Fantastic Laura! Like you, I think it's a bit bittersweet that you're one of the first 5 women to be trained for this. However, from small acorns etc. Please keep us up to date with your progress and good luck on your journey 🙂
Great to hear all about your new challenge. I will have to get a boat so you can tell me what I am doing wrong😁 All the best with the training and new role.
Lorna as I like her! : taking on a challenge - a doable challenge - and widening her comfort zone ever more. Thanks for this update, thank you for putting this stuff out on youtube!
A thought occurs ref your qualification ... will the course involve a marine gas testing element? In short will you be marine gas qualified as well as BSS qualified? Happy to be corrected but are you able to issue a pass certificate "only" if a boat is equipped with a bubble tester? I got "caught" in 2017 when the BSS examiner failed my boat for a supposed gas leak. He just happened to have a marine gas qualified mate who turned up the next day and couldn't find any gas leak at all. Was then given a BSS pass cert. Cost me another £40 on top of BSS test fee. Used another examiner for last test who was both BSS and marine gas qualified. This second examiner spent at least half the test period just doing the gas test including measuring each and every air vent for adequate ventilation ... this second bloke was absolutely fastidious with testing the gas system and checked every single part, even to extent of testing the gas regulator. He was equally fastidious with checking the fuel supply system too. Even to extent of checking the diesel tank vent to ensure it wasn't blocked with dirt or had been over painted. The previous examiner and his mate didn't do anything like that at all. Have to say much happier with the fully gas qualified examiner.
We won’t be gas safe registered but the vast majority of boats don’t require the examiner to be. But from what I’ve seen so far, I think a lot of the examination time will be spent on the gas appliances
@@lornajaneadventures Well, let's hope by the time you're qualified the majority of boats will be fitted with a bubble tester! I gather too that the BSS exam is to be simplified a bit with more emphasis on gas and fuel safety, as in the installation and ventilation of appliances. From a conversation a few years back with the BSS bods I gather that batteries will be subject to closer scrutiny too. Particularly lithium cells, as in they way they are charged and dangers of "thermal runaway".
When you have a passion for something, I find that learning is much easier than a standard classroom course you may have had to slog through in college etc. Good luck on your journey, I am sure you will do great and meet some great folks as well.
Such great news, what a cool challenge for you and I believe you will Rock It! So lovely to see your dear nuisance trying to photobomb, he does it so well, doesn't he. My Princess has decided that the keyboard looks very interesting so must be walked on while I'm trying to type. Such great companions. Sigh. All the very best wishes for future success.
Is it just me as an ex narrow boat owner and someone who is looking to purchase another one, I watch all sorts of narrow boat content on RU-vid and I’m staggered by the amount of almost derelict craft moored along the cut that definitely haven’t got a prayer of getting a boat safely certificate?
All the way through that, I was thinking PGi you certainly have a good grounding for that role. Definitely taking the right approach for the future, keep that sensible head of yours, firmly screwed on and good luck with the course.
Sounds fantastic and a great fit for you. A set up for wonderful success. Blazing new trails (finally for them), but better late than never. Congratulations it sounds like fun how could it be any better wishing you a wonderful year and many great new friendships and connections. It really does suit you seems to me. WIll you have to travel a lot to check on the boats or is it stationary they come to you? Viva la Adventures!!
Congrats on the new course, you are going to be perfect for the role. You understand safety with your everyday job and have the surveyors cert so you're a perfect candidate. Do you have to carry your own litigation indemnity insurance or is that covered by the organisation? I only ask because I have a part-time job in which if something were to go wrong it could go VERY wrong (pyrotechnics and shot firing) and I know how expensive cover can be. PS: it's getting lonely over on the Patreon page . . .
Hi Lorna, Excellant news, I wish you all the best for your course, I have every confidence in you succeding. You'll enjoy Norwich and the Broads, great stretches of water if you get the chance to see them. Norwich is about 30 minutes away from me by train. Take care, Jon B.
Got to say, I’ve always disagreed with anyone being able to become a bss examiner. The standards are completely open to interpretation with that in mind all examiners should be a qualified marine engineer. How are you going to judge the safety of an electricity set up without being a qualified electrician for example? It sounds like they are just filling quotas rather than getting qualified people. I wouldn’t want anyone testing my boat who hasn’t got years of experience. Bss examiners should be experts in their field and not p someone who’s a bit bored and wants to have a bit of a change. We’re dealing with peoples money and much more importantly their lives if something gets missed. I don’t blame you for wanting to go for it but I think the bss and CRTs approach to recruitment extremely questionable.
The training is fully accredited unlike previously, so all examiners will meet the same standards and requirements. Years of experience doesn’t equate to years of doing things the correct way
Wholeheartedly disagree. Just because someone has a certificate doesn’t mean they have the knowledge to decipher diy electrics for instance? If a newly certified examiner fails someone who then has to pay for independent electricians to prove the safety of their system then pay for a retest would the examiner refund all their costs? Doubtful, if not highly unlikely. Surely to judge the safety of a boat you will have to know of all of the different ways of installing electrics and gas and have good knowledge of most types of engines and nowadays electric motor drives… before you can even hope to deem a boat safe or not.
@@tinythrottle6186 you have to mark the boat against the BSS criteria and not a personal opinion. This is part of the reason so many previous examiners were not re-certified by BSS when they standardised and accredited the training. Also it’s not realistic to expect someone to be an engineer, an electrician, a gas engineer etc. It’s similar to having a boat or house surveyed, the surveyor doesn’t go on to make the repairs
@@lornajaneadventures what I’m saying, and please believe me that this isn’t a personal attack on you, I want someone testing my boat who has the common sense that comes with years of experience, even the most experienced of examiners will come across things they’ve never seen before. Also, I’m sorry but you’re mistaken to say that you have to just mark a boat against a list of criteria, yes there are standards I agree , for example gas pipes to be clipped every few inches , that fuel pipes have to be stamped with the correct codes etc, but how will you mark a boats spiders web of electrics for instance if you’re not qualified to know what you’re looking at? How will you perform a gas drop.test if the only test point is on the boiler? How will you know if a vintage engine has the correct pipework if the fuel pipes have been made bespoke etc? Real life experience tells me that I had a newly passed examiner in 2017 and he failed my gas locker failed my gas drop test and failed my engine for a list of reasons that I won’t bore you with. I then spent two weeks at great expense and time and effort doing everything he thought was needed only to rebook with someone else who had 20 years experience and was a certified marine engineer to come and talk me through a detailed explanation of why the first guy was completely wrong to fail me , a costly lesson of nearly £1000 for the sake of that guys interpretation of the bss standards. Never, ever again .
Good luck on this new journey! I must say, I had to laugh out loud once: Not many people will say that they are really looking forward to their examinations. Good for you, it's certainly the right attitude. Made my day, many thanks for that.
Good luck with this course , I’m sure you’ll sail through it. Would you or is the organisation have insurance coverage once you begin as an examiner Lor ?
@@lornajaneadventures Suggest you get yourself needled up against tetanus ... and possibly rabies ... there's a few boats around Honey Street I'd not want to board in a hurry ... 😂😂😂 And possibly a full face visor with independent air supply ... and nitrile gloves ... and private medical insurance ... And no mistake. 😂😂😂😂
