§ 2038. Exemptions (Rule 38)
Any vessel or class of vessels, the keel of which is laid or which is at a corresponding stage of construction before December 24, 1980, provided that she complies with the requirements of—
(d)
Sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Act of April 25, 1940 (54 Stat. 163), as amended (46 U.S.C. 526b, c, and d) for motorboats navigating the waters subject to that statute; shall be exempted from compliance with the technical Annexes to these Rules as follows:
(i)
the installation of lights with ranges prescribed in Rule
22, until 4 years after the effective date of these Rules, except that vessels of less than 20 meters in length are permanently exempt;
(ii)
the installation of lights with color specifications as prescribed in Annex I to these Rules, until 4 years after the effective date of these Rules, except that vessels of less than 20 meters in length are permanently exempt;
(iii)
the repositioning of lights as a result of conversion to metric units and rounding off measurement figures, are permanently exempt; and
(v)
the restructuring or repositioning of all lights to meet the prescriptions of Annex I to these Rules, until 9 years after the effective date of these Rules;