Alaskan SD, your points are well taken, and rest assured I wasn't attempting to goad you into compliance, my fuel filter and battery box recommendations were sincere and born of a desire to make a safer vessel for you and your crew.
For the sake of all TF readers, forget, for the moment, I used the A(BYC) word, I understand it's controversial around here. Just look at it this way, it's not about standards or the politics thereof, it's about practical, real-world fire safety. If you have an engine room fire the heat shield and metallic drain plug buy the filter time, time that will ideally be used to extinguish the fire with a fixed fire fighting system or at least a portable extinguisher, period, there's no ulterior motive. In all cases, I cite standards for no other reason than to reinforce my own beliefs, beliefs that are derived of actual, from the trenches, hands-on boat building, service and repair experience. And, I'm no knee-jerk compliance fanatic, there are ABYC Standards with which I disagree, some are too stringent, others not stringent enough, I always rely on my own judgment and experience first.
Now back to ABYC, save those that apply to navigation lights and a handful of other Code of Federal Regulation laws, there were no "US required [boat building]standards" in 1988 nor are there now. It's true, the US boat building industry is for the most part self-regulating. Today a builder or yard could use that same filter, and some still do, it's foolish but they do it, and not be cited for it. The retrofit in your case is, once again, easy, parts are available on line, they are not very costly, you could do it in 2 hours max and it would be a good opportunity to clean out your filter bowls and coalescers.
As an aside, the flame resistance guideline has been around for decades, almost certainly long before your boat was built (see its history below), so it didn't comply then, the Standards were just far less prolific back then so many builders simply didn't know this was a potential fire safety issue, and the automotive version of the filter is less expensive than the MA version, which is why it was chosen by some installers. By the way, if your vessel was of the inspected variety, if you carried passengers for pay, a charter boat for instance, the heat shield would be required.
Having said all that, the fact that ABYC doesn't make standards available to the public represents a gross error in judgment on their part, and as a long-time member and participant in the standards and certification process I've shared that opinion on many occasions. I've argued that the best way to ensure increased compliance is to educated boat owners as to the value of the Standards. Regrettably it falls on deaf ears.
It's an imperfect organization and I'm no apologist for them, however, let me set the record straight, their goal is not retroactive compliance, it's safer (and I'd argue more reliable and therefore less costly to own) boats. The standards actually aren't written by ABYC staff, they are written and revised by volunteer members who agree to participate in their Project Technical Committees, which are comprised of boat builders (who typically want fewer standards btw), equipment manufacturers, surveyors and other industry professionals. The standards are simply compiled by ABYC staff. I've participated in these committees, trust me, debates can become very heated, opinions on all sides run strong, which usually results in a practical, logical, useful standard.
Here's a good example of the usefulness of the Standards, one that's relevant to your boat, all ABYC-compliant off the shelf battery boxes are equipped with proper ventilation in the apex of the lid, to prevent entrapment of hydrogen gas, as the standard requires, "Battery boxes, whose cover forms a pocket over the battery, shall be vented at the uppermost portion of the cover". So you can see the practicality here, a battery box manufacturer who wished to offer a safe product would understandably choose to comply, and a boat owner or builder who wanted to be sure the product being chosen was safe and fit for purpose, would simply need to ensure it complied with the relevant ABYC standard. To your point, the boat owner would have to take the manufacturer's word for it that the product complied, because he or she isn't likely to join ABYC to get access to the Standards. Again, I think this is folly on ABYC's part.
"Origin and Development of ABYC H-33, Diesel Fuel Systems
This standard for diesel fuel systems was initially a part of P-2, Safe Installation of Fuel Systems for Propulsion and Auxiliary Machinery. First printed in 1967 as a proposed standard, the project included both gasoline and diesel fuel systems on boats. In 1970, P-2 was published as an adopted standard. Subsequently, the standard was renamed H-24, Fuel Systems (all permanently installed), and was published in 1975. In 1984, the standard split fuel systems into gasoline and diesel, and H-33, now titled Diesel Fuel Systems was published in 1984. Subsequent editions were published in 1989, 1998, 2005 and 2009. The 2015 edition is the work of the Fuel and Ventilation Systems PTC."
For the sake of all TF readers, forget, for the moment, I used the A(BYC) word, I understand it's controversial around here. Just look at it this way, it's not about standards or the politics thereof, it's about practical, real-world fire safety. If you have an engine room fire the heat shield and metallic drain plug buy the filter time, time that will ideally be used to extinguish the fire with a fixed fire fighting system or at least a portable extinguisher, period, there's no ulterior motive. In all cases, I cite standards for no other reason than to reinforce my own beliefs, beliefs that are derived of actual, from the trenches, hands-on boat building, service and repair experience. And, I'm no knee-jerk compliance fanatic, there are ABYC Standards with which I disagree, some are too stringent, others not stringent enough, I always rely on my own judgment and experience first.
Now back to ABYC, save those that apply to navigation lights and a handful of other Code of Federal Regulation laws, there were no "US required [boat building]standards" in 1988 nor are there now. It's true, the US boat building industry is for the most part self-regulating. Today a builder or yard could use that same filter, and some still do, it's foolish but they do it, and not be cited for it. The retrofit in your case is, once again, easy, parts are available on line, they are not very costly, you could do it in 2 hours max and it would be a good opportunity to clean out your filter bowls and coalescers.
As an aside, the flame resistance guideline has been around for decades, almost certainly long before your boat was built (see its history below), so it didn't comply then, the Standards were just far less prolific back then so many builders simply didn't know this was a potential fire safety issue, and the automotive version of the filter is less expensive than the MA version, which is why it was chosen by some installers. By the way, if your vessel was of the inspected variety, if you carried passengers for pay, a charter boat for instance, the heat shield would be required.
Having said all that, the fact that ABYC doesn't make standards available to the public represents a gross error in judgment on their part, and as a long-time member and participant in the standards and certification process I've shared that opinion on many occasions. I've argued that the best way to ensure increased compliance is to educated boat owners as to the value of the Standards. Regrettably it falls on deaf ears.
It's an imperfect organization and I'm no apologist for them, however, let me set the record straight, their goal is not retroactive compliance, it's safer (and I'd argue more reliable and therefore less costly to own) boats. The standards actually aren't written by ABYC staff, they are written and revised by volunteer members who agree to participate in their Project Technical Committees, which are comprised of boat builders (who typically want fewer standards btw), equipment manufacturers, surveyors and other industry professionals. The standards are simply compiled by ABYC staff. I've participated in these committees, trust me, debates can become very heated, opinions on all sides run strong, which usually results in a practical, logical, useful standard.
Here's a good example of the usefulness of the Standards, one that's relevant to your boat, all ABYC-compliant off the shelf battery boxes are equipped with proper ventilation in the apex of the lid, to prevent entrapment of hydrogen gas, as the standard requires, "Battery boxes, whose cover forms a pocket over the battery, shall be vented at the uppermost portion of the cover". So you can see the practicality here, a battery box manufacturer who wished to offer a safe product would understandably choose to comply, and a boat owner or builder who wanted to be sure the product being chosen was safe and fit for purpose, would simply need to ensure it complied with the relevant ABYC standard. To your point, the boat owner would have to take the manufacturer's word for it that the product complied, because he or she isn't likely to join ABYC to get access to the Standards. Again, I think this is folly on ABYC's part.
"Origin and Development of ABYC H-33, Diesel Fuel Systems
This standard for diesel fuel systems was initially a part of P-2, Safe Installation of Fuel Systems for Propulsion and Auxiliary Machinery. First printed in 1967 as a proposed standard, the project included both gasoline and diesel fuel systems on boats. In 1970, P-2 was published as an adopted standard. Subsequently, the standard was renamed H-24, Fuel Systems (all permanently installed), and was published in 1975. In 1984, the standard split fuel systems into gasoline and diesel, and H-33, now titled Diesel Fuel Systems was published in 1984. Subsequent editions were published in 1989, 1998, 2005 and 2009. The 2015 edition is the work of the Fuel and Ventilation Systems PTC."
