Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 404 APRIL 2017 • FOGHORN A Busy Spring Bodes Well for PVA and the Industry Innovations in Shipbuilding As with every industry, innovations and advanced techniques are constantly being made and used. If you lived next door to a house being built 40 years ago, the constant hammering would begin early morning and end at quitting time. Through the years the hammering has, for the most part, been replaced by the sound of a pneumatic nail gun. Homebuilders also figured out that it was easier and more cost effective to order and install pre-fabricated trusses to support the roof. Sweated copper pipes have been replaced by PVC and PEX. Someone figured out that the innovations would lead to lower costs, for both labor and materials, and be safer. Having never overseen the construction of a new vessel I’m not really a savvy to all the new technology being used. Some time ago, we toured PVAAssociate member Scarano Boat Building in Albany, NY. At that time they were engaged in the building a new aluminum water taxi. I was intrigued with a computer-directed cutter that cut the material to the exact specifications needed. An aluminum plate was placed on the table and the parts were cut utilizing the plate to its maximum, thereby min- imizing waste. It was all in the setup. A new technology had been added to a process that already included many skilled individuals. Vessel designers and builders are continually exploring new methods to lower costs, add more safety, reliability, and comfort to new builds. They are also providing services to the existing fleet for dry dock in- spections, repairs and alterations. As of May 2016, there were there were a total of 6,345 Subchapter H, K and T vessels in the U.S. Coast Guard- inspected domestic fleet. Each one of these vessels will require a drydock inspection every two or five years, depending on route. As we all know, a drydock inspec- tion date is a “drop dead” date. There are rarely excep- tions made. The health and vitality of our shipbuilders is of vital importance to all of us. NTSB: Recreational Boaters Need Safety Course to Avoid Collisions with Commercial Vessels The National Transportation Safety Board issued the following recommendation on February 9, 2017 in a report entitled, “Safety of Recreational and Commercial Vessels in the Marine Transportation System,” (MSR- 17/01.) “Several stakeholders in both the com- mercial marine transportation industry and the recreational boating community have discussed with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) their concerns rising from an increase in encounters between commercial and recreational vessels. Given the number of encounters currently observed between these vessels, the predicted increase in the number of such encounters, and feedback from commer- cial marine transportation industry representatives, the Office of Marine Safety (OMS) sought to better un- derstand the scope of this issue and determine the extent to which the safety of our nation’s waterways is affected.” N T S B a d d r e s s e d t h e following to the Coast Guard: 1. Establish a process whereby, at regular intervals, all harbor safety committees identify the safety risks posed by the interaction of commercial and recre- ational vessels in their respective geographic areas; where necessary, develop and implement practices to mitigate those risks; and share successful practices among all harbor safety committees. (M-17-1) 2. Seek statutory authority that requires all recreational boat operators on waters subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to demonstrate completion of an instructional course or an equivalent that meets the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators standards. (M-17-2) With these two recommendations, the NTSB memori- alized the importance of Harbor Safety Committees and articulated a requirement for education that members of the PVA have stated for years. With this opening it is incumbent upon our membership to lobby both state LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT Jeff Whitaker CONTINUED ON PAGE 38 Mr.Whitaker Goes to Washington March 13, 2017--(l to r) PVA Director of Regulatory Affairs and Risk Management, Eric Christensen, PVA 2017 President Jeff Whitaker and PVA Executive Director John Groundwater at the White House for a meeting with Coast Guard RearAdmiral PeterW.Gautier,Senior Director for Response Policy,White House National Security Council Staff.