Frequently Asked Questions

A: Our passing success rate is one of the highest in the industry. Most students pass the first day of testing. However, if necessary, a student can retake a test up to 3 times. You have one year to pass the four test modules. If a student fails to pass any test on the third try, USCG regulations state that if you fail a module three times in a row within a ninety days test cycle you have to wait two months and then you can retest, starting a new ninety day test cycle. There is no extra charge for repeating the class or for the testing.

A: The towing endorsement allows you to engage in assistance towing within the scope of your license. Basically you can be paid for towing vessels that need to be towed.

A: The sailing endorsement allows you to take more than six passengers on a sailing vessel and be paid for doing so. Let's say you were offered a job on a charter sailing vessel that holds 35 passengers, you would be qualified to take the position with a masters license and a sailing endorsement.

A: Yes you do. We are approved to administer all test modules needed.

A: US Captain's Training courses are taught in sessions that last ten days. Eight of the days cover Rules of the Road, General Navigation, Chart Navigation, and Deck General. The last two days are for testing and retesting if need be.

A: We will send you certificates of training for each exam you passed, a receipt for the course, and a character reference from your instructor. You have one year to send your certificates of training in with your complete application packet. The character reference is one of the three you will need for a completed packet.

A: Yes you will. We created the exams from an existing bank of Coast Guard questions which will be covered in class.

A: You will need a high lighter, mechanical pencil, pen, notebook, calculator, parallel rules and dividers. The required textbooks, "Operator Uninspected Passenger Vessel OUPV (6 Pack) with Master (100 Ton) Upgrade by Captain Bryan Smith and The Navigation Rules International and Inland are available for purchase the first morning of class or on the web site.

A: You can call the USCG National Maritime Center at 888-I-ASK-NMC ( 1-888-427-5662) and request your free small vessel licensing package for 6pk to 100 ton Masters License or you can download it from our website on the resources page. You are not required to have the documents completed before you take the class, you will have one year from the date the certificate of training was issued to present it to the USCG.

A: To qualify for a license you need 360 days on the water, 90 of those days in the last three years. If you have at least one of those days documented on a vessel of more than 5 GRT, you qualify for a masters 50GRT. If you have 180 of those days on a vessel 33.4 GRT or larger or 90 of those days on a vessel 51GRT or larger you qualify for the 100 GRT license. So if you qualify for a license you should be able to get at least one day on a 5 GRT vessel and get your 50 GRT masters.

A: American red cross standard or multimedia CFR 11.205

A: Yes you do.

A: A medical review officer certified by the USCG must fill out the medical review form. You can find one in your area by visiting www.mrocc.com. This web site lets you search medical review officers by location. You can also call walk in clinics around your area and ask them over the phone is their physicians are medical review officers, most will know what you are talking about.

A: If you Google TWIC the first listing is this web site http://www.tsa.gov/what_we_do/layers/twic/index.shtm Here you can search for locations in your area and get the correct phone number to make an appointment.

A: Contact the facility that registered the vessel.

A: If the vessel is documented, look on the certificate of documentation. You might get this information by contacting the vessel's manufacturer. If all else fails just fill out the length, width, and depth of the vessel on the small vessel sea service form and the coast guard will calculate it it when they go through your paper work.

A: When you get to the pay.gov web site, search for USCG on the left hand side of the page. That will bring you to the correct form. On the second page fill in your information and at the bottom select "original MMC w/rating endorsements; or rating endorsement raise of grade; and new rating endorsement ", it is the $95 check box on the lower left. The next fee you will need to pay on the site is the issuance fee.

A: Document your sea time using small vessel sea service forms, one form per vessel. Fill out the info on the top of the form in section 1, if you do not know the gross tonnage just fill in the length, width, and depth. When asked what body of water your time was on let them know the name of the body of water and if it is inland, western rivers, great lakes, or international (definitions of these terms are in rule three of the Navigational Rules). Fill out section 2 of the form, year, month, days in that month. Under that portion there are six boxes, make sure you fill out at least 4 hours underway per day. They also ask number of days either seaward or shoreward of the boundary line. If you were on inland waters or great lakes you were shoreward of the boundary line. If you were operating on the east or west coast consult a chart of the area and see if you were outside the boundary line (demarcation line).

A: You need one character reference from your class instructor. The other two may be filled out by some one that knows you spent time on the water, it can be a friend of yours, and they do not have to be a captain.

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