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Students with the ABC Boating training boat after their Queensland boat licence course
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Boat Licence in Landsborough

Seqwater permits electric powered, sail and paddle craft only at Lake Baroon.

Landsborough locals

Boat Licence near Landsborough

A couple with the ABC Boating training boat after passing the Queensland boat licence, the course Landsborough students travel to the Caloundra base to complete

Landsborough is the only suburb in its group whose nearest recorded boat ramp is on fresh water. That is Lake Baroon, where Seqwater prohibits fuel powered boats and permits electric powered, sail and paddle craft only, operated from the designated ramp. The large storage nearest the township, Ewen Maddock Dam, goes further: Seqwater records non-powered yes, electric no, fuel no, permitting only non-motorised craft from the designated recreation area at Maddock Park, with no boat ramp recorded there in either the council layer or the MSQ database.

If you are thinking about buying a boat around Landsborough, one fact is worth having early. No public boat ramp or water access point is recorded in the locality, and the nearest recorded ramp is on fresh water at Lake Baroon, where Seqwater permits electric powered, sail and paddle craft only and prohibits fuel powered boats. Which means an outboard boat is a trailer boat here, and the licence is exactly what unlocks it.

Landsborough is the only suburb in its group whose nearest recorded boat ramp is fresh water rather than tidal. Lake Baroon has a designated ramp, and Seqwater's rule for it is specific: electric powered watercraft, sail craft and paddle craft only, no fuel powered boats. So the ramp is real, and it is genuinely useful, but not for a petrol outboard.

The large storage nearest the township is Ewen Maddock Dam, and it is stricter again. Seqwater records it non-powered yes, electric no, fuel no, and states that only non-motorised craft are permitted, launched from the designated recreation area at Maddock Park. No boat ramp is recorded at Ewen Maddock in either the council register or the MSQ database. That is worth knowing before you buy a boat, not after you have one in the driveway.

None of that puts inland water outside the rules. Seqwater states plainly that the laws on all inland waterways are the same and are set by Maritime Safety Queensland, and that craft requiring registration must be operated by an appropriately licensed person. The Queensland threshold of more than 4.5 kilowatts therefore applies on inland water exactly as it does on the coast. Seqwater's storages differ sharply among themselves as well: Lake Baroon permits non-powered and electric craft, Ewen Maddock non-powered only, Wappa Dam and Cooloolabin Dam none at all.

Which is why, for a trailer boat with a motor on the back, the water you are heading for is tidal. Roys Road at Coochin Creek is the ramp on the Pumicestone Passage in this part of the hinterland, recorded by Maritime Safety Queensland with a slope of 8 and Low Tide Restricted No, state owned and council managed. That Passage is a long shallow tidal waterway, roughly 80% of it less than two metres deep, and it is where our Caloundra course trains.

So the licence does something concrete for a Landsborough address. It is the thing that turns a boat sitting on a trailer at the foot of the Glass House Mountains into a boat that can go somewhere. The theory goes online first and must be within three months of your practical day; then you spend the day on the Passage learning to handle the boat on the water you will actually use it on.

The course itself is the same wherever you sit it: the theory online first, in your own time, then a day on the water with a trainer before the assessment. You need a licence for any boat with an engine over 4.5 kilowatts, which is nearly every tinny, runabout and cruiser. Pass, and the Queensland licence never expires. Pick the date that suits you and book online.

What's involved

Your course, step by step

Planning to run an outboard boat at Ewen Maddock Dam.

It is the large storage nearest the township, so it reads as the obvious local water.

Seqwater records Ewen Maddock as non-powered yes, electric no, fuel no, and permits only non-motorised craft from the designated recreation area at Maddock Park. A motor of any kind is out, not just a petrol one.

We say so before you buy the boat rather than after, and we point you at the tidal water a motor boat can actually use.

Reading 'nearest boat ramp' as 'ramp I can launch my boat at'.

Landsborough's nearest recorded boat ramp is at Lake Baroon, and a ramp is a ramp on a map.

Seqwater prohibits fuel powered boats at Lake Baroon and permits electric powered, sail and paddle craft only, operated from the designated ramp. The ramp exists; the permission for a petrol outboard does not.

We separate the two on this page, because Landsborough is the one suburb in its group where the nearest ramp is fresh water.

Towing to Maddock Park expecting to find a ramp there.

Seqwater names Maddock Park as the designated recreation area for launching at Ewen Maddock, which sounds like ramp language.

No boat ramp is recorded at Ewen Maddock Dam in either the council layer or the MSQ database. The designated launch there is for non-motorised craft.

We name what is on the register and what is not, so your first trip out with a trailer is not a wasted one.

Assuming licence rules are a coastal thing and fresh water is a free-for-all.

Landsborough's closest recorded water is inland storage rather than tidal, so the whole framing feels different.

Seqwater states the laws on all inland waterways are the same and are set by Maritime Safety Queensland, and that craft requiring registration must be operated by an appropriately licensed person. The more than 4.5 kilowatt threshold applies inland as on the coast.

The course covers the rules as they actually apply, not just the ones that apply within sight of the beach.

Concluding a motor boat is more trouble than it is worth from here.

The two nearest storages permit no fuel motor between them, which can read as a closed door.

It is a reason to get licensed, not a reason not to. Roys Road at Coochin Creek opens onto the Pumicestone Passage and is recorded Low Tide Restricted No, so it is not a ramp that holds you to the tide.

We train on that same Passage water at Caloundra, roughly 80% of it under two metres deep, so the day is spent on the water your trailer boat will use.

Local, qualified, trusted

BoatSafe approved, backed by ABC Boating

The two nearest storages to Landsborough between them permit no fuel powered motor at all, so a licensed skipper here is by definition a trailer-boat skipper heading for tidal water. That makes the choice of trainer worth a moment. Look us up on the Queensland Government's BoatSafe register: it lists Australian Boating College at Caloundra against 0427 110 025, our number. Karen K's review describes a drive of nearly two hours to train with this trainer, made on a personal recommendation. In Queensland a marine licence can only come from an approved BoatSafe provider, so that listing is the one that counts. The training organisation behind the courses, Australian Boating College, is current on the national training register. Every approved provider works to the same floor: trainers hold a commercial marine qualification and pass a criminal history check, the training vessel is commercially certified and carries sun protection, and the organisation running it has to carry public liability cover of at least 20 million dollars. Maritime Safety Queensland audits providers and can suspend one that cuts corners.

  • BoatSafe Approved

    Approved by Maritime Safety Queensland to deliver the BoatSafe recreational marine and PWC licence courses.

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  • Nationally Accredited Training

    Courses are delivered under the registration of Australian Boating College, RTO #3399, so the training is nationally accredited.

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  • Backed by ABC Boating

    Part of the Australian Boating College network, which delivers boat and PWC licence training across Australia.

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  • 5-Star Rated on Google

    Rated 5 stars on Google by students across the Sunshine Coast. Read the reviews on our Google profile.

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Getting here

From Landsborough to our Caloundra base

From Landsborough, near the Landsborough township at the foot of the Glass House Mountains, it is down Caloundra Road from the hinterland to the sheltered Passage water at our Caloundra base. Landsborough sits in the hinterland at the foot of the Glass House Mountains, with the on-water training run on the sheltered Pumicestone Passage at Caloundra. We run the boat licence there with all equipment provided, so Landsborough locals can get licensed close to home.

Where we train:
Churchill Street, Golden Beach QLD 4551
View Caloundra Dates
Quick enquiry

Enquire about the Boat Licence

Tell us the date that suits you near Landsborough and our team will come back to you, usually within one business day. Prefer to talk it through? Give us a call.

  • We reply within one business day
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  • Caloundra, Maroochydore & Noosa
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Good to know

Boat Licence in Landsborough: FAQs

Where is the nearest boat ramp to Landsborough?

The nearest recorded boat ramp is at Lake Baroon, and it is fresh water. Landsborough is the only suburb in its group with a freshwater nearest ramp. Seqwater permits electric powered watercraft, sail craft and paddle craft only there, operated from the designated ramp, and prohibits fuel powered boats. No public ramp is recorded in Landsborough itself.

Can I take a boat with an outboard onto Ewen Maddock Dam?

No. Seqwater records Ewen Maddock Dam as non-powered yes, electric no, fuel no, and states that only non-motorised craft are permitted, launched from the designated recreation area at Maddock Park. That rules out electric motors as well as petrol ones. No boat ramp is recorded there in either the council layer or the MSQ database.

Do I need a licence to boat on fresh water inland?

The rules do not change when you leave the coast. Seqwater states that the laws on all inland waterways are the same and are set by Maritime Safety Queensland, and that craft requiring registration must be operated by an appropriately licensed person. The Queensland threshold of more than 4.5 kilowatts applies on inland water exactly as it does on tidal water.

Do all the local dams have the same rules?

No, they differ sharply. Lake Baroon permits non-powered and electric powered craft but no fuel powered craft. Ewen Maddock Dam permits non-powered craft only. Wappa Dam and Cooloolabin Dam permit none at all. Check the individual storage rather than assuming a rule carries across from one to the next.

So where does a trailer boat from Landsborough actually launch?

On tidal water. Roys Road at Coochin Creek opens onto the Pumicestone Passage and is recorded by Maritime Safety Queensland with a slope of 8 and Low Tide Restricted No, state owned and council managed, with one lane and 15 car parks. Queensland Parks directs access to that road in from the Bruce Highway at Exit 179.

What is the Pumicestone Passage like for a new skipper?

Shallow and tidal, which makes it good honest water to learn on. Roughly 80% of the Passage is less than two metres deep, and it is flushed from its northern mouth at Caloundra and its southern mouth at Deception Bay. Depth and tide reading becomes part of every trip rather than an occasional worry.

Where does the course run if I live at Landsborough?

At our Caloundra base on the Pumicestone Passage. The Queensland Government's BoatSafe register lists Australian Boating College at Caloundra under 0427 110 025, which is our number. Theory is completed online beforehand and must be within three months of your practical training and assessment. You get the exact meeting point when you book.

Do I need a boat licence in Queensland?

Yes, if your boat has an engine of more than 4.5 kilowatts (around 6 horsepower), which covers almost every powered recreational boat. You can operate without a licence if someone who holds a valid marine licence is supervising you on board. Our one-day BoatSafe course covers what you need, and once issued the licence is yours for life.

Do I need any boating experience?

No. The course is built for complete beginners. Our local instructors are patient and used to first-timers, and small class sizes mean you get plenty of time at the helm. The licence you are working towards lasts a lifetime once it is issued.

How old do I need to be to get a licence?

You must be at least 16 to hold a recreational marine or PWC licence in Queensland. You can operate a powered boat without holding one at any age, as long as someone with a valid marine licence is supervising you on board. Sixteenth birthdays are a popular time to book, so it is worth getting the course done early.

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Get your boat licence near Landsborough

Landsborough launches from Roys Road at Coochin Creek, straight onto the Pumicestone Passage.

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