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Who doesn't dream of exploring the vastness of the seas, remote bays or idyllic lakes?
With a boat licence, you can experience all of this yourself. A flexible and efficient option for boat licence training is offered by the skipper online course (skipperwerden.de). In this article, together with Nina and Simon – the two founders of skipper – we introduce the route to the water with skipper, explain the advantages of online training and take a closer look at the costs to be expected.
Which boat licences exist?
Up to an engine power of 15 HP or 7.5 kW for electric motors, no licence is required. For all boats whose power exceeds this, a boat licence is needed. Which boat licence is right for you depends on where you want to travel and with which type of vessel. For most people, only two licences are relevant: the Sportbootführerschein See (SBF See) and the Sportbootführerschein Binnen (SBF Binnen).
The SBF See is required on the sea and at coasts when operating a sports boat with an engine power exceeding 15 HP (7.5 kW for electric motors). The exact area of validity of the Sportbootführerschein See extends over the maritime shipping routes. These primarily refer to the coastal area up to 3 nautical miles from the coast (the '3-nautical-mile zone').
The Sportbootführerschein Binnen (SBF Binnen) is required on inland waters such as rivers, lakes or canals. In contrast to the SBF See, the SBF Binnen is further divided into two types of propulsion: the SBF Binnen under motor and the SBF Binnen under sail. The SBF Binnen under motor permits you to operate a motorboat with an engine power exceeding 15 HP (7.5 kW for electric motors) and a maximum length of 20 m. A pure sailing boat (sail only, no motor) may legally be operated on most inland waters without a licence. Only on certain waters in Berlin and Brandenburg is the SBF Binnen under sail required by law (for a sail area of 6 m² or more).
Note that boat hirers can always decide for themselves which licence they require for hiring out a sports boat. Thus, many hirers of sailing boats require the SBF Binnen under sail, even when this is not legally mandatory.
In 5 steps to your boat licence
With the help of the skipper online course, you can obtain your sports boat licence simply and efficiently. The skipper online course is designed to integrate optimally into your daily routine. It consists of over 100 clearly presented instructional videos, which can be viewed on a laptop as well as a tablet or smartphone. Thematically, the online course is oriented towards the examination-relevant content and accordingly addresses topics such as the formation of weather, right-of-way rules or navigation. The units have a comfortable length of 5 to 15 minutes, and after each chapter the thematically related examination questions are practised to consolidate the knowledge learned.
For the two sports boat licences, there are approximately 250 to 300 multiple-choice examination questions each. The skipper learning platform contains the official, statutory examination questions that will later be tested in the theory exam. To master the mountain of examination questions, the intelligent skipper question traineris ideal. This is a unique learning system that enables maximally efficient and stress-free learning. The system assigns a dynamic status to each examination question to ensure that the focus is at all times on the questions that are still shaky, and that all examination questions are quickly mastered confidently. Valuable tips such as mnemonics are also provided for each question.
As soon as the examination questions are confidently mastered, the examination papers can be simulated in the online course. The examination papers for the theory exam each always contain the same 30 examination questions, so that you can prepare optimally for the exam by simulating the papers in advance.
And the practical part of the training? Nina and Simon believe that proper boat handling is not learned in front of a laptop or a book, but only on the water. Therefore, the online course overall is very practice-oriented and has the goal of guiding interested parties worry-free through the theoretical training and quickly onto the water. To prepare for the practical exam, most candidates require approximately 2 to 3 practical lessons. Using the boating school finder , users can quite easily find a boating school in their area and arrange appointments. Meanwhile, over 350 boating schools throughout Germany can be found in the boating school finder.
At the end of your journey to a boat licence, there are logically the theory and practical examinations. Both must be registered in advance with a corresponding examination board. For this, the skipper online course offers an interactive checklist and helpful instructions, so that this takes only a few minutes.
Why the skipper online course is the best choice for preparing for your boat licence
Flexibility: With the skipper online course you can learn at your own pace, whenever and wherever you like. Whether at home on the sofa, on the go on the train, on your laptop or smartphone. Ideal, then, for anyone with little time who is looking for a flexible way to prepare for the exams. In addition, interested parties can first get a free impression of the online course. The pricing model then offers exactly the right option for everyone. If you want to try the course for a few weeks first, you can do so for one month without high costs.
Unique features for efficient exam preparation:
The focus of the skipper online course is to make exam preparation as secure, efficient and convenient as possible.
For this reason, unique features have been created with the compact teaching videos, the skipper question trainer, intelligent tracking of learning progress, over 350 boating schools in the boating school finder and much more, in order to meet this requirement.
Personal support: Even though this is an online course and the training is largely individual, the skipper team is available round the clock to answer questions and supports its candidates personally and with great dedication on the path to their boat licence. So if you ever get stuck, you can simply contact the team on WhatsApp and receive help quickly.
What a boat licence costs
The costs for a boat licence are generally very individual and depend on several factors. Fundamentally, it is important whether only one of the two powerboat licences is to be obtained or both together. In addition to the theory training and a question trainer, costs arise through practical training (practical lessons & practical examination), teaching materials, examination fees and a medical certificate. The exact cost components are made up as follows:
Theory training & teaching materials: The skipper package is available from 139,90 € . It includes six months' access to the skipper online course (for the SBF See and SBF Binnen) as well as all teaching materials required for training (navigation instruments, chart extracts, knot set). Compared with training via a classroom course at a boating school, real money can be saved with the skipper online course. In addition, there is the extra flexibility and the many unique features.
Practical training: The costs for practical training vary from boating school to boating school and also depend on how many practical lessons are required. Experience has shown, however, that costs of between €180 and €220 can be expected for two practical lessons and one examination trip for the practical test.
Examination fees and medical certificate: The examining boards charge largely fixed costs for the theory and practical examinations, examination admission and the issue of your boat licence. These amount to approximately 150 €. In addition, for operating a sports boat, physical prerequisites must be met as well as mental suitability. The examination of physical suitability takes place as part of a sports medical examination (about €20 to €40).
On the skipper website, your personal total costs for your own boat licence can be estimated quite easily: https://skipperwerden.de/kosten
We think such an online course is a great way to obtain your boat licence conveniently and flexibly and consequently get on the water quickly. If you too are interested in a boat licence, visit Nina and Simon at skipperwerden.de , get a free impression of the site and start your boat licence adventure!
