How hard is the written test?

[nolatom]

Yes to those above about the open-book exam, it's for when you don't have that much sea time since last renewal. I would typically have some, but smaller tonnage sailboats and not all that many "8-hour days".

Frank, your last renewal?? Say it ain't so! End of an era, you were the one for most of my "offshore" dive trips and the very occasional wheelhouse gig on 99 Gross Tons as opposed to the zero to maybe 15 GT auxiliary sailboats I cut my teeth on.

Best wishes!

 

[nolatom]

Crime, including crime in the CG License exam centers, doesn't pay in the long run:

Ring Leaders Plead Guilty in Coast Guard Mariner Test-Fixing Scheme

The two former Coast Guard employees fixed test scores resulting in more than 50 mariners receiving unearned endorsements for various officer-level positions on ships. Two former U.S. Coast Guard employees...

gcaptain.com

This scheme had been going on a long time, what I don't understand is how it went on as long as it did. Ultimately, "there are no secrets on the waterfront", or if there are, they don't last. And so it was with "my" local Regional Exam Center, some clerical personell were phonying up exam attendance and exam results, for raise in grade or for various endorsements.

It was discovered not long before I applied for the 5-year renewal. So there were some new personnell there, I would guess. So when they failed to forward my application and exam fees to Headquarters (which I whined about in an earlier post here, though it was a justified whine ;-) ,Headquarters got it sorted out promptly.

The lasting lesson, is obvious--a fraudulent license or credential or endorsement, that you paid a bribe for, is going to bite you in the ass eventually no matter how far down the line, and it's not just the crooked examiners that get charged with a federal crime, it's you also, and deservedly so. So you'll have much more to worry about than just "how do I fix my crooked license", you'll be worrying over whether you're going to jail, or "just" probation.

No secrets on the waterfront......

 

[Scubaman37]

It hard if you don't study. Just study and make sure you do flash cards