Feel like an old sea dog and love water activities? Take your boating license and set off on an adventure aboard your own craft! It's easy to get your license thanks to Funbooker's training courses.
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You must be in possession of a boat licence if your vessel exceeds 6 horsepower. To navigate legally, be sure to choose the licence that corresponds to your intended use.
It allows you to pilot all boats equipped with an engine of more than 6 horsepower, up to 6 miles offshore (12 km) from a shelter, at sea, on lakes, and closed water bodies.
In other words, an extension of the coastal licence. You can navigate under the conditions mentioned above, without distance limitation, day or night.
It allows you to navigate on all boats with more than 6 horsepower and less than 20 meters in length, on inland rivers and streams.
The great inland waters licence: it allows you to pilot, under the conditions mentioned above, boats over 20 meters in length.
Like the driver's licence, the boat licence consists of 2 main stages: theory with the code, and practical driving in real-life conditions. Depending on the chosen licence, some access conditions may vary. Here's a summary:
Accessible from the age of 16. The exam is prepared in a boat school with a minimum of 3 hours of theoretical and practical training.
The student then faces the theoretical test in the form of a multiple-choice questionnaire lasting about twenty minutes and must obtain a minimum of 21 correct answers. Then they will take the practical test, accompanied by an examiner. Expect to pay around €350.
You must hold the coastal licence and enroll in a boat school to take the exam. The candidate will also face a 1.5-hour multiple-choice questionnaire to verify that they have mastered the reading and plotting of nautical charts. The budget to plan for is around €300.
This licence allows you to navigate on rivers, streams, and lakes and is accessible from the age of 16. The theoretical test consists of a 25-question multiple-choice questionnaire, and the practical test is validated by an instructor during an outdoor exam. Budget around €350.
You must be over 18 years old to take this licence. The training can be conducted directly on the candidate's boat, followed by a practical exam where the instructor assesses the student's ability to navigate on a boat over 20 meters long. Expect to pay €1,000 for this training.
There you have it, you have finally obtained the precious boat licence! Now it's time for the seas, lakes, and rivers.
Don't forget that the boat licence is also mandatory for jet skis and other personal watercraft, otherwise you are liable to a fine of €1,500.
