Missing oil and garbage placards on a US boat 26 ft and over: what's required and how surveyors write it up

Two small signs are required on every US boat of 26 ft and over, and they're among the easiest things to miss on a survey. Both come from the Coast Guard's pollution rules, and both apply to recreational boats.

The oil placard

33 CFR 155.450 requires an oil discharge placard on every vessel except those under 26 ft:

• at least 5 by 8 in, of durable material
• fixed in a conspicuous place in each machinery space, or at the bilge and ballast pump control station
• headed "Discharge of Oil Prohibited", with the wording set out in the rule
• in a language the crew understands

The garbage placard

33 CFR 151.51 applies the garbage placard to manned US vessels of 26 ft or more, recreational boats included. Under 151.59 it must be at least 8 in wide by 5 in high, durable and legible, and displayed where crew and passengers will read it: embarkation points, the galley, living spaces and common areas on deck are the examples given. It states the discharge rules, that plastic may not be discharged into any waters, the penalties, and that regional, state and local rules may also apply.

The garbage management plan

A manned ocean-going US boat of 40 ft or more, documented or state-numbered, that's engaged in commerce or has a galley and berthing, needs a written plan under 151.57. It describes how garbage is kept to a minimum, collected, stored and discharged, and names the person in charge of it.

Writing it up

Give the boat's length and say which placards are present and where. Say too whether the boat needs a garbage management plan, and cite the section for each. Placards are cheap to fix, so most surveyors grade them B.

Photos to take

Each placard where it's mounted, or the place it should be. With Axsail, say "no oil placard in the engine room" and it becomes a finding with the rule beside it.