Using inflatable dinghy with 9.9hp outboard in France

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SusieSausage

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We are holidaying in France in September and wish to use our 3.3m inflatable dinghy and 9.9hp outboard on French rivers, and maybe even coastal.

Does anyone know which licences and permits are needed? Or even which authorities I need to speak to in order to find out?

All assistance much appreciated!
 
Welcome Susie

The information from VNF is only part of what you need to know. If your boat is capable of speeds in excess of 20kph (even though under 5 mwtres in length) you will require an ICC. See the new RYA website, and perhaps it is worth checking with them which ICC you need.
 
Hi Tranona,

I'm sure you are correct re the RYA input, but I VERY seriously doubt that our friend Susie would be asked to do a 'speed run' to check.

This is one case where I reckon she can go and enjoy herself without worrying about any paperwork, assuming of course, that she doesn't try the marine equivalent of 'wheelies' in sight of officialdom!

Friends of mine have had their (slightly bigger) inflatable on the rivers and canals of Brittany, where they live, for many years. They have the max. 9,9 engine and have definitely never had to pay for a licence or produce an ICC - inland waterways endorsed or not!

Susie, use your boat with care and consideration for others, and be pleasant with any lock-keepers, and you'll have a lovely time without hassle. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Cheers

Jerry
 
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That's really helpful - thanks. Know anything about licences for pootling arout the coast/estuaries?

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Hi Susie!

No, I'm afraid I am totally out of date with the French boat licencing 'system' which I believe still limits certain sized and equipped to specific distances offshore.

This might be one for Tranona to advise on if you haven't yet checked the RYA advice sites yourself.

Cheers

Jerry
 
OK for you to take that attitude if you want. However, given all the criticism about the information provided by the RYA it is not sensible to recommend people ignore it. Fine if they know what is required and choose to ignore it, but to advise them to do so is irresponsible.

If the French wanted people to use all boats less than 5m and 9.9 without a licence, they would say so. However, most combinations of 3m inflatables and 9.9 can exceed the secondary condition of maximum speed so do require a licence (if the RYA information is correct)
 
For coastal/estuary work it would help if your boat is Small Ships Registered (if not already) Nice bit of paper to show the officials. And (sort of ) proves ownership. £25 on line.
A
 
According to the RYA your inflatable must be registered:

Registration of non-commercial pleasure craft is not compulsory for a UK Citizen who keeps their boat in the UK, but it is essential if you wish to take your boat outside of UK territorial waters. This applies both to boats which are sailed or driven to a foreign port and to dinghies, ribs, sports boats and PWC etc. which are trailered to other countries.

http://www.rya.org.uk/infoadvice/boatingabroad/Pages/boatingabroadpaperwork.aspx

If you manage to verify if that's true please do report back - I'd love to know.
 
IMHO, if you don't register your boat in UK, then the locals might try to apply their rules. Followed by hassle and fines. They might not, but could ruin a nice trip if they do. Registration puts one outside their juristriction. Inland waterways are a different matter, can't help there.
A
I actually have had no contact with the maritime police in 4 yrs of sailing. BUT if you have an ' incident' it could be tricky.
A
 
In France everything must be registered - even an optimist. It is normally a little blue book - I have one for my Hobie Cat.

However, I have never ever been asked to produce it. But I suspect if you are involved in any kind of incident it will quickly turn nasty if you do not have some kind of registration document and proof of third part insurance.

I am not sure if in France you need to pass a test to drive a 9.9hp inflatable. If you need a test in France, then you will need your ICC (or some other proof of competence with your photo on it) to get you out of trouble if you are involved in any kind of incident or if you are stopped for any reason (e.g. being were you shouldn't be such as within the bathing area off a beach).
 
This statement must be true, because it is made by the official body that is charged with knowing about these matters.
However that does not necessarily mean that everybody believes it is true - just an a priori assumption that it is. If you believe it is not true, then it is no good asking a third party whether it is true, because their answers will only reflect what they believe to be true.

To show that it is not true you have to conduct your own enquiry that tests out the robustness of the statement. If the evidence you collect in your enquiry is sufficiently strong to falsify the statement (ie show that it is not true) then you can reasonably state that it is not true until somebody else challenges you with new evidence.

You clearly have not reached this stage after several months of pleading for somebody else to show that it is true (or not true). In this you have failed, so it is time for you to conduct your own enquiry.

You seem to have difficulty in this and I often find this difficulty arises because the individual does not understand the nature of enquiry. A useful starting point is Karl Popper the Logic of Scientific Revolutions (1934) which is a seminal tome and required reading by any person seriously interested in enquiry. It is, of course not the only approach, but in my experience is useful.

So I suggest you take a couple of weeks off, read Popper, apply his principles and report back as to whether you still believe the statement is true or false.

Happy reading and enquiry!

ps sorry Susie for hijacking your thread!
 
[ QUOTE ]
This statement must be true, because it is made by the official body that is charged with knowing about these matters.
However that does not necessarily mean that everybody believes it is true - just an a priori assumption that it is. If you believe it is not true, then it is no good asking a third party whether it is true, because their answers will only reflect what they believe to be true.

To show that it is not true you have to conduct your own enquiry that tests out the robustness of the statement. If the evidence you collect in your enquiry is sufficiently strong to falsify the statement (ie show that it is not true) then you can reasonably state that it is not true until somebody else challenges you with new evidence.

You clearly have not reached this stage after several months of pleading for somebody else to show that it is true (or not true). In this you have failed, so it is time for you to conduct your own enquiry.

You seem to have difficulty in this and I often find this difficulty arises because the individual does not understand the nature of enquiry. A useful starting point is Karl Popper the Logic of Scientific Revolutions (1934) which is a seminal tome and required reading by any person seriously interested in enquiry. It is, of course not the only approach, but in my experience is useful.

So I suggest you take a couple of weeks off, read Popper, apply his principles and report back as to whether you still believe the statement is true or false.

Happy reading and enquiry!

ps sorry Susie for hijacking your thread!

[/ QUOTE ]

Well that's pretty didactic - assume at least a lectureship /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
Please read and act on the whole post then perhaps you will stop laughing at something that is not funny!
 
Yes. sometimes difficult to shake off 25 years of academia. Regrettably although tolerence is a worthy quality, it is sometimes difficult to sustain in the face of a lack of logical thought!
 
So, what is wrong with that.

The poster wanted to know whether a statement was true or not, so I advised him how to go about finding out.

Nothing in there that is not in a first year undergraduate course on the nature of enquiry - indeed that is where I got it from!

If he is incapable of engaging at that level it is his problem and he is unlikely to get an answer except by chance.
 
[ QUOTE ]
The poster wanted to know whether a statement was true or not, so I advised him how to go about finding out.


[/ QUOTE ]

What you said was long winded and useless in verifying what French legislation requires of a bloke rowing his rubber tender ashore, and what penalties there are for failing to adhere to it.

It would have required an awful lot less of your time and been a lot more effective to just post a link or quote the legislation. Or even quote news story of a UK citizen prosecuted in France for not having his tender on the SSR.

There's only one reason you wouldn't do that, that you don't have the slightest idea what the truth is and all your words are guesses and fiction based on literally nothing.

Written above a Student Union toilet roll holder: "Arts degree, please take one."
 
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