Article

The American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), the nonprofit organization that develops the safety standards for the design, construction, maintenance and repair of recreational boats, announced its 12th annual Standards Week will be extended and held virtually, Jan. 5-21, 2021. What has usually taken place over a week of day long meetings will be extended to four weeks.

The ABYC virtual events include:

• ABYC’s annual meeting and happy hour, Jan. 5
• Project Technical Committee (PTC) meetings, Jan. 11-22.
• Sur/Tech Symposium, surveyor and technician training, Jan. 6-7
• ABYC Standards Certification course, Jan. 26-28

At the core of Standards Week is the development and review of ABYC Standards. This year, PTCs will gather using an online platform, during multiday, three-hour long sessions.

“Standards week is a critical time to have experts from around the world at the table to update the ABYC standards, and taking Standards Week virtual simply means we changed the table,” said ABYC technical director Brian Goodwin. “In a virtual setting, we know participants will still be getting all the regular work pressures and distractions, so we limited the session lengths to three hours and have different PTC meetings in the morning and afternoon. This arrangement will allow attendees from around the world have dedicated time slots to focus on the standards review without sacrificing an entire workday.”

Participation in the standards review process is required from a diverse group of marine industry professionals, each with different perspectives and areas of expertise. Attendees can be engaged in revisions to the boat building and repair standards under review or newly considered and affect the future of international boating. All are welcome to have a voice in the standards development process.

Below is a list of the PTC meetings and topics under review in 2021:

• Electrical
• Fuel & Ventilations
• Hull Piping
• Product Interface
• Engine & Powertrain
• Hull Performance
• Navigation Lights and Sound Signals
• Aquatic Invasive Species

Additionally, the new ABYC Sur/Tech has been added this year to provide a necessary continuing education opportunity for the marine industry.

The first day is dedicated to surveyor training with topics including: surveying electrical systems, using the standards to inspect marine and propulsion systems, how to make survey reports defensible in court, corrosion theory and practice, and writing survey reports utilizing ABYC standards.

The second day is dedicated to training marine technicians training with topics including: batteries, chargers and alternators, AC and DC systems analysis and tools, legal issues of marine insurance, and CZONE training.

“With education and training events canceled around the world, ABYC reached out to an impressive list of speakers and educators to find a new way to support marine industry professionals in their continuing education,” said Kevin Scullen, ABYC membership director. “Attendees can choose one day or the other based on what topics are of interest, or come to both and earn 10 continuing education credits (CEUs) total.”

Registration for Standards Week will open soon. Sponsorship opportunities are available. For more information visit www.abycstandardsweek.com