Pass your boating-licence theory with confidence.

Lights & shapes

Up to 72 configurations depending on the licence, each flashing its real character, seen from four angles and drawn on its own vessel's silhouette, plus day shapes and national lights.

Buoyage & signs

IALA-A cardinal/lateral marks and the official CEVNI inland signs, with the real regulatory imagery.

Right-of-way & sounds

Steering & sailing rules and whistle/fog signals, illustrated with practical scenarios.

VHF, distress & safety

Channels, DSC/MMSI, MAYDAY/PAN-PAN, flares, EPIRB and the required safety equipment.

Charts, compass & weather

Plotting, Cv = Cc + d + D, Beaufort/Douglas, fronts, tides and currents.

Knots, maneuvers & pollution

Step-by-step knot diagrams, docking/anchoring/locks, and the MARPOL essentials.

Quizzes everywhere

Train on any subject, by topic or all-mixed. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so you understand instead of memorising.

Weighted mock exam

Sit a realistic, timed exam with an Admis/Recalé verdict and a per-category breakdown: signage, right-of-way and safety weighted like the real test.

Review & stay ready

A “review my mistakes” mode with spaced repetition, plus an “Am I ready?” dashboard. Daily challenge, streaks and badges keep you motivated.

It is made for

· Licence holders who want to keep what they learned. The rules fade once the exam is passed (lights, cardinal marks, right of way). A daily challenge and spaced repetition of your own mistakes keep them available, through the winter and into the next season.

· Candidates for the eleven European licences it prepares: the French permis côtier and permis fluvial, the Belgian restricted and general brevets, the Dutch Klein Vaarbewijs 1 and 2, the German Sportbootführerschein See, the Spanish PER and PNB, and the Italian patente nautica within 12 miles and with no limit.

· People revising on their own, between two lessons with an instructor, or after the course has ended.

· Anyone who needs to revise offline, with no account and no subscription.

It is not made for

· Replacing a course or practical training. It prepares the theory, and nothing else.

· Offshore sailing. No celestial navigation, no radar plotting, no secondary-port tidal calculation: the scope stops at the coastal level.

· Countries other than Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Italy. The international content (COLREG, IALA-A, CEVNI) is useful anywhere, but there is no national regulation module beyond those six.

· Telling you which licence to take, or how to enrol. It teaches the rules, not the administrative procedure.

Which boating licences does We Boat Licence cover?

Eleven, each with its own official mock-exam scoring: the French permis côtier and permis fluvial, the Belgian restricted and general brevets, the Dutch Klein Vaarbewijs 1 and 2, the German Sportbootführerschein See, the Spanish PER and PNB, and the Italian patente nautica within 12 miles and with no limit. Pick yours at first launch and the content, the vocabulary and the exam scoring all adapt. The COLREG, IALA-A and CEVNI content is international and shared by all of them.

Does We Boat Licence work offline?

Yes. All 20 subjects, 2000+ questions and the mock exam work fully offline: no account and no connection required.

Is We Boat Licence free?

Yes. All 20 subjects and every practice quiz are free, and your first mock exam is free too. We Boat Licence Pro is a single one-time purchase (€9.99) that removes ads and unlocks unlimited mock exams, statistics and the targeted review mode.

How many practice questions are included?

Over 2000 questions in seven formats, each with a short explanation, plus a realistic weighted mock exam that gives a pass/fail verdict and a per-category breakdown.

Are the questions based on official regulations?

Yes. The content is built on official sources (COLREG, IALA-A, CEVNI and the national regulations of France, Belgium and the Netherlands), all verified and documented.

What does a North cardinal buoy mean?

A North cardinal mark has two black cones both pointing upward and shows a continuous very quick or quick flashing white light. It means safe water lies to the north of the mark: steer to pass north of it to clear the danger it marks. (IALA-A buoyage system, Region A.)

What does a sailing vessel show at night with a tricolour light?

A sailing vessel under 20 metres, when under sail alone (engine off) at night, may show a single tricolour lantern at the masthead combining red to port, green to starboard and white astern in one fixture, instead of separate sidelights and a stern light. It must switch back to separate lights as soon as the engine is used. (COLREG Rule 25(b).)

COLREG Rule 13: who must give way when overtaking?

The overtaking vessel must always keep clear of the vessel being overtaken, and stays the give-way vessel until she is finally past and clear, even if the encounter later looks like a crossing situation. A vessel is 'overtaking' when approaching from more than 22.5° abaft the other vessel's beam, the sector where at night only her stern light is visible. (COLREG Rule 13.)

CEVNI: what is a blue cone for?

A blue cone (point down by day, replaced by a blue light at night) marks an inland vessel carrying dangerous goods under ADN rules: one, two or three cones show the danger category and how widely other vessels must keep clear. It's a different signal from the rectangular blue board used to indicate a course change during a passing manoeuvre. (CEVNI / ADN.)

What is a safe water mark and how do you pass it?

A safe water mark has red-and-white vertical stripes and a single red spherical topmark, and its light (if fitted) shows a white isophase, occulting, or single long flash. It signals open, navigable water all around (for example a mid-channel or landfall point) and may be passed on either side. (IALA-A buoyage system.)

I already have my licence. Is the app still useful?

That is the need it was built for first. Once the exam is passed the rules fade (lights, cardinal marks, right of way) and they fade fastest over winter, when you are not on the water. The daily challenge, the quizzes and the spaced repetition of your own mistakes exist to keep that knowledge available, not just to get you through an exam. Everything works offline, which is what matters on board.