CE marking for recreational craft done! With easyCE expert support.
Prepare your craft for a clearly defined conformity assessment. easyCE reviews the intended use, design category and technical evidence, coordinates the required assessments and prepares the agreed documentation.
Willy Lebherz
Founder and Managing Director of easyCE GmbH
DoC ready to sign!
We prepare your declaration of conformity, ready for the responsible signatory.
Risk assessment completed!
We assess the relevant product risks and document the findings.
Applicable standards identified!
We identify the relevant harmonised standards and check their scope, current references and any restrictions for your product.
Technical documentation created!
We prepare clear technical records and practical instructions for your product.
Ready for CE marking!
Once conformity has been demonstrated, the manufacturer signs the declaration and affixes the required marking.
Your role. Your CE responsibilities.
Manufacturers
Directive 2013/53/EU on recreational craft and personal watercraft sets requirements for products within its scope. Recreational craft generally have a hull length from 2.5 to 24 metres, regardless of propulsion. Personal watercraft, certain components and propulsion engines have their own scope provisions.
The design category describes the wind and wave conditions for which a craft is designed. Hull length and compliance with relevant harmonised standards also affect the available conformity assessment procedures. Manufacturer, importer and private-importer responsibilities must be distinguished.
easyCE reviews the craft specification, intended use and available design or test evidence. We identify the assessment route and prepare the agreed technical records and declaration. Imported used craft and major conversions need a specific review; age alone does not establish an exemption.
Frequently asked questions
Which legislation applies to recreational craft?
Directive 2013/53/EU, the Recreational Craft Directive or RCD, covers recreational craft, personal watercraft and specified components and propulsion engines. It has generally applied since 18 January 2016, subject to its transitional provisions. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/1 provides detailed watercraft-identification rules.
What is the Recreational Craft Directive?
The RCD sets essential requirements for design and construction, exhaust emissions and noise emissions for the relevant products. Recreational craft generally fall within the hull-length range of 2.5 to 24 metres. The requirements depend on the product, use and scope, not simply whether it is described as a sports boat.
When does a craft need an RCD assessment?
Check the rules before placing a craft on the EU market or putting it into service. New craft and used craft imported from outside the EU can fall within scope.
- A private importer may need post-construction assessment where the manufacturer has not fulfilled the relevant conformity obligations.
- A major craft conversion, major engine modification or change of intended purpose can trigger assessment obligations.
- A craft built for own use loses the relevant own-use exemption if it is subsequently placed on the market within five years of being put into service.
For older craft, establish its documented market and use history. A construction date before June 1998 is not by itself a universal exemption for a later import.
Which craft are excluded?
Article 2 contains detailed exclusions, some limited to design and construction requirements. Examples include:
- Craft intended solely for racing and labelled as such by the manufacturer.
- Canoes and kayaks designed to be propelled solely by human power, gondolas and pedalos.
- Surfboards and specified sailing boards.
- Original historical craft and qualifying individual replicas based on designs before 1950.
- Experimental craft not subsequently placed on the market and craft built for own use under the five-year condition.
- Craft specifically intended to be crewed and carry passengers commercially, without treating all charter or recreational-training use as automatically excluded.
- Submersibles, air-cushion vehicles, hydrofoils, specified external-combustion steam craft and amphibious vehicles.
Temporary visits or transit must be assessed from the actual circumstances; there is no general tourism exemption that permits permanent market entry without conformity.
Who is responsible for conformity?
The manufacturer is responsible for the craft it markets under its name. Importers and distributors have separate checking and traceability duties. A private importer has specific obligations where the manufacturer has not completed the required assessment. Placing on the market and putting into service are different legal events.
What must a manufacturer prepare?
The manufacturer must demonstrate the applicable essential requirements and complete the selected assessment procedure.
- Technical documentation covering the design, manufacture and operation.
- An owner's manual and required safety information in the appropriate language.
- The EU declaration of conformity.
- The required CE marking, watercraft identification and builder's plate.
These duties also apply where internal production control is an available route.
What administrative requirements apply?
The product must have the required identification, marking, declaration and user information. The technical file must support the assessment, including relevant stability, buoyancy and other design evidence.
The available modules depend on the product, design category, hull length and, in some cases, use of the specified harmonised standards. The design-and-construction route must also be distinguished from the applicable exhaust- and noise-emission procedures.
What safety requirements apply?
Annex I covers the applicable essential requirements. For watercraft, these include structure, stability, freeboard, buoyancy, handling, protection against falling overboard, reboarding and relevant installations.
Fuel, electrical, steering, gas and fire-protection arrangements must be assessed where relevant. The design category and maximum recommended load are important inputs. Harmonised standards can support the assessment but are not a universal substitute for checking the full set of applicable requirements.
How are design categories and assessment routes related?
Design categories A, B, C and D describe wind and wave conditions, not hull-length classes. Hull length is a separate factor in selecting the conformity procedure under Article 19.
Identify the category from the intended operating conditions and substantiate the craft's suitability. Then select a permitted assessment module for that category and length.
Which routes apply to Category A and B craft?
For hull lengths from 2.5 m to less than 12 m, Article 19 permits Module A1; Module B combined with C, D, E or F; Module G; or Module H.
For hull lengths from 12 m to 24 m, the options are Module B with C, D, E or F; Module G; or Module H. These are the design-and-construction routes; other applicable emission assessments remain separate.
Which routes apply to Category C craft?
For hull lengths from 2.5 m to less than 12 m, Module A is available where the specified harmonised standards for stability and buoyancy are met. Other options include A1, B with C, D, E or F, G, and H.
If those harmonised standards are not met, Module A is not available for that case. For lengths from 12 m to 24 m, the options are B with C, D, E or F, G, or H.
Which routes apply to Category D craft?
For Category D recreational craft from 2.5 m to 24 m, the available routes include Module A, A1, B combined with C, D, E or F, G, or H. Select a route that suits the product and production arrangements. Components and personal watercraft have their own module provisions.
When is a notified body needed?
Notified-body involvement depends on the selected procedure. Internal production control under Module A does not require a notified body, while other routes include specified tests, type examination, verification or quality-system assessment. Select a body notified for the relevant RCD tasks.
What tests or inspections are required?
The evidence depends on the craft and assessment route. Stability, buoyancy, structure and relevant installations must be substantiated. Under Module A1, specified production tests are supervised as required; Module A should not be described as a notified-body test procedure. easyCE helps define and coordinate the necessary evidence.
What happens if a craft does not comply?
Authorities may require corrective action, restrict supply or order withdrawal or recall. Missing identification, an inadequate owner's manual or an incorrect builder's plate can be compliance issues alongside technical defects. National law determines the applicable penalties.
What is the watercraft identification number?
The watercraft identification number, WIN, identifies the individual craft. It includes the manufacturer's country code and unique code, a unique serial number, the month and year of production and the model year. Its format and application must follow the applicable identification requirements.
What belongs in the owner's manual?
The owner's manual must provide the information needed for safe use, including setting up, normal operation, maintenance, risk prevention and risk management. It should explain relevant design limits, recommended loads and safety arrangements. The supplied language must meet the requirements of the destination market.
What is the builder's plate?
The builder's plate is permanently affixed separately from the WIN. It contains:
- Manufacturer identification and contact address.
- CE marking.
- The watercraft design category.
- The maximum recommended load, excluding the contents of fixed tanks when full.
- The recommended number of people for which the craft was designed.
What changes after post-construction assessment?
Post-construction assessment is a defined notified-body procedure, not a general retrospective certificate. Where it applies, the responsible person must meet the corresponding documentation and marking duties. The builder's plate includes the relevant notified-body details and the wording “post-construction assessment” as required by the directive.
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Your project in three steps
Step 1
Discuss your product
Tell us about your product and request free initial advice. We identify the likely conformity requirements and the next steps for your project.
Step 2
Receive your proposal
We explain the required assessments and documentation, then prepare a proposal for the scope you need. You can commission a complete project or individual tasks.
Step 3
Your expert gets started
Your dedicated CE expert carries out the agreed engineering and documentation tasks and keeps you informed throughout the project. Follow-up questions can be discussed with the same expert.
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Product safety expertise
Willy Lebherz, Founder and Managing Director of easyCE
- Expert in product safety and conformity since 1995
- Recipient of the "Medal of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany", awarded in 1983 by the then Federal President Carl Carstens
- Meister qualification in measurement and control technology
- Captain (ret.), Project Officer for Technical Logistics in the Army Material Office and Chief of the Telecommunications Repair Company
easyCE is an engineering consultancy specialising in product safety and conformity assessment. We help manufacturers, operators and suppliers assess products, reduce risks and prepare the documentation needed for market access. Our engineers identify applicable requirements, develop safety measures, prepare technical documentation and coordinate testing. You can commission the complete agreed process or selected tasks. Founded in southern Germany, easyCE works with clients internationally.
Technical expertise. Clear documentation. A defined route to conformity.