playbook
Boating licence in six weeks
Theory at home, an exam booked. No camping-week course, no rush. Six one-hour evenings is all it takes.
6u
duration
€ 80–200
budget
Ignite
pace
People often think you can only get a boating licence on a week-long course at a campsite. That is not true. Most people learn better in small chunks at home, using an online course, and book the exam six weeks out. That way you are not stressed.
My neighbour did it in four weeks, but he is a teacher and used to studying. The average reader takes six to eight weeks. The important thing is that you book the exam straight away at the start, not only once you think you are ready. Otherwise you keep pushing it back for months. With a date in the diary, it takes care of itself.
Checklist
0 of 6
Online cursus aangeschaft
Examen geboekt (vier tot zes weken vooruit)
CBR site
Studieplan op de koelkast
Zes avonden, één onderwerp per avond
Oefenexamens gedaan
Minimaal vijf
Examendag in de agenda
Met locatie en tijd
Vaarbewijs ontvangen
Komt per post na slagen
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by PlayTryBe team
Book the exam for six weeks from now on the CBR website. This is the most important step. Without a date, it keeps getting pushed back indefinitely.
50Suggestion: Choose an exam location nearby, not three hours of travel on a nerve-wracking morning.Buy an online course. A good course includes video, practice questions and mock exams. Expect to pay around 80 euros.
80Put together a simple study plan. Six topics, six evenings, one hour per evening. Write it on a piece of paper and stick it on the fridge.
Suggestion: Navigation rules and chart reading each get two evenings; everything else gets one.Weeks 1 and 2: watch the videos and read the accompanying material. Do not tackle all the exam questions yet. That comes later.
Weeks 3 to 5: do a practice exam every evening. When you get something wrong, look it up in the book rather than just reading the correct answer.
Suggestion: The goal is to understand the rule, not to memorise the exam.With navigation rules, the logic is usually "give way to whoever has less room to manoeuvre". Keep that principle in mind and the answer is usually right.
The evening before the exam: no more studying. Go for a walk, get an early night. Cramming does not work for this exam.
Exam morning. Arrive at the location half an hour early. Bring ID, a pen is fine, a calculator is not (it is built into the system).
CBR examenlocatie naar keuze0The exam takes 45 minutes. Halfway through you will usually have a sense of how it is going. Do not panic if a question catches you off guard, you are allowed to get a few wrong.
For anyone copying this
Do as we did
Suggestions
- Book the exam right away in week 1, not in week 6.
- Study in one-hour chunks. Two hours is too long and you retain less.
- The trickiest chapters are navigation rules and chart reading. Plan extra time for those.
- Practice exams work best, not just reading the theory book.
- A course costing around 80 euros is plenty. Stop agonising over which provider to choose.
Variations
- - Intensieve versie: 14 dagen, twee uur per dag. Werkt als je vakantie hebt.
- - Met een vriend: oefen samen, vraag elkaar op de moeilijke regels.
- - Combinatie met Vaarbewijs 2: als je naar open water wil, doe ze direct achter elkaar.
- - Met de boot al gehuurd: zorg dat je vaarbewijs op tijd binnen is, anders krijg je een boete.
More like this
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Mooring posts and locks for beginners
Evening Canal Cruise in Amsterdam
School trip on a floating hotel
Adapted sailing holiday with a wheelchair
SUP clinic on the Spaarne Haarlem
A Day on the Amstel by Sloop
Skipper Weekend Friese Meren
IJsselmeer day with a trailer boat