Motor Boat License

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I'm pleased to see that the forum is upholding it's tradition of keeping a firm grasp of matters such as Licensing, Col Regs, Flag Etiquette and anything else which could possibly have 2 opinions. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

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Oi, do one raggie /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
ok, back to the question.
A trip to France is perfectly feasible in the right conditions, but
it would be an epic voyage to Spain by sea. And it would cost you a fortune in fuel, I would think. The challenge is understanding that you can omly voyage when the conditions are right, and right doesnt just mean that the boat wont sink, it means right for your training, ability, and your crew. Most of us dont have much interest in venturing forth if its going to be painful and terrifying, and that knocks out a hell of alot of days. Take one of MBM cruises last year. In two weeks, they managed little more than 50 miles down the coast.
So, you have to go by the weather, not dates, and for many people that isnt so easy with work/family/whatever commitments. Point is, its not like a driving holiday.
Also, people have different understandings of boating. For some its a slow comfy cruise, for others its a blast at high speed. Different boats are for different styles, so you need to be clear on your ambitions. If you want to be a fair weather boater (and why not) then just be aware we get very few fair weather windows in the UK. In other words, quite alot of the time it can be a bit cold, damp,wet and the sea maybe a tad rougher than all the crew might really care for.
And being on a boat where some people arent enjoying it much isnt a great way forward!
I only say this because my suggestion would be build up some expertise on some local cruising;experience some different conditions; find out whats fun for you all- before you are 30 miles from land.
So, find the boat for your purpose (not as easy as it sounds), and find out what boating you really enjoy, rather than imagine from no knowlege its longer distance cruising in open seas.
 
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I'm pleased to see that the forum is upholding it's tradition of keeping a firm grasp of matters such as Licensing, Col Regs, Flag Etiquette and anything else which could possibly have 2 opinions.

[/ QUOTE ] Oh Gawd, is that what I was doing? I retract unconditionally. Or not, as the case may be. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
You may find that your insurance company will want you to do some training, and may want documentation carried when in foreign waters. Its a good idea as they do stop peeps , looking for drugs etc, which I heard today are more likely to be on sailing boats or fishing boats .
 
Jethro is here!

Cheers guys, I have some great advice here which I will be carrying forward. I think the points about experience are very useful as blissfully unaware newbies can get it wrong which normally means something very bad happening!

I think we will be getting the boat first then we will carry out the Level 2/ICC course with our own boat so that we are firmiliar with our boat.

Thanks for all of the advice amd replies, looks like a great place, with alot of knowledgable people! I have no doubt we will be looking for advice over the next few months!

Jethro
 
Renting a boat in France.

HI ALL!

I was in the South of France last summer and they would not let me rent anything larger than 5HP!! unless i had an "international boating license"

Can anyone here please let me know how i can get that in the US (California)

Thanks in advance! Jeff :)
 
What you are after is an "International certificate of competence". In the UK, these are normally issued by sailing or motorboating schools and validated by the RYA (the UK's national organisation for leisure boaters). I'm guessing there is a US equivalent. Depending on your pre-existing experience, you may have to do a course to get the certificate, or someone appropriate may be able to certify you on the basis of any existing qualifications you may have.

This is pure guesswork on my part, but the US Coastguard Agency may be the certifying authority in the US - or contact a motorboating school.

This is a complicated subject, because the certificate theoretically applies only to boats registered in the country of issue - but this is a requirement that is interpreted with varying degrees of rigidity. Iirc, in France you will probably be OK with a certificate issued elsewhere unless you are very unlucky and hire your boat from M. le Pedant.:)

Bonne chance
 
We have never touched the controls on one and were wondering if someone would be kind enough to give us an idea of what kind of license(s) I would need to be able to do this?

Sorry for the complete newby asking simple questions!

Thanks in advance,

Jed

If you are looking to buy a boat under 10 meters then do the 2 day RYA Powerboat Level 2 course. This will set you off on the right road as a newbie, as a matter of course you may apply for the ICC under 10 meters.
 
What you are after is an "International certificate of competence". In the UK, these are normally issued by sailing or motorboating schools and validated by the RYA (the UK's national organisation for leisure boaters). I'm guessing there is a US equivalent. Depending on your pre-existing experience, you may have to do a course to get the certificate, or someone appropriate may be able to certify you on the basis of any existing qualifications you may have.

This is pure guesswork on my part, but the US Coastguard Agency may be the certifying authority in the US - or contact a motorboating school.

This is a complicated subject, because the certificate theoretically applies only to boats registered in the country of issue - but this is a requirement that is interpreted with varying degrees of rigidity. Iirc, in France you will probably be OK with a certificate issued elsewhere unless you are very unlucky and hire your boat from M. le Pedant.:)

Bonne chance

Most of this is right and there is a US equivalent, but don't know the details of how you get it.

The last bit, however is wrong. The ICC is unconnected with boat registration. It is a personal certificate of competence. However, the degree of acceptance depends on the country (see the RYA for more details). It is accepted for example in France for renting boats, it is accepted in Greece for chartering a Greek flagged vessel - although they also accept other forms of evidence of competence. For all its shortcoimings it is the only International Certificate, so anybody wanting to boat abroad should get one - even though you may never be asked for it, when you are it does the job.
 
All the above being totally irelivant of course, cos he aint going to france, without a dam sight more experience than an ICC course, Spain being just about imposible to get to in a sub 10 metre boat anyway.
 
All the above being totally irelivant of course, cos he aint going to france, without a dam sight more experience than an ICC course, Spain being just about imposible to get to in a sub 10 metre boat anyway.


I would have thought it was quite easy to potter through the canals to the Med and then onto Spanish waters . I have never shown my ICC in any marina in Spain or France, just Insurance, passports and boat details.
 
I.C.C.

I think there is another point here that is worth considering. The ICC up to 10m for power can be earned with a powerboat level 2 - but the powerboat certificate is intended for small open boats, with no accommodation, generally with outboards etc etc.

For someone considering a trip across channel, or potentially to Spain, the likelihood is that a powerboat certificate just wouldn't be appropriate. For one thing, the coverage of navigation is really not nearly adequate for that sort of voyage, and the type of boat that the course would be done is is likely to be quite different from the type of boat being considered here. (Own-boat training once the boat has been bought would, of course, be a good option)

I would think that a motor-cruising course such as Coastal Skipper (or Day Skipper at the very least) would be far more appropriate.

(And I have been asked for an ICC twice in the past 12 months in Spain)
 
From the RYA Web Site :

Some states may accept UK (RYA) ICC as an alternative to their national qualification on their nationally flagged vessels, but this should NEVER be assumed. The onus is on ICC holders to determine its acceptability by foreign states.

The ICC was never intended to be an alternative to individual national qualification requirements. The advice to anyone planning to charter abroad is to obtain from the charter company (preferably in writing) details of the certification they require, what cruising area this is acceptable for and that this certification will also meet the requirements of the relevant authorities in the area concerned.

The first sentence of the second paragraph is the clincher, you really should have some other qualification before bolting on the ICC.

Tom
 
Think you are reading too much into the statement. The ICC is not a qualification, just a certification to meet the internationally agreed standards (from the UN).

The confusion arises because in the UK there is no requirement to hold any qualification and those issued by the RYA mostly have no legal standing in the same way that a driving licence has. Many other countries have a test of some sort before you can legally use a boat. Such tests can also have an ICC attached to them.

If you read the RYA material on the ICC you will see that very few countries formally recognise it, some only do so in certain waters, particulalry inland with the necessary endorsement, but where a "licence" is asked for by a local official it is generally accepted.

So there is no value in legal terms of satisfying a foreign body in having say a Yachtmaster. The only thing of value in this situation is the ICC that come with it. This does not mean of course that there is no value in RYA qualifications, far from it, but they are there to show that you have undertaken learning to a particular level.

Of course charter companies may impose their own requirements, or have them set by their insurance companies, but this is a different issue.
 
Motor boating in Spain

I´m an ex pat living in the canary islands (spain), owner of a 5m motor boat with a 60hp outboard.
I have an ICC which i was given after doing the PB2 course here in tenerife.
I have been stopped with just this in the past, and the Guardia Civil (the heavy cops) seemed content. As a tourist this should be sufficient.
As a resident here however i was advised to have it homologated for spain so as to be more sure of its acceptance. This was done by supplying a translation of the PB2 course material to the shipping HQ "Capitania" in the islands capital so they could be sure it would at least be equivalent to their qualification called the "titulin".

As an aside, i´m told that they wont homologate any ICC´s awarded after 2005. Strange i know, but the spanish have some strange ways....

As a second aside, for other ex pats, small spanish registered private boats up to 6m dont have to pass an MOT (ITEUVE), but over this size they have to pass one every 5 years (more frequent if very large or for commercial use).

Hope all this helps somone!!!
 
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