If i was to buy a small sailing boat or pleasure cruiser , would i need any 'qualifications' to sail  on rivers and lakes ? Also , what licences or passes are needed ?
Any other useful info welcomed .

You need a licence to use the waterways as a whole, and some rivers require special passes.

well we have had boats all our lives here, both sea and river (no idea bout lakes or canals sorry) and certainly nothing required atall to use them. Mores the pity as we get morons from the city who know nought about tides and currents turn up and drift off without the right equipment, and usually have to be rescued!!! :(

There's information on the Waterways site.

must be different forinland waterway canals, but as we dont have any here I wouldnt know :) We are really sea people but ocassionally potter on the river if its a bit rough at sea. Certainly no permits of any kind required....however if you go to sea and decide to have a marine  radio as back up, you do need a license for it, but you can apply online its very simple :)

Thanks for your replies - i think i might have got the bug !
It's not a canal boat i am looking at , i fancy a pleasure cruiser to chug around lakes and up rivers . Something small enough to move around on a trailer .
We've just got back from a break and went on a small speed boat , just chugging up a river and it was so peaceful . The only thing missing was a kettle and a loo !!

Oh well , i'll have to start doing the lottery !

>It's not a canal boat i am looking at , i fancy a pleasure cruiser to chug around lakes and up rivers

Most navigable rivers are controlled by the Waterways Authority - others, like the Thames, have their own authority. And some are privately owned so you can't use them at all.

(Husband does a lot of canoeing and has to be in the canoe union which gives him a permit to use most waterways.)

Good luck to you with getting a boat.
We had one (we do live on an island)  but I am so glad we sold it. It is a very time consuming and expensive hobby.
You need to be responsible about it and put all safety concerns as paramount.
Karen :)

It depends on where you are, the rules seem to be different. I used to operate the rescue boat at a watersports center and the rules for the harbour there were peculiar. If you wanted to launch a boat off the beach you were fine and needed no qualifications/training. But if you wanted to use the slipway to launch, the harbour master preferred you to have boat insurance, and you get a cheaper premium from the insurers if you've got an RYA certificate or something similar. It's always best to check if you're going to be going somewhere new in case they have any 'house rules'.

its common to have to have insurance to launch from many privately owned places. A lot of the NT owned beaches here in cornwall are like that and certainly if you want to keep a boat on the public acess beach where we do.