Please select your home edition
Edition

Scottish Government allows travel to boats for essential maintenance

by Marc Turner, RYA Scotland 10 Mar 2021 05:29 PST
Travel for essential maintenance for boats allowed © RYA

Scottish Government allows travel to boats for essential maintenance in line with guidance for owners of second homes.

Fergus Ewing Cabinet Secretary of Rural Economy and Tourism acknowledged the need for parity with second homes following representations by Sail Scotland supported by RYA Scotland and British Marine Scotland. Travel exemptions have been confirmed as allowing owners of private boats to travel to their vessels to undertake essential maintenance.

National Regulations are intended to be flexible to allow a person to leave home for a genuinely essential purpose. Rather than setting out an exhaustive list of every reasonable excuse, it leaves it to the individual to make a judgment as to whether a purpose is essential or not.

As the entire sector is effectively closed to the public as part of a national lockdown, only travel for essential maintenance is presently allowed. Travel for cosmetic improvements or preparatory work for the coming season will open-up as restrictions are relaxed in the coming weeks on par with other sectors.

The Scottish Government will try to ensure examples are included in future guidance but where this is not explicitly stated, it would be for the individual to determine the circumstances whether or not travel would be acceptable and essential.

Alan Rankin CEO at Sail Scotland said: "During our ongoing representations to government since the outbreak of Covid-19 for the commercial marine tourism sector we also sought to ensure the rights of leisure boaters remain in line with those of second home-owners. The positive response from Government to this 'ask' is very welcome and we look forward to continuing this dialogue to ensure our industry has parity with other leisure and tourism sectors."

Speaking on hearing the news James Allan CEO at RYA Scotland said "This is great for concerned boat owners and is a very welcome and pragmatic view from The Scottish Government. I am very grateful to our colleagues at Sail Scotland and British Marine Scotland for helping to get this message to the right ears. Their support has been key to this success."

"Parity with the legislation for second homes was all we were asking for and we must now act responsibly with this extension to travel exemptions. Our community needs to understand clearly that this is for essential maintenance and we must all think hard on just what essential means."

British Marine Scotland, the industry body for the marine leisure sector, added. "We are extremely supportive of the steps taken by the Cabinet Secretary and the clarification around the ability to carry out essential maintenance to leisure craft. The sector is also keen to see a road map for recovery out of COVID restrictions and we will be working hard to encourage the Scottish Government to publish guidance as soon as possible to allow businesses and users to plan for getting afloat and additional maintenance as soon as it safe to do so. Many waterside communities rely on marine tourism for valuable revenue and jobs, so we are keen to see boats becoming active as soon as waterside communities are able to welcome them."

Full current RYA Scotland guidance for boating in Scotland is available here and specifically highlights:

Essential maintenance is work which if not undertaken would cause failure or become an imminent safety issue. Some examples are; repairs to prevent water ingress, winterising engines, pumping out bilges and maintaining/ replacing mooring and berth warps.

Essential maintenance should be completed as quickly as possible. Travel for essential maintenance should not be used as a pretext to spend the day aboard 'pottering' or for a weekend away. You should not stay longer than the length of time required to undertake essential maintenance.

Following today's announcement by the First Minister RYA Scotland will be reviewing the current guidance in full with further links for advice for members, clubs, classes and training centres, as well as recreational boating in the UK and abroad are below:

Related Articles

Bulwarks and Bulldust – watch Episode Five
Episode Five - Shane Subichin, The Boat Works - is now up and running Watch along as we speak with Shane Subichin, GM at The Boat Works about his life from tinnies on Sydney Harbour to leading the team at the premier refit and maintenance yard on the Gold Coast. Posted today at 4:28 am
New Formula 360 Crossover Bowrider
An exciting new generation of Formula dayboats has arrived An exciting new generation of Formula dayboats has arrived with the upcoming debut of the all-new Formula 360 Crossover Bowrider. Posted on 5 Jun
2025 Flotilla to Alaska Day 7
Small Inlet to Mound Island We had an elaborate plan all worked out for today, with several backup plans built in, and we scrapped all of it as soon as we got up to Chatham Point light, where the promised 25kt winds and 3ft moderate wind waves did not materialize at all. Posted on 5 Jun
Spirit Yachts Reveals New P50 Motor Yacht
The P50 Coupé and the P50 Sport offer options for warmer and cooler climates An exclusive new project from Spirit Yachts' award-winning in-house design team led by Tom Smith, the Spirit P50 marries the style and sophistication of Spirit's sailing yachts with statement power boat characteristics to offer a luxury proposition. Posted on 4 Jun
Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht - Ready to ride
Making her highly anticipated debut in Atlantic City The Valhalla 55 Sport Yacht makes her highly anticipated debut in Atlantic City, New Jersey – and it's more than a new model. Posted on 4 Jun
2025 Flotilla to Alaska Day 3
Clam Bay to Comox: A gorgeous, calm morning so far! Our alarm went off just before 4:30am this morning...enough time to check the weather, get a few sips of coffee, and figure out if we were going to need to change the plan. Again. Posted on 1 Jun
30th anniversary celebrated at Sanctuary Cove
A meaningful tribute to the people who have shaped Palm Beach Motor Yachts The show welcomed four days of ideal weather and high-quality visitors, including owners and VIP guests who traveled to the Gold Coast for the milestone event. Posted on 31 May
2025 Flotilla to Alaska Day 2
We've already resorted to a Plan B. Day 2 and we've already resorted to a Plan B. Originally our plan this morning was to leave Ganges around 7:30am to make Dodd Narrows by noon, just prior to slack, and then continue on up to Tribune Bay on Hornby Island — a long day (67nm). Posted on 31 May
Bulwarks and Bulldust – watch Episode Four
Episode Four - Mark Elkington, The Yacht Sales Co. - is now up and running Watch along as we speak with Mark Elkington from The Yacht Sales Co. about his transition from a West Australian crayfisherman to a global sales and support organisation par excellence. Posted on 30 May
2025 Flotilla to Alaska Day 1
Prevost Harbor to Ganges The 2025 Flotilla to Alaska officially began last night at Prevost Harbor on Stuart Island, but most everyone was in Anacortes the night before, so we had some extra time to get acquainted before our first official meeting. Posted on 30 May