Whether you need a skipper´s license in order to charter a boat or not depends on the regulations of the charter territory as well as your nationality. In addition to that the insurance rules of the charter provider could require certain qualifications form you or proof of your ability to skipper. The charter company will in any case be able to provide exact details regarding whether a license is needed or not. Another decisive factor is if you are planning a boating holiday on inland waters or at sea. Here we have compiled some information on the yacht charter license regulations, with an extra emphasis on license-free houseboat rental in Germany. Discover in 5 points what you need to know.
Which factors decide if you need a license for a bareboat yacht charter?
According to where the charter takes place and what your nationality is you either need a license or proof of sufficient sailing experience for a bareboat charter – i.e. a boat charter where you are steering the yacht yourself.
The charter provider will ask you to provide the appropriate license in accordance with the regulations of your home country or the international equivalent. And even if by laws of your own country you are not required to hold a license, it is ultimately down to the charter provider to stipulate what type of qualification you need exactly. Some countries have special regulations. In most Mediterranean countries it is enough for one member of the charter party to have the ability to skipper. The exception is Greece, where a second crew member should be able to co-skipper. And in Croatia an additional radio license is required.
Is it possible to charter a houseboat in Germany without a skipper´s license?
License regulations are in the first place dependent on the nationality of the charterer. Canadians for example normally don´t require a skipper´s license. For them it is enough to provide proof of sufficient sailing experience. Germans on the other hand need a licence in order hire a yacht.
On certain German inland waterways without much commercial traffic it is possible to rent a motor- or houseboat without any relevant sailing experience or license. Houseboats are also often protected with surrounding rub rails and fenders for cushioning in case of smaller collisions. With this kind of license-free type of yacht charter you are only allowed to drive at a speed of 12 km/h, the boat mustn´t be longer than 15 m and there can only be 12 people on board. To be able to do this, though, you need to obtain a charter permit from the provider. This permit can be acquired by taking part in an introductory course of minimum 3 hours.
On which inland waterways in Germany can you hire a yacht without a license?
Very popular for license-free boat rental in Germany are above all the lake districts of Mecklenburg and Brandenburg, but also parts of the river Saar.
In the following you find a list of the current license-free waterways in Germany that may possibly be extended by further ones in the future:
- The Dahme-Waterway from km 10.30 – 26.04 including tributaries
- Parts of the Finow-Canal and the Werbellin-Waterway (tributaries of the Havel-Oder-Waterway)
- The River Lahn from km 70 – 137.07
- The Müritz-Elde-Waterway from km 0.95 - 180 including the Stör-Waterway
- The Müritz-Havel-Waterway from km 0 – 32.02 including the tributary waterways of Rheinsberg and Zechlin
- The Upper Havel-Waterway from km 43.95 – 94.41 including the tributary waterways of Lychen, Templin and Wentow
- The River Peene from km 2.50 – 34.9
- The Rüdersdorf-Waterway with Lake Dämeritz and Lake Flaken from km 0 – 3.8, 8.2 and Lake Löcknitz von km 0 – 10.64
- The River Saale from km 89.2 – 115.22
- The River Saar from km 87.6 up to the German-French border
- Tributaries of the Spree-Oder-Waterway like Lake Seddin, Gosen-Canal, River Drahendorf Spree and River Neuhaus
- The Lower Havel-Waterway from km 56 – 156 including parts of the tributaries Potsdam-Havel-River, Beetzsee-Riewendsee-Waterway, Rathenow-Havel-River and Hohennauen-Waterway
- The Upper Spree
- The Ruppin-Waterway
How do you obtain a charter permit for your houseboat holiday on German inland waterways?
To get a charter permit and drive license-free on certain German inland waterways you will have to do an introductory course with the charter provider. The permit is only valid for the duration of the houseboat charter. The course is straight-forward and you can do it directly before check-in / taking over the boat. It takes at least 3 hours and consists of a theoretical and a practical part. The content is standardized and contains amongst others the traffic rules, emergency situations and description of the charter territory. During the practical part you will then learn how to steer the boat.
Can I hire a yacht without skippering it myself?
If you don´t want to be at the helm of the charter yacht yourself, you have the option to hire a skipper with the boat. In this case you can relax and rely on the skills of a qualified sailor. In addition to skippered charter there is crewed charter with a complete set of crew. Here even more responsibility and work is taken from you. You could get spoilt by a chef and/or get served by a stewardess.
On a flotilla charter you normally steer the boat yourself but you have a lead boat with a skipper and technician that can assist you if you have any problems. Alternatively you also have the option to hire a skipper for the first few days. During that time you can then brush up on your sailing skills until you are ready to take over the helm.
As you see, if you need a license and what kind depends on your preferred type of charter and the sailing territory. We hope that you know a little more now about the existing rules about skipper´s licenses if you charter a boat and wish you a great cruise. To get the best deal just enter your preferred dates into the user-friendly
YachtFinder search mask.
Recommendations
- Leonid: October 2019 - 4.92
"Especially great thanks to Nadia for her supervision during our ride. She was always online via what..."
Read moreapp messenger and advised us for choosing harbors and also gave us vital information conserning to our trip (weather, good places for ancoring, etc.) It would be nice to have a deal with her again. And also thanks to Maurizio for his technical supervision. Boat was good and all equipment in fine condition. Everything was perfect! Strongly recommended!"
Read less - Irene: August 2019 - 4.47
"Nice, clean cabin. Complete equipment. Good space for a family with kids. Good kitchen equipement an..."
Read more refrigrirator. Good technical help and quick solution when the waterpump broke down."
Read less - Kirill: July 2019 - 5.00
"The sailboat “Kon Tiki” is excellent equipped and comfortable monohul. During our trip, we had a gre..."
Read moret pleasure to be on board this huge 519 boat, which gives you much space for your life on it. When we arrived, we were very lucky because the owner of the boat has showed to us all equipment and some special things to do in order to make our journey more comfortable. We had all the documentation about every technical part on board, such as technical manuals, documentation, etc. A lot of different tools were provided to solve any technical problems ,but good that we hadn’t used anyone).Generator on board is very powerful to provide you with air conditioning , hot pot, hair dryer and so on. The BOSE sound system is installed inside the cabin. Electro winch for halyard on the right side is very useful. Chart plotter with Navionics in the cockpit. Anchor has 100 m chain and powerful anchor winch. The sail has nice performance. The location of the winches in the cockpit allows you to control the sheets of the genoa and main sail just buy one person. But be aware that keel is shorter than normal(draft is small ) which gives you some additional wavering and instability but allows you to approach more shallow water."
Read less - Piotr: July 2019 - 4.86
"Very spacious & convenient boat, sails in perfect condition, boat runs very fast on engine (on sails too); overall I was very satisfied with the boat" - Rolf: May 2019 - 4.87
"Excellent yacht in good condition, good to sail. Kekeris as family company offers the dedicated service and yacht as we expected from a family company. " - alexander: October 2018 - 4.78
"Although it is a boat with some years on it, they have done an amazing job on keeping it pristinely ..."
Read moreaintained which in turn shows by how smoothly and troublefree it sails after all this time."
Read less - joachim: September 2018 - 4.93
"Service vor Ort, hervoragend, Sauberkeit der Yacht Topp, Freundliche hilfsbereite Mitarbeiter, BBS kann man nur weiterempfehlen. Danke" - Tim: August 2018 - 4.67
"The attention to detail at check in was amazing. The lady who appeared to be in charge went round with a cleaner highlighting the tiniest of issues.. bits of dust etc." - Michael: August 2018 - 5.00
"I never expected it to be so fast!With 35-40knots of side wind with second reef on the main sail and..."
Read morealmost no Genoa it caught ten and a half knots of speed!It was amazing..great sailing!"
Read less - Charles: August 2018 - 4.61
"Very professional base manager (José), took time over the briefing and answered all our questions. A..."
Read moreso the checkout and return of the deposit handled very satisfactorily after deduction for minor damage. The boat was in excellent condition and well equipped."
Read less