license and to attach conditions as they see fit comes from the MANAGEMENT OF WATERS AND WATERSIDE LANDS REGULATIONS--N.S.W. - REG 38
Hmmm, news to me. I never remember being asked to provide proof of professional servicing. (But we did get a regular inspection anyway, perhaps every second year.)
It just said if they ask for proof of servicing you have to provide it, which would be hard to prove if you didn't get a professional in and have a receipt.
Considering the number of moorings I've seen break free in a big southerly, it seems plenty don't do it.
