Glossary

The declaration of conformity is a document that must always accompany the recreational craft, the components and the propulsion engines, and must always be attached to the owner's manual. It contains data on the manufacturer, the product and the administrative and legal procedures and information that have been taken into consideration when developing and manufacturing the product. The legal requirements regarding the content of the Declaration of Conformity can be found in Annex XV of the Recreational Craft Directive.

Recreational crafts are divided into four design categories ("Ocean", "Offshore", "Inshore", "Sheltered waters"). The Design Categories are based on the parameters "significant wave height" and "wind force", to define the physical conditions that might arise in any category for design evaluation. This classification constitutes a reference for the application of the essential requirements regarding design and construction as well as for the conformity assessment procedure to be applied.

Recreational marine engines are classified into three types depending on the combustion technology used ("two-stroke spark ignition", "four-stroke spark ignition" and "compression ignition"), and according to the way they are installed in or on the craft (outboard engines, inboard engines, stern drive engines with or without integral exhaust, personal watercraft engines). For each of these engine types, the EU legislation establishes limit values for exhaust emissions: carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides and particulates and noise emissions.

The exhaust gases from a recreational marine engines contains pollutants such ascarbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HC), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates, which can affect both human health and the environment and are therefore subject to certain limit values.

Any type of boat intended for sports and leisure purposes of hull length from 2.5m to 24m, measured according to harmonized standards, regardless of the means of propulsion, is considered a "recreational craft". In addition, the Recreational craft directive also covers personal watercraft in its scope. Personal watercraft are defined as a vessel less than 4 m in length which uses an internal combustion engine having a water jet pump as its primary source of propulsion and designed to be operated by a person or persons sitting, standing or kneeling on, rather than within the confines of, a hull.