NACO continues to meet with officials developing the accessibility
guidelines regarding charter boats.
We testified at their hearing and met personally with Paul Beatty
and Larry Roffee their Executive Director in Washington, D.C. in February.
Currently, they have published a draft guideline for large vessels (
carrying 150 or more daily or 49 or more on overnight trips) and advance
notice for guidelines on small vessels. We have presented rough sketch
drawings (courtesy of George Eller, Destin, Florida) of various types of
charter boats throughout the Gulf. After our last meeting with them we
agreed to arrange two locations for them to view charter boats and supply
them with more detailed information regarding small vessels. Below is the
first letter NACO sent on behalf of our membership. Office of Technical and Information Services Architectural and Transportation Barriers
Compliance Board 1331 F Street, NW, suite 1000 Washington, DC 20004-1111 Dear Members: We thank you for this opportunity to comment on
the above. NACO is an association
of charter boat owners and operators representing over 3000 members. Our members are located through out the
country from Alaska to Maine to the Gulf of Mexico and include Hawaii and
the Caribbean. The vessels our
members operate range in size from small zodiac inflatables to 100 head
boats. The majority of our members
own or operate uninspected and T class vessels of less than 100 gross tons
carrying fewer than 150 passengers and fewer than 49 overnight
passengers. These vessels range in
length from 12 to 100 and have beams from 5 to 30. Passenger capacity will range from 2 up
to 149 passengers. The vast
majority of the USCG uninspected 6 passenger classes of vessels are
typically converted pleasure vessels manufactured production line style and
not built to any ADA standards. The
smaller guide type vessels are generally small center console outboard
vessels that are purposely built to carry 4 or 5 people with limited walk
around space. The larger T class
USCG inspected vessels will vary from production line vessels brought into
USCG inspected vessel standards or purposely built for specific activity
such as fishing, sightseeing, diving, etc.
I need to point out that coming into USCG inspected vessel
compliance generally means adding more height to rails, more height to
sides, additional bulkheads, watertight doors and hatches with raised areas
off the deck to prevent water from running under the door, additional hand
rails for safety, specified physical dimensions for passenger seating and
capacity, among many other requirements.
Many USCG safety requirements for vessels are contrary to mobile
accessibility within the vessel. I
will provide line drawings of several different types and sizes of the
vessels we own and operate at the hearing on Monday January 10, 2005. I would like to briefly discuss the 4 options
you have presented plus add our suggestion for another option. We view option 1 as completely
unattainable. As you will be able
to see by the line drawings provided, the vessels we own and operate will
not be able to come in to compliance with even the most minimum requirements
of large passenger vessels. The
most minimum requirements would cause extensive modification to our vessels
which would have severe negative impacts to the safety and operation of
these vessels. Vessels are much
like aircraft as they are designed for specific purposes for operation in
extreme environments. In many cases
a small addition of undesigned weight, different configuration of bulkhead
location and size, expansion of areas designed to be small, can
dramatically alter the vessels stability and could cause severe negative
safety issues when operating in rough seas. We oppose option 1 and suggest it not be considered. Option 2 also has many problems for us. The deck areas of most of the vessels we
own and operate have to allow for the immediate and speedy elimination of
water from waves and weather.
Consequently, the proposed requirement of openings no larger than a
1 inch diameter sphere on deck surfaces of accessibility would not be
reasonable, it would create unsafe conditions and would thus cause U.S.C.G.
vessels to lose their Certificate of Inspection, thus their ability to
carry more than six passengers. The vessels all have exposed deck areas which are the areas of
accessibility thus reducing deck opening to no more than 1 inch in diameter
could cause a vessel to contain too much water in an area which could
result in an extreme unseaworthy and hazardous condition. Most vessels do not have a minimum of 32
inch opening for accessible areas and walkways. Expansion of current areas to meet this proposed requirement
could cause stability issues. Most
sailing vessels will have many cables and lines supporting the mast and
sails and will have limited areas for wheelchair accessibility due to the
nature of the design and integrity of the vessel. They will also generally have limited area on the main deck
and with steep stairs to the main cabin where the head and other facilities
will be located. We contend it
would be most impractical and certainly jeopardize the vessel stability by
trying to alter the original vessel design. The threshold proposal would also create a hazardous
condition and in many cases would be contrary to USCG requirements. The
transfer requirements proposed would be extremely difficult to install as
in most cases there is not enough space available on the small vessels and
the manually or mechanically operated booms and winches could cause
stability issues. The proposed head dimensions also could cause
stability problems and in many cases are just impossible. Many vessels do not have a lot of space
to dedicate to large heads. Marine
heads are not areas used for comfort or relaxation as in many cases the
head area is where many passengers become seasick. Experience has shown that the less time
spent in a head the less likely someone will become seasick. Therefore the vast majority of marine
heads are designed to be functional but to get in and get out. Much like an airplane, the head area is
one where the design of the craft is such that the head area is wasted
space and so it purposely designed small with little impact on vessel
stability. Expansion of the area
could dramatically affect vessel stability. In some cases, vessels use porta potties in very small areas
barely large enough for the device.
In some cases heads are not even required to be on a vessel. In almost all circumstances the head on
vessels are extremely small and will be difficult to modify. The
ladder/step issue would also be difficult to change as in many cases
vessels have traditional steps but at angles of traditional ladders. The angle of the steps/ladders is such
to reduce access space to increase other area space. Modification of this space could affect
the designed stability of the vessel. Option 3 needs more input as to projected costs
of building or altering vessels to be ADA compliant. As I have stressed above, alteration of
vessels to comply with the proposed requirements could cause severe
stability problems thus creating serious safety issues for all passengers. In regards to new construction costs of
design changes to existing plans or totally new design could be so costly
that it would prevent building of such vessels. The tourism market is limited in net income. The vast majority of charter boat owners
are family owned and operated. They
operate on very limited budgets and generally are in business because of
the family history of the business.
While we are open to the possibility of new vessels being designed
to be ADA compliant, we respectfully request more information on the costs
of such new construction compared to the typical new vessel costs. Option 4 is looking at passenger capacity for
implementation. This is difficult
to address because there are so many different type vessels that have
capacity for similar numbers of passengers and then there are similar
vessels that have capacity for different numbers of passengers. An example is a typical 50
sportfisherman with an 18 beam.
There could be two identical vessels with the only exception that
one is USCG uninspected and only be able to carry up to 6 passengers and
the other is USCG inspected and has a USCG certificate to carry 25
passengers. The only difference
between the two vessels is a piece of paper issued by the USCG. Another case is a 35 sportfisherman
with a 12 beam and USCG certified to carry 12 passengers. There could be along side this vessel a
75USCG uninspected vessel with a 22 beam that would be limited to 6
passengers. Vessels are truly no
one size fits all and passenger capacity is not always relative to vessel
size. Option 5, the NACO option is to exempt small
passenger vessels from mandatory ADA compliance. For all the reasons stated above plus the fact that vessels,
especially small passenger vessels, are much like airplanes and in some cases
more dependant on the environment than aircraft. The reason for being more dependant on the environment than
airplanes is that the FAA regulates airplanes more stringently than any
water born agency. Vessels generally
move freely depending on the person in charge of the vessel. Where airlines are controlled when and
where to fly, vessels are generally not.
Sea conditions change at a moments notice. Vessel stability and reaction is based on the original design
and therefore responds in certain ways.
Minor changes to weight, bulkhead configuration, water elimination
from decks, and a host of other factors can dramatically affect how the
vessel functions and therefore the safety of passengers and crew. We therefore request that small
passenger vessels be exempt from required ADA compliance and look forward
to working with you on this most important issue. There are over 16,000 recreational for-hire
fishing vessels alone in the United States. This includes both salt and freshwater. It does not include the thousands of
sightseeing, diving, water taxi service, sailing and other tourism for-hire
vessels. The possible impact from
the proposed requirements can be substantial. Safety for all the passengers we carry is of paramount
importance to us. Our sector has an
extremely good record and reputation for accommodating the physically
challenged. We work hard for our
passengers to ensure safety and service.
NACO is the leading voice for the charter boat fleet in the United
States and appreciates this opportunity to comment. We welcome your advice
and will be happy to answer any questions you may have now or in the
future. We also would like to thank
Mr. Beatty for his help and guidance. His efforts have been extremely helpful
and he has gone out of his way to provide information to us. Again, thank you this opportunity to
speak. Sincerely, R.F.Zales, II President
Americans With Disability Act (ADA) Update
