BSS 2026: smoke alarms and the checks that fail boats
A plain guide to the Boat Safety Scheme · Last checked October 2026 · Sources: boatsafetyscheme.com, canalrivertrust.org.uk
Every four years her certificate comes round: the Boat Safety Scheme examination, one of the requirements behind a CRT licence. Roughly 150 checks across the fuel system, the electrics, the gas, the fires and the hull. Most boats pass with a little preparation — and nearly everything that fails was cheap to fix months before.
The numbers, first
- Every four years — the certificate’s life, and a CRT licence asks for a current one.
- £100–175 — the typical examination fee; examiners set their own. A failed item plus a re-visit costs more than any of the fixes below.
- Ninety days — the sensible runway: book the examiner, order the extinguishers, walk the list without panic.
Smoke alarms: where 2026 stands
The Scheme ran a consultation on making smoke alarms a requirement, which closed on 30 July 2026. Houseboats have already carried the requirement for years; the question was about the wider fleet. Whatever the outcome, two things are already true: a working smoke alarm and a CO alarm are the cheapest safety on the boat, and the Scheme’s own site — boatsafetyscheme.com — is where the current position and any transition dates will stand. Check it before your examination rather than trusting this page months later.
The preparation list, by system
The areas below are where examinations are won or lost. The list is deliberately boring: that is what passing looks like.
- Fires. Extinguishers in date with readable tags, a fire blanket by the stove. The single most common failure, and the cheapest to fix. Photograph each tag as you go — the photo is the record.
- Alarms. Working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, with the dates they were last changed kept somewhere that remembers.
- Gas. Cylinders secured in a self-draining locker, hoses in date, no sniff of a leak.
- Fuel. Metal tank secured, fuel lines in date, fill point and vent tidy.
- Electrics. Sound connections, shore inlet intact, batteries secured. Her book remembers the last electrical work — examiners ask.
- Ventilation. Engine and cabin apertures clear of stowage. The cheap check that fails boats whose lockers grew over the years.
The quiet trick: photo evidence as you go
Every fix on this list is photographable — the extinguisher tag, the new hose, the clear vent. Photographs with a date turn “I replaced them before the examination” from a memory into a record, the same way the cruising log works for movement. Keep the photos with the boat’s book, and the next examination in four years starts from evidence, not archaeology.
She counts the days so you do not have to
Tell Infloyce when the certificate runs to and she nudges at ninety and thirty days, keeps the preparation checklist, and holds the photo of every extinguisher tag. Free — the checklists and reminders stay free on every tier.
Questions people ask
- How much does the check cost?
- £100–175 typically; examiners set their own prices. The re-visit after a failure is the real cost — preparation is the bargain.
- How long does the certificate last?
- Four years, and a current one sits behind the CRT licence. Count backwards from the date, not forwards.
- What fails most?
- Extinguishers, alarms, ventilation, fuel fill and vent — all cheap, all invisible until somebody looks.
- Are smoke alarms becoming mandatory?
- The consultation closed on 30 July 2026; boatsafetyscheme.com holds the current position. Fit them regardless — they are the cheapest safety on board.
- When to start preparing?
- Ninety days out: book the examiner, order the parts, walk the list calmly.
A plain guide from boaters’ software, not the Scheme itself. The BSS examination requirements are the authority — boatsafetyscheme.com — and they change; check them before booking.