Leisure boats - Arena Fritidsbåt

- Regulation on navigating the waterways in certain conservation areas (Verordnung über
das Befahren der Bundeswasserstraßen in bestimmten Naturschutz- gebieten,
Naturschutzbefahrensverordnung – NSGBefV) of 08. Dezember 1998
- Recreational Craft Hiring Regulations25 regulate the commercial hiring of recreational
craft and their utilization on inland waterways. It says that anyone who wishes to hire
out a recreational craft of less than 20 meters in length on inland waterways requires a
boat certificate for each boat that is to be hired out. Further, the boat driver must be in
possession of the certificate of competency required for the relevant boat size. For travel
on some inland waterways it is possible for the hiring company to issue the so-called
charter certificate (see section 10.10).
10.10 Skippers license
Germany has a quite intricate skipper license system. In general, all skippers in Germany
should hold a license, whereas drivers of motorboat with power of more than 3.68 kW
(5 PS) must hold an official license.
If an official skipper’s license is not required in the boat driver’s country of residence, an
inland waterways certificate of competency from a water sports association in the boat
driver’s country of residence is in general considered to be sufficient.
The Motorboat license for inland waterways (Sportbootführerschein Binnen,
„SBF Binnen“) is recommended for all boat drivers when entering the inland waterways
(channels and rivers). The license is obligatory for skippers of boat with a motor power of
more than 3.68 kW (5 PS) and up to 15 meter.
The Motorboat license for coastal water (Sportbootführerschein See, „SBF See“)
is recommended for all boat drivers along the coast. Skippers of boat with power of more
than 3.68 kW (5 PS) need to hold a license when steering a boat within 3 nautical miles
from shore. In opposite to the SBF Binnen, there is no limitation of the hull length.
The preparation for SBF Binnen and SBF Sea includes both theory and practice, and a
final test. These licenses are independent of each other, and one of the licenses does not
include the others, however, they can be undertaken in combination. Deutschen Segler-
Verbandes e. V. (DSV) and Deutschen Motoryachtverbandes e. V. (DMYV) coordinate
license procedures, while the training and testing takes place in local clubs and
organizations. The Federal Ministry of Transport sets the requirement for the test, but not
for the actual theory and training, so cost and time can vary. A quick search on the
internet indicates a total price for theory, training and test to somewhere between 200-
400 Euro for each of the permits. The Federal Ministry of Transport is currently making
some changes to the testing procedure. The first tests for skipper’s permits according to
the new requirements are scheduled for late 2010 (BMVBS, 2010).
In addition to the two official licenses, there are some licenses that act as proof of certain
level of training and experience. These are in some sense voluntary, but they are
normally required for when renting boats (chartering). Further, some of the licenses are
required for certain geographical areas and for skippers of crafts used for commercial or
educational purposes.
Recreational craft license for coastal areas (Sportküstenschifferschein, „SKS“)
is a voluntary license for users of motorboats and sailboats in coastal sea up to 12
nautical miles. „SBF See“ is a prerequisite for the „SKS“ and the preparation includes
theory and practice more advanced than for the „SBF See“. This license is equivalent to
the „ Coastal Skipper“.
25 See more details on http://www.bmvbs.de/-,2078.964410/Inland-Water-Transport-Recreat.htm
INBDP 2010 Leisure boats Germany 42