How hard is the written test?

[SentinelAce]

I've had a boat now for 3 years on lake erie. 28' Wellcraft. Would love to eventually become a captain. I hate tests but I made it through my Instructor course. How does this compare and how long is the course?

 

[Scraps]

You’re talking about the test to become a six-pack captain?

It depends on your background and your willingness to study.

If you already know rules of the road and coastal piloting, it’s pretty easy.

Any of the commercial test prep services will get you through it if you put forth consistent effort, read or watch all the material, and keep taking the practice tests over and over until you’re consistently acing them.

Figure about forty hours of reasonably attentive online studying.

If you haven’t studied rules of the road and coastal piloting, you might want to take an actual class instead of independent study.

Best wishes,

 

[Ghost95]

The tests are not hard per say but there is a lot of info that is covered. The test prep classes do help you learn to take the test and how the questions are presented.

Pay close attention to the Rules of the Road and plotting. Rules is not hard but seems intimidating to people because of the 90% pass requirement plus you have to remember weather you're inland or international. Remember, RTFQ and know what they are asking.

Plotting can be tricky because of the answers. The CG likes to put the same numbers for a position or heading but transposed in the answer. Double check your answers. If you're prone to dyslexic mistakes like I am, you need to be careful the 35º N is not really supposed to be 53º N. Also make sure which way you're supposed to be going if you're heading from point A to point B, look at the chart and get a general direction to compare to what you read off your triangles or whatever plotting device you're using. It's easy to get things backward if you're in a hurry.

Good luck. It's not too bad.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

It is not hard but it can be tricky. Lots of stuff to memorize that you have likely never run into, and never will again.

Where is the Huey P. Long bridge?

 

[OTF]

Is a course / formal prep necessary if you know coastal piloting / nav pretty darn well? Is some independent brushing up with books and practice tests sufficient?

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

Not required -- But a good idea to do a course either online or in person IMO. There is so much stuff you have likely never heard of.

I was a qualified US Navy Deck Officer/OOD Underway when I took it. I knew Navigation cold as I was also the navigator on my ship. Without the formal online course I probably would not have passed.....

 

[Scraps]

Is a course / formal prep necessary if you know coastal piloting / nav pretty darn well? Is some independent brushing up with books and practice tests sufficient?

You want to know the exact language of the COLREGS cold. There are a lot of questions that depend on specific definitions. For example, a possible answer might refer to the two masthead lights in a vertical line on a vessel towing as towing lights. You can know the light configuration but get the question wrong. Similarly, there are questions about situations in or near areas of restricted visibility that require knowing the exact language of the relevant rule to provide the correct answer.

 

[Wookie]

It is not hard but it can be tricky. Lots of stuff to memorize that you have likely never run into, and never will again.

Where is the Huey P. Long bridge?

I’ve sailed under it many times. The trick is to know why the rules for western rivers are different.

 

[Scraps]

I’ve sailed under it many times. The trick is to know why the rules for western rivers are different.

And, depending on the size of the ship you’re on, it may be good to know that its vertical clearance is 17 feet less than the GNO bridge, now called the Crescent City Connector.

When I took my first rules of the road exam, the old inland rules were still in effect. I had to learn all the crazy colored dayshapes, like the ones that looked like leftover basketballs from the defunct ABA.

 

[Capt Jim Wyatt]

The trick is to know why the rules for western rivers are different.

Enlighten me...why??