Hi, I just come back from Florida where I had the chance to test the eFoil (Lift Foils) for two hours. It truly is addictive! An amazing toy for everybody!
Even though it’s very expensive I think of getting one to foil on some lakes and rivers in Germany. We’re living in Hamburg and we have the beautiful Alsterlake in the middle of town. Perfect playground! If it is allowed!
Has anybody in this forum an idea where I can ask to find out what kind of license/certification and what insurance is necessary to use it on lakes and on rivers in Germany?
It seems very hard to find any information on this.
Thanks for your help.
Cheers,
Martin
Hi there,
The regulations in Germany may vary a little bit region for region. Some categorise electric surfboards as Jetskis and some don’t ask for a license at all.
To be on the safe side I would register the eFoil as a small boat at your local “Schiffahrtsamt” and get a license number which you have to stick on your board.
See picture below
No you can officially be on any lake or river where any other motor powered boat is running.
The next challenge is the speed limit. Please check what the local speed limit is at your spot. Ideally it would be 25 km/h or above.
If it is a little bit less and you ride your eFoil in a smooth way without disturbing other people, animals or the nature than most of the water police officers are pretty relaxed.
Just go from gas if you see them 
About the insurance: When I asked the Schiffahrtsamt in Berlin they mentioned that I do not need an insurance.
Again, this might be different in other regions.
If you want an insurance (even if not necessary) I would check with one of the typical sport boat insurance companies.
AL
Thank you, Andreas! That’s very helpful!
Florida heat would be nice for riding, and yes these efoils are so addicting its insane!
I think I road my custom eFoil for 6 days straight before it got super crapy cold and windy here.
Many areas there are max watt powers that if above you need a license/or registration, nothing serious, just some paperwork an small fee.
Hy there,
usually you need a “EU-Konformitätserklärung” to register it in germany. Normally the manufacturer certifies in it that it is built according EU-regulations and standardisations.
You can get this from the manufacturer of the board. Dont know if lift foil can provide it. Dont know if they even have a distributor in Europe yet… nor if the liftfoil has even a CE certification and runs with less than 50V (This is important as there is a high voltage restriction for more than 50V on water in germany!)
Best is you write them and ask or wait for the e-takuma coming with all this certification in 2019 
Hello my friend, please ask here
https://www.adac.de/reise_freizeit/wassersport/ratgeber-wassersport/wassersport-info/default.aspx