Italian brand
PLATE 01 · No licence
NAVY RIBs · within 6 miles of the coast
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NAVY 4.80 · NAVY 5.50 · NAVY 6.00 · 40 hp outboard · legal limit 30 kW / 40.8 hp
In Italy the boat licence is tied to the engine, not to the boat. Within 6 miles of the coast, with an outboard that stays under 30 kW (40.8 hp) and under the engine capacity set by law, you may drive without a licence. In the NAVY range that means three RIBs: the 4.80, the 5.50 and the 6.00, with the 40 hp on the transom.
PLATE 02 — The rule · article 39 of the Italian Pleasure Boating Code
It is the point people most often get wrong. In Italy, for craft up to 24 metres, the boat licence is compulsory in two cases: when you sail more than 6 miles from the coast, and when, within 6 miles or on inland waters, the engine on board exceeds a certain cubic capacity and, in any case, a power of 30 kW, that is 40.8 hp. Below those thresholds, within 6 miles, no licence is needed: you only have to be 16 to drive a natante, an unregistered craft with a hull up to 10 metres. The length of the RIB, on its own, does not come into it: a NAVY 6.00 with a 40 hp is driven without a licence exactly like a NAVY 4.80 with the same engine.
That is why, when you ask us «which RIB can I drive without a licence», the answer always starts from the outboard: a 40 hp four-stroke, which as a rule stays under 1,000 cc, falls within the limits. Then you choose the right size for you.
PLATE 03
What the law says, word for word
The Italian Pleasure Boating Code (legislative decree 171 of 2005, article 39) says that, within 6 miles of the coast and on inland waters, the licence is required when the engine installed on board has a cubic capacity above 750 cc for a carburetted two-stroke, 900 cc for a fuel-injected two-stroke, 1,000 cc for a four-stroke outboard, 1,300 cc for a four-stroke inboard, 2,000 cc for a naturally aspirated diesel or 1,300 cc for a turbocharged diesel, «and in any case with a power above 30 kW or 40.8 hp». Paragraph 3 confirms it from the other side: without a licence you may drive a craft that sails within 6 miles and has an engine «of lower power and cubic capacity» than those thresholds. Power and cubic capacity, therefore, must both be respected.
Distance is the third condition. Beyond 6 miles from the coast the licence is always required, whatever engine sits on the transom, even a 40 hp. And there is a limit that does not depend on the licence: a natante, that is a craft with a hull up to 10 metres like all three NAVY boats on this page, with CE marking sails within the limits of its design category and in any case no further than 12 miles from the coast.
Finally, age. To drive a natante without a licence, within 6 miles and with the engine within the limits, you must be 16; for an imbarcazione, that is a hull over 10 metres, 18. Personal watercraft are a case apart: there the licence is always compulsory.
PLATE 04 — Three sizes, one engine
With the 40 hp outboard we recommend the NAVY boats up to 6 metres: the NAVY 4.80, the NAVY 5.50 and the NAVY 6.00. Three fibreglass hulls with increased laminate thickness, tubes in ORCA fabric by Pennel & Flipo in Hypalon-neoprene of 1.3 mm, centre console and roll bar with the navigation lights. The size changes, the number of people on board changes; the licence, with the 40 hp, is needed for none of the three.
PLATE 05 — No licence 01 · NAVY 4.80
4.80 by 1.82 metres · up to 6 people · category C
4.80 m RIB with centre console, up to 6 people; with a 40 hp outboard it may be used without a licence within 6 miles of the coast (Italian limit 30 kW / 40.8 hp). It is the NAVY for those starting out: it travels on a trailer behind the car, launches from a slipway and comes back out at the end of the day. 4.80 metres long and 1.82 wide, it weighs 300 kg empty and has a 60-litre fuel tank, the right size for a day along the coast within 6 miles.
The tubes have a diameter of 48 cm and are in ORCA fabric of 1.3 mm; the centre console comes complete with gauges, the stainless steel roll bar carries the navigation lights, the folding stern ladder is in stainless steel. The data sheet says up to 70-80 hp: if one day you take the licence, the RIB stays the same, only the engine changes.
The price list
Detail — 01 · The centre console of the 4.80 · photograph
PLATE 06 — No licence 02 · NAVY 5.50
5.50 by 2.35 metres · up to 9 people · category C
5.50 m RIB with centre console, up to 9 people, outboard up to 115 hp. With the 40 hp outboard it falls within the legal limits and is driven without a licence within 6 miles of the coast, like the 4.80. It is 5.50 metres long and 2.35 wide: in that extra half metre of beam there is room for the stern seat with cushion and backrest and the bow sunpad you can see in the photograph from above.
The fuel tank holds 135 litres, the tubes have a diameter of 50 cm and the data sheet goes up to 115 hp. It is the NAVY that families ask us for most often, together with those who want to start a bareboat hire business without a licence: the same hull, with the 40 hp, can be taken out by someone who has no licence, and with a bigger engine, the day the licence arrives, it becomes another boat.
The price list
Detail — 02 · The stern bench of the 5.50 · photograph
PLATE 07 — No licence 03 · NAVY 6.00
6.00 by 2.50 metres · up to 10 people · category C
6.00 × 2.50 m RIB, up to 10 people, outboard up to 150 hp; with a 40 hp outboard no licence is needed within 6 miles of the coast (Italian limit 30 kW / 40.8 hp). It is the limit we have set ourselves for the 40 hp: up to 6 metres the small engine carries the hull well, beyond that we do not recommend it. The 6.00 is 2.50 metres wide, weighs 600 kg empty and has tubes of 52 cm in diameter: there is room on board for up to 10 people, with the stern sofa as standard and, among the options, the bow table.
With the 40 hp it is the RIB that goes slowly and comfortably, with the whole family, along the coast: six metres of hull and a small engine do not make speed, they make space and stability. The fuel tank holds 135 litres. And the data sheet goes up to 150 hp: it is the boat that grows with you, first without a licence, then with the licence and a bigger engine, without changing hull.
The price list
Detail — 03 · The grey sunpad of the 6.00 · photograph
PLATE 08
The 40 hp outboard
Honda, Yamaha and Mercury: these are the outboards we fit to the NAVY boats, all carrying the same weight with us, and the make is your choice. The engine is not included in the list price and is chosen separately, by power and make; for the 40 hp there is no published list price: it is quoted together with the model you choose, in the written quote.
The 40 hp is the choice of those without a licence because it stays under both thresholds at once: the 30 kW of power and the 1,000 cc of cubic capacity set for a four-stroke outboard. The RIB price you read on this page is always plus VAT, engine not included: the full figure, with the engine, we prepare for you in writing, item by item. And if you already own the engine, the RIB is also sold on its own: we assess the match on the model you choose, with the data from your outboard's rating plate.
An honest warning: the law speaks of the power and cubic capacity of the engine installed, and the responsibility for staying within the limits lies with whoever is at the helm. Before going out, the figure on your outboard's rating plate must be read and compared with the thresholds; if you have any doubt, ask us and we look at it together, on the boat.
PLATE 09 — The numbers that count, only those written in the law
6
miles from the coast
within which the rule applies
Article 39, paragraph 1, of the Italian Pleasure Boating Code.
30kW
of maximum engine
power, that is 40.8 hp
Together with the cubic capacity limit.
1000cc
of maximum cubic capacity
for a four-stroke outboard
750 cc for a carburetted two-stroke, 900 cc for a fuel-injected one.
16
years of age
to drive a natante
Article 39, paragraph 3: 18 for an imbarcazione over 10 metres.
PLATE 10 — NAVY 6.00 · photograph
30 kW, that is 40.8 hp: the ceiling
ARTICLE 39 · POWER OF THE ENGINE INSTALLED
«No licence up to 40 hp» is a shortcut: the legal threshold is 30 kW, which makes 40.8 hp, and it applies together with the cubic capacity. The 40 hp outboard stays below it.
1,000 cc for a four-stroke outboard
750 CC FOR A CARBURETTED TWO-STROKE · 900 CC FOR A FUEL-INJECTED ONE
The law lists the cubic capacities engine by engine and closes with «in any case» the power: to stay licence-free, both must be respected. Four-stroke 40 hp outboards stay, as a rule, under 1,000 cc: the exact figure is on the engine's rating plate.
Within 6 miles of the coast
BEYOND 6 MILES THE LICENCE IS ALWAYS REQUIRED
Six miles are just over 11 kilometres: the run along the coast, the coves, the nearby island. Beyond that, the licence is required whatever the engine; and a CE-marked natante does not go beyond 12 miles in any case.
16 years of age for a natante
18 FOR AN IMBARCAZIONE · PERSONAL WATERCRAFT ALWAYS WITH A LICENCE
The three NAVY boats on this page are natanti: hull up to 10 metres, no obligation to enter them in the registers. Anyone aged 16 or over may drive them, with the 40 hp, within 6 miles.
Book a sea trial
PLATE 11 — In person · photograph
A licence-free RIB is chosen by stepping aboard: you feel how stable it is with the whole family on board, how easy it is to handle on your own, where the lockers end. Come and see them in person. Then try them at sea. The tube, under your fingers, is another thing altogether.
FIG. 08 — NAVY 7.60 lying at anchor in a bay with two sailing boats and a green hillside.
PLATE 12
What the licence does not change
Insurance, first of all. Third-party liability cover is compulsory for every motor pleasure craft in Italy and, says the Italian Insurance Code, the obligation is «extended to detachable engines, of any power, regardless of the craft to which they are fitted»: your 40 hp must be insured even if the RIB is not entered in any register. The safety equipment changes with the distance from the coast at which you sail: the table is the one in Annex V of the regulation, updated in October 2024, and it must be read for the navigation range you really use, not for the maximum range of the RIB.
The maximum number of people, for a CE-marked RIB, is the one written on the builder's plate and in the owner's manual: for the three NAVY boats on this page it is 6, 9 and 10. A natante is not registered, but it may be entered voluntarily in the Italian pleasure craft register: in that case it takes on the rules of an imbarcazione. And if you take it into foreign waters, to Corsica for example, you need on board the declaration of construction or import and the self-certification of ownership and nationality.
Anyone thinking of a small business needs to know a difference that matters. In bareboat hire (locazione in Italian), when the boat is handed over to a customer who drives it alone, the licence is required only in the cases of article 39, so with the 40 hp within 6 miles the customer does not need one, and the hirer hands over the essential operating instructions in writing. In charter (noleggio), where the boat remains under the control of whoever makes it available, the person at the helm must always hold a boat licence, even with the 40 hp. That is why, to those starting a bareboat hire business, we recommend the 5.50 or the 6.00 with the 40 hp outboard.
First without a licence, then with one
A NAVY bought for the 40 hp is not a boat you pass through. The hull is the same one the data sheet approves with far bigger engines: the day the licence arrives, you change the outboard and keep everything else, colours, upholstery, deck, lockers.
The licence, if you take it
Since 2024 Italy has a category D boat licence, type D1, which can be obtained from the age of 16 with limits on power, cubic capacity and distance, and which at 18 can be converted into category A with a supplementary exam. For the youngest it is the bridge between the 40 hp and the big engine; you will find the conditions in full in the guide to the licence.
The same hull, another engine
The data sheet of the NAVY 5.50 goes up to 115 hp, that of the NAVY 6.00 up to 150 hp, that of the NAVY 4.80 up to 70-80 hp. With the licence in your pocket, the RIB you had bought for the 40 hp changes pace with a bigger engine, with the whole family on board. We quote the engine change like any other engine: make and power, in the written quote.
On the trailer, behind the car
On Italian roads the width limit for a trailer with its load is 2.55 metres: the 4.80 is 1.82 metres wide, the 5.50 2.35, the 6.00 2.50: all three stay within the limit, with no abnormal-load permit. The right trailer for each size is on the price list and we put it in the quote; which driving licence you need depends on the masses of car and trailer, and we tell you with the figures for your own case.
The quote
Tell us which of the three you have in mind and for how many people: we prepare the full figure with the 40 hp of the make you prefer, the trailer if you need it, transport to the harbour or to your home. All in writing, item by item, with VAT worked out alongside. A NAVY 4.80 can be viewed in the showroom in Aprilia. Made to order: about 3 months from order confirmation.
«The sea is where we begin. You are the course.»
PLATE 15
See also
Each model has its own page with the technical data, the standard fit-out, the options, the colours and the list price. The guides put in writing, with the real figures, the questions you ask us on the phone: when you need the licence, how much power you need, how much a RIB really costs.
Model · no licence 01
from €13,924 + VAT · engine not included. Up to 6 people.
The 4.80 data sheetModel · no licence 02
from €15,900 + VAT · engine not included. Up to 9 people.
The 5.50 data sheet
Model · no licence 03
from €17,987 + VAT · engine not included. Up to 10 people.
The 6.00 data sheetGuide
Power, cubic capacity, distance, age: the law in full, with the sources.
Read the guide
Guide
The right power for size, load and use: from the 40 hp upwards.
Read the guide
Range and prices
All the models with the list price, plus VAT, engine not included.
The prices of the rangeThe questions you really ask us
These are the questions that reach the office about the licence-free RIB, with the answer we give in person: which model, which engine, bareboat hire, lead times. One at a time: open one, and the other closes.
The licence is tied to the engine, not to the boat: within 6 miles of the coast it is not needed if the engine does not exceed 30 kW (40.8 hp) and the cubic capacity limits set by law (1,000 cc for a four-stroke outboard). Beyond 6 miles it is always required. A 40 hp engine is fitted to the NAVY boats between 4 and 6 metres: 4.80, 5.50 and 6.00.
With the 40 hp we recommend up to 6 metres: in the NAVY range that means the 4.80, the 5.50 or the 6.00.
It depends on the size and on the use. With a 40 hp we recommend up to 6 metres; on the NAVY 7.60 we recommend a 200/250 hp; on the NAVY 9.50 Cabin the configuration is twin outboards, and we decide the power together with the quote. The minimum, recommended and maximum power of each model is on its data sheet.
Honda, Yamaha and Mercury are the outboards we fit to the NAVY boats. The make is your choice, together with the power.
Yes, the RIB is sold with or without an engine. We assess the match with your engine on the model you choose: we need the data from its rating plate.
Yes. The solutions with a 40 hp engine are also suited to business use: we prepare the quote in the company's name and a tailored configuration. For those who hire boats out, with an engine within the legal limits the boat can still be driven without a boat licence, and it reaches a wider clientele.
Yes. For licence-free bareboat hire the right models are the NAVY 5.50 or the 6.00 with a 40 hp engine; a single make of engine for the whole fleet is the sensible choice. We put transport in the figure: we only need to know where the boats have to arrive. The delivery schedule is agreed on order confirmation. Tell us how many boats you need, for which area and for what kind of use.
For a boat in stock, within 7 working days. For a made-to-order RIB up to the 7.60, about three months from order confirmation. For the NAVY 9.50 Cabin we agree the lead time together on order confirmation.
PLATE 17 — In person
Four lines and we are there. We call you back to set the day.
PLATE 18 — No licence, from tomorrow
A 40 hp, one of the three NAVY boats up to 6 metres, and 6 miles of coast ahead of you. Tell us which size you have in mind and for how many people: come and see them in person, try them at sea, and the full figure with the engine we prepare for you in writing, item by item.
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Naviglia Yachts — Aprilia (LT), Italy · 380 173 0961
