This is an independent, source-bounded study aid for the German Sportbootführerschein theory exams in the See and Binnen Geltungsbereiche. The supplied ELWIS Anlage 3 text (Stand 1 January 2023) describes a generally written theory exam using basic and scope-specific multiple-choice questions: four options, one correct answer, one point per correct answer; for Seeschifffahrtsstraßen there is also a navigation task answered freely or by chart entries, and answers wrong only because of a Folgefehler are still awarded the point. The source does not establish current weightings, pass marks, fees, validity periods, Land-specific requirements, or examination availability. Treat this package as subject review rather than a complete syllabus or a simulation, and verify current requirements with the competent authority. Build the shared foundations first, then split See chart and navigation work from Binnen inland-rule work. Practise rule scenarios, calculation drills, and open chart-style tasks, and verify current examination requirements with the competent authority.
What the theory exam actually asks for
The official exam regulation (Anlage 3) sets out a generally written theory exam built from basic and scope-specific multiple-choice questions, plus an additional sea navigation task for Seeschifffahrtsstraßen.
The supplied ELWIS Anlage 3 states that the theoretical part is intended to show at least sufficient knowledge of the shipping-police regulations and the nautical and technical knowledge needed to handle a sportboat safely in the relevant Geltungsbereich. It distinguishes Basisfragen, covering general traffic law, vessel handling, environmental law, boat technology, weather, and propulsion-specific or sail-specific matters, from specific questions covering inland or sea shipping law. The multiple-choice part uses four answer options and exactly one correct option; the candidate receives one point per correct selection. The source also says the theory exam is generally written.
For the Seeschifffahrtsstraßen scope, the regulation adds a navigation task that you must answer in free text or by entries on a sea chart. It awards points for correct answers or entries and states that an answer wrong only because of a Folgefehler still receives the point. Treat that as a prompt to practise showing your working, not only guessing a final figure. It is equally important not to infer a pass mark, weighting, fee, validity period, or current availability from the official text: those matters are not provided and you must check them with the competent authority.
This package is not a reproduction of official questions, a workbook, or a full simulation. It does not claim that audio, images, or training software are included. The MCQ sample below checks supporting knowledge; it is not a simulation of the written paper or the navigation task, and the open-task practice in this guide is a representative exercise in the kind of reasoning the source describes.
Set your preparation priorities
Treat shared rules, safety, and seamanship as the base, then add the specific See or Binnen layer required by your intended use.
The source lists shared general knowledge for both Geltungsbereiche: basic terms; general collision-avoidance rules, sound signals, and lights; general regulatory and prohibition signs; nature protection; general duties of conduct; liquid gas systems; maintenance of inflatable life-saving equipment; fire extinguishers and firefighting; conduct after a collision; and motorboat technology such as propulsion, shaft, fuel system, steering, manoeuvres, propeller effects, machinery, outboard operation, and emissions. These are foundation topics, not optional extras.
The specific layer differs. For Binnen, the source lists traffic rules on inland waterways including the Rhine, Mosel, and Danube; inland signals, signs, lights, and giving-way rules; licensing duties; Rhine-specific boat handling; general care; fairway and high-water behaviour; anchoring prohibitions in canals and bridge passage; lock transit; sound signals; meeting, overtaking, and avoiding; water-ski and personal-watercraft matters; marking; and radio or radar use. For the Binnen scope under sail, it also lists hull forms and stability; rope and sail handling; wind, optimal angle of attack, leeway, and heel; sail and boat trim; sailing manoeuvres; and restricted water areas. For See, it lists the Seeschifffahrtsstraßen-Ordnung and Ems mouth regulation; nautical publications; signals and lights; collision-prevention rules; conduct duties; behaviour in swell and man-overboard situations; warning areas, the Kiel Canal, nature reserves, and national parks; weather; and navigation using charts, bearings, dead reckoning, course deviation, set, magnetic variation, deviation, current and wind effects, tides, and light lists.
Prioritise accordingly: first make the shared rule-and-safety vocabulary automatic, then build the specific legal and navigational layer. Do not assume that a syllabus heading proves a technical rule, and do not assume that See and Binnen are interchangeable. Choose the scope you actually need and verify the current route with the authority.
Rules of the road: how to reason, not just memorise
Identify the vessel types and aspect first, then apply the correct rule, then take early and substantial action if you are the give-way vessel.
For two power-driven vessels in a crossing situation with risk of collision, the vessel that has the other on her own starboard side is the give-way vessel. The stand-on vessel keeps course and speed but must still act if collision cannot be avoided by the give-way vessel alone. For two power-driven vessels meeting nearly head-on, both turn to starboard and pass port-to-port. An overtaking vessel keeps clear until finally past and clear. These are mechanisms: classify the situation, decide who keeps clear, and then verify the action.
Worked scenario: Vessel A is a power-driven vessel steering 000° at 6 knots. Vessel B is a power-driven vessel bearing about 045° relative to A, crossing so that a risk of collision exists. B is on A's starboard side, so A is the give-way vessel and B is stand-on. A should not hold on and hope; A should make an early, substantial course or speed change that is obvious to B and passes clear. In many crossing situations, turning to starboard to pass astern of B is a sensible option, provided it is safe and does not create another risk. A should monitor the bearing and range, not just make one movement.
A second scenario: a power-driven vessel meets a sailing vessel under sail. The power-driven vessel is generally the give-way vessel, but this is not a universal licence to ignore aspect, overtaking, restricted-manoeuvrability, or narrow-channel situations. The exam skill is to ask: what type is each vessel, what is the encounter geometry, is there risk of collision, and which rule governs? That reasoning prevents a memorised slogan from becoming a wrong answer.
Chart work and a worked set-and-drift calculation
Separate the water track from the ground track: use a vector triangle, then check the answer against bearings, depth, and chart features.
In coastal navigation, course over ground, heading, speed through water, and speed over ground are different quantities. Set is the direction toward which a current flows; drift is its speed. A chart fix from simultaneous bearings is stronger than a single bearing line, which merely places the vessel somewhere on a line of position. Depth can corroborate a fix but does not by itself identify position. Magnetic variation and compass deviation affect the relationship between compass heading and chart direction, so they must be handled deliberately.
Worked calculation: a vessel can make 6.0 knots through the water. The current sets 090° at 2.0 knots. The desired course over ground is 000° true. To keep the ground track north, the water track must have a westward component of 2.0 knots. If the angle from north is θ to port, then 6.0 sin θ = 2.0, so sin θ = 0.333 and θ is about 19.5°. The heading is therefore about 340.5° true, normally written as about 340°. The northward component is 6.0 cos 19.5°, about 5.66 knots, so the speed over ground is about 5.7 knots. The boat is pointed west of north while moving north over the ground.
A chart-task discipline: sketch the vectors large enough to see; label true directions; keep units consistent; then ask whether the result is plausible. In the sea navigation task described by the source, answers may be free-form or chart entries, so a clear method matters. Use the permitted plotting tools for the navigation task and expect to show working rather than rely on electronic references.
Weather, anchoring, and boat handling
Use simple physical mechanisms for weather, calculate anchoring scope from depth plus bow height, and treat recovery manoeuvres as controlled plans.
A daytime sea breeze is driven by differential heating. Land heats faster than water, air over the land rises, and cooler air moves inland from the sea near the surface. At night the pattern can reverse as land cools faster, producing a land breeze. The exam-useful mechanism is the pressure difference created by relative heating and cooling, modified by local topography and existing weather. Do not reduce weather to a single wind arrow; ask what the coast, time of day, and stability are doing.
For anchoring, a practical scope calculation uses depth at the anchor plus bow height, then applies a chosen ratio. Worked example: 4 m water depth plus 1 m bow height gives 5 m. At 5:1 scope, the required rode is about 25 m. This is an arithmetic example, not a universal prescription for every seabed, shelter, or local rule. Holding ground, swing room, expected wind, and local prohibitions matter. The source specifically notes inland anchoring prohibitions in canals and bridge-passage matters, so a rule-set check is part of anchoring judgement.
For man overboard, the immediate sequence is to shout, throw a buoyant item if available, keep the person in sight, and manoeuvre for a controlled recovery while avoiding the propeller. Do not immediately reverse at high speed toward a person in the water. For mooring or berthing in crosswind, make a controlled approach with fenders and lines ready, and abort and go around if the approach is misaligned. The safe answer is usually the one that preserves control and options.
Signals, emergencies, and environmental protection
Learn the standard signal meanings, use emergency priorities that protect people first, and keep oil and refuse out of the water.
In the collision regulations, one short blast indicates a change to starboard, two short blasts a change to port, and three short blasts astern propulsion. At night, an anchored vessel generally shall exhibit an all-round white light where it can best be seen, subject to applicable length and exemption rules. Distress signals exist to summon help in genuine distress; learn them as recognition and response items, and do not use them casually. Sound and light signals also appear in both shared and specific knowledge areas.
For a fire in an engine space, the conceptual priority is to stop the engine if that can be done safely, shut off fuel if possible, use the appropriate extinguisher for the fire class and space, keep clear of flames and toxic smoke, and call for help. Opening the hatch fully can feed oxygen and worsen the fire. For flooding or grounding, first assess people and hull integrity, stop the engine if needed, identify the source of water, and communicate for assistance rather than blindly going full astern or pumping without diagnosis. These are educational priorities, not a substitute for hands-on training.
For environmental protection, the source includes environmental law and nature protection. A sound default is no discharge of oil or refuse into waterways. Do not rely on detergent to make an oil spill acceptable, and do not assume that biodegradable material may always be thrown overboard. Lifejackets should be selected for the person and activity, checked, and worn as conditions require; one adult jacket is not a universal fit for everyone aboard.
See and Binnen: what changes, and what must be verified
The shared base overlaps, but the source distinguishes separate specific rule sets and navigation knowledge for sea and inland waterways.
For See, the source points to sea shipping regulations and the Ems mouth regulation, nautical publications, collision-prevention rules, sea signals and lights, conduct duties, heavy-weather and man-overboard behaviour, warning areas and protected areas, weather, and navigation using charts, bearings, dead reckoning, deviation, set and drift, tides, and light lists. For Binnen, it points to inland traffic rules including the Rhine, Mosel, and Danube, inland signs and lights, inland meeting and overtaking rules, licence duties, high-water behaviour, bridge passage, lock transit, water-ski and personal-watercraft rules, and inland radio or radar use.
That distinction is the practical exam issue: the same generic word, such as priority or signal, may sit inside a different rule set. Build two labelled sets of notes, one for See and one for Binnen, and mark the shared foundations separately. Do not carry an inland priority convention into open-sea collision avoidance, or a sea chart calculation into an inland lock question, without checking which scope is being tested.
The official requirements do not establish every Land-specific requirement or certificate validity detail. If local advice goes beyond the official text, treat it as subject review. Verify the scope of your certificate, the waters you intend to use, and current local requirements with the competent authority.
Integrated open-task practice and self-check
Use a mixed scenario to practise calculation, rule reasoning, safety priorities, and legal-scope recognition together.
Practice scenario: you plan an 8-nautical-mile coastal leg toward a harbour entrance and then a separate inland river and lock transit. Your boat can make 6.0 knots through the water. On the first leg the current sets 090° at 2.0 knots, and you want a course over ground of 000° true. You are piloting a power-driven vessel; another power-driven vessel is crossing on your starboard side with risk of collision. Later you intend to anchor in 4 m of water with 1 m bow height, and you expect a 5:1 scope. During the day a sea breeze develops. Before the inland leg, an engine-space fire alarm sounds; you also notice oily bilge water and mixed refuse aboard.
Open tasks: calculate an approximate heading and speed over ground for the first leg; state who is give-way in the crossing and describe an early, substantial action; calculate the anchoring rode for the stated scope and name two holding-ground or swing-room checks; list immediate fire-response priorities; state the environmental default for oil and refuse; and identify which items belong to See-specific preparation and which belong to Binnen-specific preparation. Finally, state two matters you would verify with the competent authority because the official text does not settle them.
Self-check rubric: the vector triangle is labelled and the result is numerically plausible; the give-way vessel and stand-on vessel are correctly identified and the action is early and substantial; the anchor arithmetic is (4 + 1) × 5 = 25 m with relevant caveats; the fire sequence protects people and avoids feeding the fire; oil and refuse are not discharged; See and Binnen items are not mixed; and uncertainties are stated as uncertainties rather than invented rules. This is a representative open task, not a simulation of the official exam and not a prediction of performance.
A practical study sequence
Use a short cycle of shared foundations, scope-specific study, calculation drills, and mixed retrieval.
Week 1: build shared vocabulary and collision-avoidance mechanisms, including lights, shapes, sound signals, and common signs. Week 2: study shared safety, fire, life-saving equipment, motorboat technology, and environmental duties. Week 3: take the specific See layer, with chart symbols, bearings, dead reckoning, variation and deviation, set and drift, tides, and light lists, or the specific Binnen layer, with inland rules, locks, bridges, high water, and inland signals. Week 4: drill calculations and chart-style free responses on paper. Week 5: mix scenarios across rules, seamanship, safety, and legal scope. Week 6: revisit errors, explain each wrong answer aloud, and redraw any diagram from memory.
Use active recall rather than rereading. For each rule, write the trigger, the duty, and the exception. For each calculation, write the vector or formula before substituting numbers. For each safety topic, write a priority order and a stop condition. Keep a separate list of questions that require authority verification, because the official text is limited. The aim is transferable reasoning, not a promised result.
References and further reading
Use these references to explore the concepts and check the latest information from the relevant organizations.