Filming your Multihull with a Drone

Regulations, Equipment and Best Practice

The widespread use of recreational drones has opened up new possibilities for sailors, both amateur and professional: filming a multihull from the air has become accessible to almost everyone. For the shipyards, there is no longer any need to hire a photographer/videographer aboard an expensive and polluting helicopter - professional photographers and videographers can now simply launch their UAVs from catamarans or trimarans to capture their shots. However, behind this apparent freedom lies a more complex reality: there are different regulations in different countries, sometimes training is mandatory, there are restricted areas, and you need to choose equipment that is suitable for maritime use. So, it can rapidly seem quite daunting. Multihulls World summarizes the situation for you.

A drone allows you to capture the most beautiful anchorages…

… the most legendary stretches, such as rounding the Fastnet…

…but also significant events such as this eruption in La Palma.

1 / 6

Published 28/11/2025

By Brieuc Maisonneuve

Subscribers Only

Issue: 205

Published: jan. / feb. 2026

Discover this issue

Current events make the subject more relevant – but also very dynamic: in Brittany, for example, flight zones have recently been relaxed, allowing recreational remote pilots to now fly within a mile of the coastline. This is a good opportunity to take a closer look at this discipline, which for us is at the boundary between high-tech leisure, air safety and a passion for sailing.
I first became seriously interested in drones in 2014, when I was competing in ocean racing. To make videos for our sponsors, the best solution we could find was to attach GoPros under the wings of a small light aircraft and fly at very low altitude above the fleet. From the cockpit, a photographer, transfixed by the sight of the mastheads grazing the undercarriage of the aircraft, tried to capture a few more shots with his camera. But between the stress of flying low and the reflections from the canopy, the images were rarely usable...
It was certainly cheaper than an hour in a helicopter, but the process remained dangerous for the aircraft, anxiety-inducing for the airplane’s crew, and frankly worrying for the sailors being overflown.
The arrival of the DJI Phantom 4 was a real game changer for me. Recreational drones, which a few years earlier had been considered mere gadgets, finally became reliable, stable, accessible, and capable of producing cinematic images. In contrast, professional drones cost a fortune and often required two operators to fly a heavy, sophisticated camera suspended from a complex machine.

Regulations and the Legal Framework on 1st January 2026

In Europe
Since 2021, the EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency) has harmonized the rules governing civil drones for all European Union countries. Sailors who wish to film their multihulls must therefore comply with this common framework, especially as specific regulations for France will be completely abolished on 1st January 2026.
• This European framework classifies drones into three categories according to the level of risk associated with their flights:
• The Open category is for low-risk drones.
• The Specific category is for drones whose use involves moderate risks.
• The Certified category is for drone operations involving high risks.
There is no distinction between recreational and professional use in this classification. A professional may operate in the Open category, just as an amateur may need authorization in the Specific category.
Most recreational uses fall under the Open category, which covers drones weighing up to 25 kg. It is divided into sub-categories (A1, A2, A3) according to the weight of the aircraft and its proximity to people. Specifically, for a drone weighing more than 250 g but less than 900 g, the remote pilot must:
• Register online with their national authority (in France: AlphaTango);
• Complete a training course and pass a short online exam;
• Comply with height restrictions (120 m / 400’ max) and area restrictions (no flying over people or sensitive areas).
For sailors, ...

This article was published in the issue 205. To read the full article, purchase this issue or subscribe from $3/month.