Captains Liscense

[njadam]

Long does it take and what is the procedure for getting your captains liscense. I am thinking about getting mine, just for fun and the interest of it.

[IrishAyes]

The time depends on the course you take.  The Mariner's School is three weekends.  Fri, Sat and Sun.  You take the test with the school.  When you pass the test the fun begins.  You need to gather your seatime.  Unless it has changed you do not need proof of your seatime, you only fill out the form.  The seatime needed depends on the license you want.
You need a physical, eye exam, drug test, CPR cert, and first aid cert.

Here is a link that should answer most, if not all of your questions.  If not, feel free to ask more.

 http://www.uscg.mil/STCW/

[Capt. Ed]

Hi njadam,

If you have all the Pre-requisites, you can take the test tomorrow.

I opted to take a class that ran three weekends. The last day of class was the test.

In parallel, I received a physical; eye exam; drug test; CPR/First Aid; and documented my sea time.

I believe you need 2 letters of recommendation.

After all that is complete (and you have the necessayy fees), I went to USCG in Battery Park. These days, you need to get finger printed. Back when I got my license and 1st renewal, you could get finger prints elsewhere. It then takes a few months to get the certificate.

They are centralizing all applications and the process will now take longer I am told.

One other change to sea time is that a sea day is now a minimum of 8 hrs. at sea.

I forget, but I think you need 360 days sea time with 100 recent. Please don't quote me on that until you check.

It is great, just to know the real Rules of the Road. It will make you a more prepared boatsman, even if you choose not to make a living with the ticket.

Good luck,

Capt. Ed

[njadam]

thanks for the response......how leinent are they with the days a sea?

[IrishAyes]

You do need to provide the numbers for them.  They don't check for records, as of yet.

[Luna Sea 5]

Hi njadam,

If you have all the Pre-requisites, you can take the test tomorrow.

I opted to take a class that ran three weekends. The last day of class was the test.

In parallel, I received a physical; eye exam; drug test; CPR/First Aid; and documented my sea time.

I believe you need 2 letters of recommendation.

After all that is complete (and you have the necessayy fees), I went to USCG in Battery Park. These days, you need to get finger printed. Back when I got my license and 1st renewal, you could get finger prints elsewhere. It then takes a few months to get the certificate.

They are centralizing all applications and the process will now take longer I am told.

One other change to sea time is that a sea day is now a minimum of 8 hrs. at sea.

I forget, but I think you need 360 days sea time with 100 recent. Please don't quote me on that until you check.

It is great, just to know the real Rules of the Road. It will make you a more prepared boatsman, even if you choose not to make a living with the ticket.

Good luck,

Capt. Ed

  Capt. Ed.  I heard for the money, you are guaranteed to pass the test.  Is this true.  I always wanted to get my licence, but I hate tests and can't concentrate when its on paper.. go figure, and my mother was a school teacher.  I hate to spend all that money and not pass.  I already have my cpr and first aid qualification cards.

[Capt. Ed]

Hi Nick,

Well ... someone I helped with one section of the test took the different parts of the test 5 times until he finally passed.

My school had a policy that you could take it at different intervals until complete. The test, by far, was not a gimme.

I studied previous to the course and a lot during it. I got 100% on all sections so I guess I studied too much.

I would say that the tests were fair but you had to study. There was no time limit to complete each section. I took my time and it took a few hours to complete all sections.

My instructor was excellent.

If you expect someone to give you all the answers ahead of time and then you just mark them down on the test, that certainly was not the case with the school I attended for OUPV; towing; and Masters. I attended 3Bs Captain School. I cannot speak for any others.

The sea time is a bitch to document but if you own a boat it is easier than tracking people down that you were Captain/Crew on their boat. If you have to do that, you have to have the test attested to and notarized (or at least that is what I did).

Does that answer your question?

It is cool to get Nick!

Ed

[Luna Sea 5]

yes, you answered it..  I didn't mean the test being a gimme, just for the one fee of the course, you would be able to keep taking it until you pass without having to pay for it again.

[Capt. Ed]

Hi Nick,

That was the case for 3Bs. I would ass-u-me it is the same for other schools.

3Bs does not do a lot of classes up this way so I would steer clear. I was doing a lot of work in Washington, DC at the time and they are strong there.

You would make a wonderful Captain!

Ed

[Luna Sea 5]

Hi Nick,

That was the case for 3Bs. I would ass-u-me it is the same for other schools.

3Bs does not do a lot of classes up this way so I would steer clear. I was doing a lot of work in Washington, DC at the time and they are strong there.

You would make a wonderful Captain!

Ed

Thanks.. It was always my dream.. I just hate tests..  I think my brain is shot from working in a warehouse for 15 years.. 

[njadam]

Luna,

Just my 2 cents. It is obvious you are an avid boater and are very interested in boating. I will guarantee you will pass no problem. Even if you hate tests, you probably hated school tests that did not interest you. but this is somthing you are very interested in  and its a whole differnt ball game when you are interested in the test you are taking the chances are you will study alot more and do very well because you can apply what you learned to your experiences. Just my opinion

[IrishAyes]

Luna, the test is multiple guess.  During the course they have end of chapter review tests with the question and multiple choice answers.  The test for the course that I took was the exact same questions from the end of the chapters.  You just do not get all of the questions.  You will study the questions with the correct answers and during the test when you read the questions the answers will pretty much jump right out at you.

[Luna Sea 5]

Luna,

Just my 2 cents. It is obvious you are an avid boater and are very interested in boating. I will guarantee you will pass no problem. Even if you hate tests, you probably hated school tests that did not interest you. but this is somthing you are very interested in  and its a whole differnt ball game when you are interested in the test you are taking the chances are you will study alot more and do very well because you can apply what you learned to your experiences. Just my opinion

Thanks for the words of confidence.  I know alot of things you need to know for the test, we have equipment to do those things for us now.  But, incase of equipment, navagations, gps,and all those other things we now have, we take for granted that if those things fail, you need to know all the basics.  I will probably do it one day.  

[Capt. Ed]

Hi Nick,

I didn't mean to demean you with any of the answers.

When I answer questions, I try to make them general purpose, not just aimed back at you.

Joe - I should have used the school you went to ...

Thanks for understanding,

Ed

[Luna Sea 5]

Hi Nick,

I didn't mean to demean you with any of the answers.

When I answer questions, I try to make them general purpose, not just aimed back at you.

Joe - I should have used the school you went to ...

Thanks for understanding,

Ed

you didn't demean me in any way...  I appreciate all your responses.  Your here to help everyone.  I never take things the wrong way..