At what age are you allowed to drive a boat?

On which age may you have a boat boards? Age limits have been set for different boats. These age limits are listed in the law determined for operating a boat. We have listed these ages below.

Age driving boat

18 years: Fast motorboats. These are motorboats that can go faster than 20km/h

16 years: A large vessel (larger than 20 meters), a sailboat longer than 7 meters, a motorboat faster than 13 km/h but slower than 20 km/h

12 years: A motorboat that cannot go faster than 13km/h and does not exceed 7 meters in length

No restriction: sailboats shorter than 7 meters and rowboats

So children are allowed to sail and play with rowboats and sailboats shorter than 7 meters.

Difference between mate and skipper

The above ages apply to both the skipper and mate. This is not always the same person. The helmsman is the one who actually steers; the skipper is the one responsible for the vessel (the captain). For sailing a fast motorboat has the skipper require a boating license. The helmsman has this not required. Thus, any person over 18 years of age may drive the fast motorboat as long as there is a skipper on board with the proper papers.

Fines for wrong age

The fines for violation of these ages are high:

• Mate under 18 when not permitted: €220.
• Skipper not in possession of boating license (i.e. sailing with fast motor boat under 18 years old): €600,-

So it is important to stick to the mandatory age for driving a boat. This can save you a lot of money.