eFoil regulations & spots in Germany

Germany regulates eFoils as motorised watercraft under the Sportboot framework, falling within the scope of either the Seeschifffahrtsstraßen-Ordnung (SeeSchStrO) for coastal waters or the Binnenschifffahrtsstraßen-Ordnung (BinSchStrO) for federal inland waterways. Because an eFoil is propelled by an electric motor, the German federal transport authority and the Bundesamt für Seeschifffahrt und Hydrographie (BSH) treat it as a Sportboot or Wassermotorrad. A Sportbootführerschein See is generally required for use in coastal waters when the motor exceeds 15 PS, and a Sportbootführerschein Binnen is required equivalently on most federal inland waters. Riders must wear an approved Schwimmweste, and the practical minimum age tied to the SBF licence is 16.

Waterway access is the dominant constraint. The vast majority of Bavarian lakes (Tegernsee, Starnberger See, Ammersee, Chiemsee and the Königssee) prohibit combustion- and electric-motorised watercraft outright under Bavarian state ordinances and lake-specific Schifffahrtsordnungen, which effectively bans eFoiling on these waters regardless of any federal licence held. Lake Constance (Bodensee) is governed by the trinational Bodensee-Schifffahrts-Ordnung (BSO) agreed between Germany, Austria and Switzerland; under the BSO, Wassermotorräder and similar small high-performance motorised craft are not admitted, so eFoils are not permitted on the Bodensee. Numerous smaller Naturschutzgebiete and Trinkwasserschutzgebiete impose additional motorised-craft bans.

Conditions vary materially by Bundesland. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein, with their long Baltic and North Sea coastlines, are the most accommodating: eFoiling is broadly possible on coastal SeeSchStrO waters subject to general rules, distance-from-shore zones, bathing-area exclusions and the Nationalpark Wattenmeer restrictions. Brandenburg and Berlin apply standard BinSchStrO rules with local Befahrensverordnungen, while North Rhine-Westphalia restricts motorised use on many reservoirs and on stretches of the Rhine. Operators are advised to check the specific waterway authority (WSV) and the state Schifffahrtspolizei or environment ministry before each session.

Enforcement is carried out primarily by the Wasserschutzpolizei of each Bundesland, supported by the federal WSV on federal waterways and by Naturpark/Nationalpark rangers in protected zones. Penalties for operating an unlicensed motorised craft, riding on a prohibited lake, or breaching speed and distance rules range from administrative fines (Bußgeld) typically in the low hundreds to over a thousand euros, with confiscation possible for repeat or serious offences. Coastal speed limits (commonly 8 km/h within 500 m of shore on many North Sea and Baltic stretches) and bathing-zone exclusions apply to eFoils as they do to jet skis. Insurance is strongly recommended and required by some marinas.