Under the scope of RCD 2013/53/EU fall the following: 

• Recreational craft and partly completed recreational craft with a length
• Personal watercraft and partly completed personal watercraft
• Propulsion engines which are installed or specifically intended for installation on or in watercraft;
• Propulsion engines installed on or in watercraft that are subject to a major engine modification.
• Watercraft that are subject to major craft conversion.

As well as the following components: 

• Ignition-protected equipment for inboard and stern drive petrol engines and petrol tank spaces.
• Start-in-gear protection devices for outboard engines
• Steering wheels, steering mechanisms and cable assemblies.
  
• Fuel tanks intended for fixed installations and fuel hoses.
• Prefabricated hatches, and port lights. 

Only watercraft between 2.5 metres and 24 metres fall under the RCD 2013/53/EU.  The fact that the same watercraft could also be used for charter or for sports and leisure training shall not prevent it being covered by this Directive when it is placed on the Union market for recreational purpose.

RCD 2013/53/EU does not apply to the following types of craft: 

• watercraft intended solely for racing, including rowing racing boats and training rowing boats, labelled as such by the manufacturer. 
• canoes and kayaks designed to be propelled solely by human power, gondolas and pedalos
  
• surfboards designed solely to be propelled by wind and to be operated by a person or persons standing
• surfboards
• original historical watercraft and individual replicas thereof designed before 1950, built predominantly with the original materials and labelled as such by the manufacturer
• experimental watercraft, provided that they are not placed on the Union market
• watercraft built for own use, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Union market during a period of five years from the putting into service of the watercraft
• watercraft specifically intended to be crewed and to carry passengers for commercial purposes, without prejudice to paragraph 3, regardless of the number of passengers
• submersibles
• air cushion vehicles
• hydrofoils
• external combustion steam powered watercraft, fuelled by coal, coke, wood, oil or gas
• amphibious vehicles, i.e. wheeled or track-laying motor vehicles, which are able to operate both on water and on solid land

With regards to exhaust emission requirments the following things are excluded: 

propulsion engines installed or specifically intended for installation on the following products are also excluded from RCD: 

• watercraft intended solely for racing and labelled as such by the manufacturer
• experimental watercraft, provided that they are not placed on the Union market
• watercraft specifically intended to be crewed and to carry passengers for commercial purposes, without prejudice to paragraph 3, regardless of the number of passengers
• submersibles
• air cushion vehicles
• hydrofoils
• amphibious vehicles i.e. wheeled or track-laying motor vehicles, which are able to operate both on water and on solid land

Original and individual replicas of historical propulsion engines, which are based on a pre-1950 design, not produced in series and fitted on watercraft referred to in points (v) or (vii) of point (a) of RCD 2013/53/EU. 

Propulsion engines built for own use provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Union market during a period of five years from the putting into service of the watercraft

With regards to noise emission requirements, the following does not apply: 

• All watercraft excluded from exhaust emission requirements
• Watercraft built for own use, provided that they are not subsequently placed on the Union market during a period of five years from the putting into service of the watercraft