The working group developing the code has to ensure any requirement for assessment is practical and applicable to the existing fleet of hire boats, says the BMF. The code is intended to cover all forms of inland hire craft from beach craft to river cruisers, from canoes to canal boats and includes day boats.

As part of the work to ensure the new code takes account of current designs, the BMF Technical Department is conducting a series of stability tests on a variety of craft over the next two months. This work will be sponsored by the BMF and supported by the MCA.

In all, around 30 tests will be carried out and the data fed back to the working group for consideration. Member hire boat operators have been asked via their group associations to assist with the testing programme: further information is available from Nik Parker or Nigel Saw at the BMF.

The code is intended to cover all craft operating for hire on inland categorised waters:

this extends from narrow canals (category A waters) to estuaries and large bays (category D waters), encompassing many "at sea" locations.

Currently, hire boats operating only in such "at sea" locations, for instance the Solent, and not going further to sea, are not required to be coded to MCA small craft codes.