SBF See – Coastal Boating Licence: Exam with Navigation Task, 285 Questions, Procedure

The SBF See is valid on maritime waterways and in the territorial sea; on inland waterways you additionally need the SBF Binnen – holders of the SBF See answer only the 23 specific inland questions for it (35 minutes), because the basic questions have already been tested. The requirements are 16 years of age, a medical certificate of fitness (eyesight, hearing, colour vision) and reliability. The exam is conducted by the examination boards of the DMYV and the DSV (SpFV § 9).

The question paper contains 7 basic questions and 23 specific sea questions; the pass mark is at least 5 basic and 18 sea questions. In addition, the navigation task must be completed: 9 sub-tasks in which answers are written freely or entries are made on the nautical chart – courses, bearings, dead-reckoning position, set between DR and fix, variation and deviation, current and leeway, tides and lights. Each correct sub-task earns one point, at least 7 are required; consequential errors are not counted twice. 60 minutes are available for both together. Anyone taking both scopes on the same day answers the basic questions only on the sea paper.

Permitted for the navigation task are a navigation triangle, set square (Anlegedreieck), parallel rulers, Portland plotter and dividers. Reference works – including electronic ones – are prohibited; an attempt to cheat counts as “failed” (SpFV Anlage 3, Nr. 1.3).

The question and answer catalogue See (ELWIS, as of 1 August 2023) comprises 72 basic questions, 213 specific sea questions (nos. 73–285) and the navigation tasks nos. 286–300 – chart work on the training chart D49. The specific questions cover the Seeschifffahrtsstraßen-Ordnung and the collision regulations, lights and shapes, sound signals, buoyage (lateral and cardinal marks), weather, tides, distress at sea, safety equipment and environmental protection at sea.

ScheinFit contains all 285 catalogue questions unchanged, with images, translations under every question and answer, explanations and an exam simulation with 7 + 23 questions in 60 minutes according to the official assessment key. The navigation task is not simulated – it is chart work with dividers and triangle and can only be practised with a nautical chart. The 15 navigation tasks in the catalogue are stored in the app as learning material so that you know the types of task.

The practical exam (SpFV Anlage 4) covers manoeuvres such as man overboard, casting off and mooring, steering a compass course, and knots. Theory and practical can be taken on different days and with different boards; both parts must be passed within one year. A failed part cannot be retaken on the same day.