Spain sets the safety equipment for recreational craft in Real Decreto 339/2021, which succeeds the older Orden FOM/1144/2003. Equipment depends on the boat's navigation zone, and for CE-marked boats the zone is limited by the design category.
Which boats it covers
Article 1: recreational craft "que tengan una eslora comprendida entre 2,5 y 24 metros", between 2.5 and 24 m, carrying no more than 12 passengers. Article 2 applies it to boats registered in Spain, to boats doing commercial or for-profit work in Spanish waters "cualquiera que sea su Estado de pabellón", whatever their flag, and to boats in Spanish waters owned or used by people resident in Spain, whatever their flag.
The navigation zones
| Zone | Limit |
|---|---|
| 1 | Unlimited |
| 2 | Up to 60 nautical miles from the coast |
| 3 | Up to 25 miles |
| 4 | Up to 12 miles |
| 5 | Up to 5 miles from a shelter or accessible beach |
| 6 | Up to 2 miles |
| 7 | Sheltered coastal waters, ports and bays |
For CE-marked boats, article 3 ties the zone to the design category: A, zones 1 to 7; B, zones 2 to 7; C, zones 4 to 7; D, zone 7.
Equipment surveyors check
Liferafts, article 6. Zones 1, 2 and 3 carry one or more liferafts for everyone aboard. On boats used commercially, service intervals may not exceed 24 months; on others, follow the maker.
Lifejackets, article 7. One per person, with a lifejacket light, which may be omitted in zones 4 to 7 for day sailing only. Zone 1 carries one extra. Children and babies need lifejackets for their weight and size. Minimum buoyancy: 275 N in zone 1, 150 N in zones 2 to 4, 100 N in zones 5 to 7. Inflatables are serviced to the maker's schedule.
Lifebuoy, article 8. Zones 1 to 4 carry a lifebuoy with light and line; zone 1 an extra one without.
Distress signals, article 9.
| Signal | Zone 1 | Zones 2 and 3 | Zone 4 | Zones 5 and 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand flares | 6 | 6 | 3 | 3 |
| Parachute rockets | 6 | 6 | 3 | |
| Floating smoke signals | 2 | 1 |
Lights and sound, article 10. Navigation lights CE certified or approved by an EU member state; a foghorn; a bell on boats of 20 m or more.
Anchor, article 11. Anchor line no shorter than five times the boat's length.
First aid, article 13. Boats without professional crew in zones 1 to 4 carry the kit set for liferafts in Spanish rules; boats with professional crew follow the rules for crewed vessels.
Extinguishers, article 15. CE-marked boats carry what the owner's manual specifies. Commercial and non-CE boats follow a table by length, from one 34B extinguisher under 10 m to three from 20 to 24 m, and commercial boats of 10 m or more carry one more than the table.
Charter boats
Commercial use brings: cover whatever the flag, liferaft service at 24 months at most, the crewed first-aid rules where there's professional crew, and the extra extinguisher at 10 m and over. See the charter yacht condition report.
Citing it in a finding
"Liferaft service overdue; on a commercially used boat the interval may not exceed 24 months, Real Decreto 339/2021 article 6." Name the boat's zone in the report particulars, because every equipment finding follows from it.