European Boating Rules and Regulations
24th May 2005, updated July 2005
European Boating Rules and Regulations24th May 2005, updated July 2005
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First, a word about red diesel (though it is becoming apparent that it is NOT red diesel, but a slightly thinner oil, coloured red, that is more commonly used in heating systems, and is more commonly known as heating oil). My current (May 2005) reading of the state of play is (without prejudice):
Complicated, innit??!! Which is one reason why the non-red countries want to abolish the stuff, whilst the red countries would far rather their citizens used normal diesel with its whopping tax burden. Personally, I think all boaters AND motorists should be demanding green bio-diesel with HUGE tax incentives for folk who use it, but I seem to be a lone voice. Next, a word about the general rules and regulations. SHIPS LICENCE If you are a British Citizen and resident in the UK and want to take your boat to Europe, it needs to be registered with: The Small Ships Register Contact them for a form, which YOU fill in and return to them with the fee (about £20, and the registration lasts for 5 years). Be aware that many continental moorings are charged by the length of the boat e.g. 15 m and over, or 16 m and over. If you know the length of your boat in feet, it is well worth trying to ensure that when you do the metric conversion, the number comes out at slightly less than a whole number (e.g. if the conversion comes out at 14.9 metres, do NOT round it up to 15!!) As well as the certificate, the SSR will tell you your SSR number, which must be clearly displayed on you boat. The SSR authorities only tell you the number - it is up to you to paint it on the hull, or to get some self adhesive letters and numbers or w.h.y. The authorities will tell you the minimum size of lettering that they require. At the present time, no one checks on the status of your nationality, though you do have to provide a UK (contact?) address. Neither does anyone come to inspect your vessel to check that you have told them the truth, nor do they pitch up at the address to make sure that you really do live there! The latest version of the SSR does not show the 'weight' of the vessel. However, be aware that some navigations (the river Elbe, for example) require large vessels to engage a pilot. I have been told that anything over 15 tons is regarded as large. (One of the ongoing problems of boating in Europe is ascertaining exactly what all the rules and regulations are). I met a cheery American who hails from an inland State without a coastline, and hence with no state shipping agency. So he set up one on his computer, and had an impressive stamp made, and registered his own boat. BOAT EQUIPMENT Most countries have their own idea as to what safety equipment should be on board. Brits should contact the RNLI for their leaflets and follow that. Life jackets are an obvious necessity. I was given the once-over in Belgium, and passed OK. RADIO LICENCE I am very unclear about exactly what certificates should be on board to support the ship's radio. ROSY relies on a non-fixed, hand-held radio, that I use only on extremely rare occasions. I am supposed to have a Ships Radio Licence for it (some £20 per annum, I think). I have got the appropriate operators licence. I restrict myself to using the radio for emergencies (hence it is pretty much unused). Get the RYA booklet G22/87: VHF Radiotelephony for Yachtsmen for fuller details. Out of interest, in a 'dire emergency' UK law permits the use of any means of radio communication, on any frequency, regardless of whether or not you have the necessary qualifications and/or licences. YOUR 'DRIVING' LICENCE In most European countries, your boat is supposed to be under the command of a person who holds an appropriate licence. In the UK, the awarding body for the ICC (International Certificate of Competence) is the RYA (Royal Yachting Association) who run the dreaded CEVNI system. Courses are available in the UK - see the small ads in the main canally monthly publications (Waterways World, Canal Boat, and Canal and River Monthly). France wanted to see my ICC when I bought my first boat licence from them, but didn't ask for it on subsequent renewals: Belgium wanted to see it initially and on the licence renewal: and a German water police patrol with nothing better to do wanted to see it (good for them!) but failed to notice that it was 6 months out of date (twats). I believe that German boaters know nothing about the ICC and CEVNI since their internal examination and testing systems are rather more rigorous - their boat 'driving' licence requires one to attend evening classes, and to sit theoretical and practical tests. FLAGS In theory, a vessel should be flying its national maritime flag. If your vessel is registered under the SSR scheme, then, normally, she should be flying the Red Ensign. Some countries are keen on this (I hear that last year, the French authorities got exceedingly stroppy with some British yachties who were flying the Scottish Saltire and another who flew the Welsh Red Dragon. At the other extreme, a Dutch water police patrol officer is reliably reported to have said 'You can fly a pair of ladies knickers, for all I care') As a courtesy, one should also be flying a small flag of the country in which one is cruising. The normal place for this flag is at the starboard cross-trees. Most narrow boats sprout a small mast to comply with this courtesy. Many boats also fly a pennant at the bows to act as a 'cruising pennant'. That is to say, if you are approaching a lock and are flying one, then the lock-keeper knows that you want to pass through the lock. Without it, the lock keeper may think that you do not wish to pass through the lock. This practice seems to be most prevalent in Belgium and Holland. Which flag you fly is up to you. Traditionalist British sailors would fly a small Pilot Jack (a Union Flag on a white back-ground - originally used at sea, when closing a harbour, to request a pilot to come out and guide you in). A club burgee could also be used. This is, perhaps, also the place to fly the Scottish Saltire, the Welsh Dragon or the flag of St George. MOORINGS A word about moorings. There are many places where one can tie up to a tree. (NOT in Germany, where it is a crime against nature - seriously!! The police will fine you if they find you attached to a tree.) Or a couple of stakes can be knocked into the bank (DON'T do this on a commercial waterway, as the first passing loaded barge will sweep you away). In the main, people tend to use old quays, moorings provided by the local (and waterway) authorities, and boat clubs. People soon learn to use 'springs' when mooring - that is to say, besides a fore and aft line, one puts out a line from the front of the boat leading backwards (and/or from the stern of the boat leading forwards). If all the lines are attached to metre (plus) long stakes that are securely knocked in to solid ground, then you MAY still be moored when a loaded commercial barge has swept by! On on!! FRANCE The French waterways are ruled by the VNF (Voies Navigables de France). They have a nifty web site at www.vnf.fr (I think you can get it to speak English). PAYMENT They require you to have a ships licence, which has to be displayed on your boat. Various types are available (with 2004 approx prices for a vessel of ROSY's size (16 m long, 2 m beam (France charges per sq metre)) (and if I knew what I know now, my SSR would show Rosy as being 15.9 m in length!): A one day licence (Euro 24) A 16 consecutive days licence (for your 2 week holiday plus the extra weekend at the beginning or end) (Euro 50) A 'non-consecutive' 30 day licence (for both Mr Not Awfully Keen Boater and for Mr Extremely Busy At Work Boater) (Euro 138) AND widely abused (the authorities trust you to cross off the days when the boat is in use)!!! An annual licence (Euro 220) In addition, extra charges are made for some navigations - for example one or two tunnels make a charge. MAPPING VNF themselves issue for free a map of their waterways (a doctored section of it is on my web-site). The VNF map is in outline only, and doesn't show the locks, but for planning and display purposes it is more than adequate. There are 3 competing sets of guides. Navicarte publish a series of guides and some maps. The guides are a bit like Nicholson's. There is a map of the canal running down the page, with dotted lines leading out to a column beside the map where descriptions of the main features are noted - bridges are named, facilities in towns, marinas and other moorings are noted, depths of locks are stated etc. Additionally, pages are given over to a tourist guide (in French, English and German). Technical details of each canal are shown (water and air draught, maximum length and width) together with other admin details. As with all guides, they get out of date rather quickly as new facilities come on-line, and older ones go bankrupt. The complete set consist of 27 volumes BUT several canals appear in more than one volume. The advice is to buy them as and when you need them, NOT to buy the whole lot together s you arrive in France. The Guides Vagnon These are laid out rather differently. A diagram of a length of the canal is at the bottom of each page, showing its features and facilities, whilst above it there is a tourist guide. I think that the tourist guide is a bit fuller than in the Navicarte. (Personally, I want my canal guide to tell me about the canal. I prefer to get the tourist information from a separate tourist guide (at the moment, I'm wedded to the 'Rough Guides'!) The Guide Fluvial - Editions du Breil. These are very well thought of, but are not as easily available as the others. They are in A4 format, and are tri-lingual (French, British and German) with some tourist information. MOORINGS Boat clubs are rare in France. However, many communities provide moorings for visiting boaters. Most ask you not to stay for longer than 2 or 3 days. Some have water, some have electricity and may even have a shower AND …. many are FREE!! In other towns, visitor and longer term moorings are available - sometimes provided by the town, sometimes offered by a boat hire company - but all at pretty reasonable rates. BELGIUM Belgium, of course, is a country of 2 halves. There is a different language in each half and a different administrative system. PAYMENT In the French speaking part of Belgium they run a 'pay as you go' system, designed for commercial traffic, and for those who know where they want to go. Us wandering people have to play the system. On arrival at the first lock they will ask you where you are bound for. Tell them - naming some far distant place. A man with a fag dangling out of the corner of his mouth will sigh deeply and feed your destination into a computer. This will generate a large wodge of paper, much of which will be given to you. You will then be asked to pay an amount of money that is so pitifully small that it could hardly pay for the paper that they have given you. This wodge of paper has to be handed in to each lock office (all staffed by fag smoking clerks) where it is checked, noted and stamped before being handed back. When you eventually deviate from the route there will be much sucking of teeth, a lot more paper will be generated and you will have to pay a few pence more. (Updated 9th February 2008: In the French speaking part of Belgium, their payment systems were designed for commercial vessels. Unlike in the 'Dutch' part of Belgium, where there is an annual licence fee, us pleasure craft had to report in at the first lock, state our destination, and then pay slightly less that 2 Euros for a wodge of paper that listed all the locks we planned to pass through. These papers needed stamping (at no charge) at each lock. Deviations from the agreed route generated yet more paper, and a further (less than) 2 Euros charge. This system has now ceased, and as far as I know, passage through all locks is now free. Charges are made only at boat lifts and inclined planes.) In the Dutch speaking half of Belgium there is a licensing system with 3 month and annual licences. I know I paid the equivalent of £40 four or five years ago, but cannot now recall whether that was for 3 or 12 months. In either case it is very much cheaper than in UK. MAPPING The only map that I have found covering the whole of Belgium is a fold-up, paper map issued by Navicarte. I've used a black and white, A4 book of maps that wholly concentrates on the canals, and is written by Ludo de Clercq. ISBN 90-83714-1-6. There are 119 A4 maps with 72 detailed inset maps. Notes are in several languages including English. It frustrates me a bit, but is very detailed. It is not easy to find in bookshops, and I don't know whether it is still available. There are also a pair of books (I've only used one of them). It is a 'Guide Touristique Fluvial'. The book is spiral bound, and has quite good maps which are a bit like the French Navicarte maps - the map on the right of the page, with annotations showing facilities etc in the left hand margin. There is some tourist information, and some technical information about the canals BUT it is only in French and Flemish/Dutch, I tend to use these books plus the Rough Guide to Belgium. Unfortunately it is devoid of an ISBN number. I think it is by Leen Ervink, Tim Provoost et al and is heavily supported by Comite Regional de Tourisme Nord - Pas de Calais. This same organisation produces/sponsors FREE fold out, diagrammatic maps of the Belgian canals which, helpfully, show all the locks and special features. Search canally Tourist Information Centres and hire boat centres. MOORINGS On the commercial routes, these are scarce. A few towns provide temporary, visitor moorings, but, in the main, boaters use boat club moorings. In my experience, Belgium is one of the places where 'Slow down when passing moored craft' does not seem to apply. THE NETHERLANDS PAYMENT There is not much to pay in the Netherlands! Some bridges have to paid for. If your boat is low enough to slip underneath, you don't have to pay - unless you slip through with other boats that have to have the bridge raised. If the bridge is up when you pass through it - you have to pay!! A few locks make a charge. We also found a canal where you have to rent a key to operate the locks and bridges - BUT the rental fee is wholly returnable when you return the key to an organisation that is authorised to rent them out. MAPPING The Netherlands are blessed with an organisation called ANWB. They have shops in most towns, and are often co-located with the tourist office. The ANWB is like a souped-up AA, RAC that also takes in boaters, walkers etc. They publish, annually, a Wateralmanak in 2 parts. Part One is the rules and regulations, and I understand that all boats are supposed to have one on board - no-one has ever asked to see mine. Not that I understand any of it, as it is (not surprisingly) in Dutch. Part Two is MUCH more interesting (if you can decipher it - it is also in Dutch) as it lists all canals (with dimensions and opening hours, boat clubs (with mooring facilities and prices)) etc etc, tidal information, maps of the bigger ports and harbours etc etc. Additionally, ANWB publish maps. One seems to be free, and is a map of the whole of the Dutch water system on the front, and tons of tiny print on the reverse. This printing shows (amongst other things) the opening times of various bridges. Again, this is published annually. There is also a set of fold up maps that covers those canals not covered by a rather nice spiral bound map book. MOORINGS There is an extensive network of 'out in the wilds' moorings. They are simple wooden stages, with NO facilities (e.g. water, electricity etc). Otherwise, towns and boat clubs provide moorings, with charges nearly always based on the length of the boat and with extras for water, electricity, showers etc. GERMANY PAYMENT I've never been asked to pay any money for navigating the German waterways. Locks, bridges etc etc are all free, and no separate boat licence is required. Apparently, German boat clubs pay a levy that helps with the upkeep of the German waterways. I HAVE had my documentation checked (but, luckily, the Water Police failed to notice that my ICC was out of date (it has, since, been properly renewed)). MAPPING I've been quite satisfied with the Sportschiffahrtskarten. This comes in four spiral-bound books. All the writing is in German. Again, on each page, maps are on the right, with notes in the left hand margin. These notes are enlivened by some charming pen-and-ink sketches. The information about the waterways is quite detailed - lock depths, depths in the lakes, position of buoys on the lakes etc etc - they are proper navigation maps. BUT … They don't cover the whole of Germany. Nothing west of a north-south line linking Hanover and Hamburg is covered (this includes the western end of the Mittelland canal and, of course, the Rhine). BUT they do cover the old East Germany I seem to recall that they were expensive enough for me to have to expunge the price from my memory - between 20 to 30 Euro EACH, I fear. I have also seen a series of 20 spiral bound guides issued by DSV-Verlag. They are wholly devoted to navigation, with schematic diagrams rather than maps. In old money, they were DM 50 (ish) each. I've also had a brief look at a 'Touren Atlas Wasserwanderen' (ISBN 3-929540-58-4). There is a website (www.juebermann.de) that list lots of maps and guides. Most are aimed at canoeists, but give detailed diagrams of each individual lock. The booklet I saw was about A5 size, spiral bound and cost about 9 Euro. Two other, similar booklets apparently cover most of Germany. MOORINGS Out of the way moorings and old commercial quays are available. There are also lots of very welcoming boat clubs which often have problems if the visiting boat is over about 8m in length. One pays by the metre length (usually about one Euro a metre) with, perhaps, extras for elec, water, shower etc etc. It is forbidden to tie to a tree. Apparently German boat clubs pay a fee to the German Waterway authorities to help offset the costs of pleasure boats using the waterways (rather than boats being charged a licence fee). POLAND PAYMENT Infuriatingly, one has to pay a fee at each lock, though sometimes one pays for several locks in one transaction. Filling in the receipt (name of boat, name of owner, registration number, power of engine, make of engine, colour of pubic hair etc etc) takes precedence over actually working the bloody locks - 20 minutes for the form, 5 minutes for the lock - and none of this concurrent activity rubbish - NO!!! Form first, then the lock. The cost per lock seems to vary from canal to canal, but it is about £1 per boat per lock (1.5 Euro?) MAPPING Ho! Ho! Ho! There is an A3 sheet that most lock-keepers seem to have copies of. The front is a map of the Polish waterways. The back is a schematic diagram of the navigations with all the locks marked on it. But all is not lost!! We have tracked down a set of maps that are proving to be quite good. They are a 1:100,000 scale (1 cm = 1 km) fold-up paper (perhaps slightly plasticized) map. One side is two thirds map and one third key, the other side in map and tourist information - but it is all in Polish!! The maps are general 'topographical' maps, BUT they show all the rivers and canals AND - the locks - though the lock symbol occasionally swamped by bridge and road symbols. Sadly, they don't show the navigation markers on the rivers - we have utterly failed to find any maps that do!! For the technically minded ….. The maps do not provide any data on magnetic north They show lat and long only on the 4 corners of each map, though scales continue round the edges of the maps, down to 10th of a second.. The maps are covered in 2 cm grid squares which seem to be a continuation of the German grid system BUT Mike's Garmin GPS will not give him map references that match the grid squares as the GPS thinks that the German grid system stops at (or near) the German border. The maps seem to be called Mapa Topograficzna Polski, and seem to be published by Zarzad Topograficzny Sztabu Generalnego WP (my chell specker is hating this!). I know that Stanfords in London can acquire these (at a smidgen less (when I got some)) than £10 per map. Adventurous souls can get on the net to suppliers in Poland at: www.topkart.com.pl. The site can be read in English, and you can order the maps you want BUT (when I used them) they don't have on-line payment - they require payment by fax or mail. However, the price is very much less than the UK price - about 6 Euro per map, I seem to recall. MOORINGS More Ho! Ho! Ho! We have been tying onto trees in the countryside, which is very pleasurable. Visiting towns and villages for shopping etc is tricky. We have had wooden piles driven into the canal bed offered as a mooring. Fine, except that they are so far from the bank that shore leave has had to be cancelled. We have also had wooden stakes driven into the ground some 5 or 6 metres inland (so that lassoing them is very tricksy) with a saucer shaped canal bottom that leaves 4 or 5 feet of canal between boat and shore. We have had moorings that would have been ideal - had they not been under 3 or 4 feet of water - and quays so high that although mooring was possible, shore leave was denied - again!! In our limited experience, boat clubs tend to be within easy reach of coastal waters - canal and river cruising, in craft other than canoes, hasn't yet caught on.
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