Master / Mate < 200 GRT, Revision & Practice Exams

INLAND ONLY Which statement is TRUE concerning lighting requirements for Great Lakes vessels?

1. Great Lakes vessels are exempted from the requirement to show yellow towing lights.
2. Sidelights for vessels over 50 meters are required to have only a two-mile range of visibility.
3. The showing of a forward masthead light is optional for vessels under 150 meters.
4. An all-round white light may be carried in lieu of the second masthead light and stern light. ✓

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND You see ONLY the light shown in illustration D080RR below. Which type of vessel are you observing?

1. vessel on pilotage duty
2. law enforcement vessel
3. sailing vessel ✓
4. vessel engaged in fishing

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND Which of the following describes a vessel exhibiting the lights shown in illustration D084RR below?

1. not under command ✓
2. showing improper lights
3. dredging
4. towing

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND The stern light shall be positioned such that it will show from dead astern to how many degrees on each side of the stern of the vessel?

1. 22.5°
2. 67.5° ✓
3. 112.5°
4. 135.0°

INTERNATIONAL ONLY Two power-driven vessels are meeting. What would a two-blast whistle signal by either vessel mean?

1. "I am altering course to port" ✓
2. "I desire to pass starboard to starboard"
3. "I desire to pass port-to-port"
4. "I intend to alter course to port"

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND What is the duration of each blast of the whistle signals used in head-on and/or crossing situations?

1. about 1 second ✓
2. 2 to 4 seconds
3. 4 to 6 seconds
4. 8 to 10 seconds

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND Which of the signals, other than a distress signal, can be used by a vessel to attract attention?

1. The vessel's searchlight ✓
2. A red star shell
3. A burning barrel
4. An orange smoke signal

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND Which statement is TRUE regarding equipment for sound signals?

1. Manual sounding of the bell and gong must always be possible. ✓
2. A vessel of less than 12 meters in length need not have any sound signaling equipment.
3. Any vessel over 12 meters in length must be provided with a gong.
4. Automatic sounding of the signals is not permitted.

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND A vessel nearing a bend where other vessels may be obscured is required to sound which signal?

1. One short blast
2. One prolonged blast ✓
3. Two short blasts
4. One long blast

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND You hear the firing of a gun at one-minute intervals from another vessel. What does this signal indicate?

1. The gun is being used to sound passing signals
2. All vessels are to clear the area
3. The vessel is in distress ✓
4. All is clear and it is safe to pass

Periodic surveys to renew the load line assignment must be made at which interval?

1. 18 months
2. Two years
3. Three years
4. Five years ✓

Which agency publishes the Light Lists?

1. United States Coast Guard ✓
2. National Ocean Service
3. Oceanographic Office
4. Army Corps of Engineers

Which item in illustration D034NG below shows a fixed and flashing light?

1. A ✓
2. B
3. C
4. D

What is the group of markings shown in illustration D003DG below called?

1. The loft mark
2. The test mark
3. The load line mark ✓
4. The water mark

The shoreline shown on nautical charts of areas affected by large tidal fluctuations is usually the line of mean __________.

1. high water ✓
2. low water
3. lower low water
4. tide level

Your vessel is participating in the Voluntary Observing Ship Program, you are preparing WS Form B-80 as seen in illustration D041NG below. The sky is overcast, and the anemometer indicates that the apparent wind is from 144° relative at 8 knots. You are on course 162°T at 15 knots. How should you encode group Nddff?

1. 01615
2. 91521
3. 81408
4. 83322 ✓

To find the specific phase characteristic of a lighthouse on a sound of the United States you would use which reference?

1. U.S. Coast Pilot
2. Nautical Chart Catalog
3. American Practical Navigator
4. Light List ✓

What is a system of reservoirs and connecting tubes in a gyro compass called?

1. The mercury ballistics ✓
2. The spider element
3. The rotor
4. The gyrotron

You are radar scanning for a buoy fitted with a racon. In illustration D017NG below, which radar screen represents the presentation you should expect on the PPI?

1. A
2. B ✓
3. C
4. D

Where can data relating to the direction and velocity of rotary tidal currents in a U.S. Atlantic Port be found?

1. Tidal Current Tables ✓
2. Nautical Almanac
3. Tide Tables
4. Mariner's Guide

An alien crewmember with a D-1 permit leaves the vessel in a U.S. port and fails to return. The first report you make should be to which organization?

1. Immigration Service ✓
2. The local police
3. OCMI
4. Customs Service

Which extinguishing agent is most effective on a mattress fire?

1. Dry Chemical
2. Halon
3. CO2
4. Water ✓

Which method is used to detect rot in manila lines?

1. Feeling the surface of the line for broken fibers
2. Opening the strands and examining the inner fibers ✓
3. Measuring the reduction in circumference of the line
4. Observing for the appearance of mildew on the outer surface

What is the name of tackle number 1 as shown in illustration D029DG below?

1. Runner
2. One-fold purchase
3. Single whip ✓
4. Gun tackle

Which is TRUE of a pelican hook?

1. It is always used for lifeboat falls
2. It is used for extra heavy loads
3. It can only be used for light loads
4. It can be released while under strain ✓

A seaman you have just discharged from an Oceanographic Research Vessel has a Continuous Discharge Book. Which statement is TRUE?

1. An entry should be made in the book and a Certificate of Discharge issued to the seaman.
2. If the vessel was on coastwise articles, the record of discharge will be made in the Official Logbook.
3. A Certificate of Discharge form should be attached to the book.
4. The record of entry in the continuous discharge book shall agree with the entry made in the Ship's Articles. ✓

Multiple factors will have an effect on your vessel when it is maneuvering in restricted waters. Which of the following factors is the combination of sinkage and trim of the vessel?

1. Squat ✓
2. Bank suction
3. Heel
4. Bank cushion

Which party administers the load line regulations?

1. The Maritime Administration
2. The U.S. Coast Guard ✓
3. Lloyd's Register of Shipping
4. The National Cargo Bureau

When an azimuth of the Sun has been taken and the deviation of the standard magnetic compass computed, the watch officer should record the results __________.

1. in the vessel's Official Logbook
2. on the compass deviation card
3. in the compass deviation log ✓
4. on a Napier diagram

Which mooring line has the most elastic elongation?

1. Dacron
2. Manila
3. Nylon ✓
4. Polypropylene

The safety discs on carbon dioxide cylinders are set to release at 2,700 psi. Under normal circumstances this pressure will be reached at which temperature?

1. 70°F
2. 100°F
3. 125°F
4. 135°F ✓

You must medevac a critically injured seaman by helicopter hoist. Which statement is TRUE?

1. The helicopter's drop line should be secured to the ship not more than 15 feet from the hoist position.
2. When using a "horse collar", the bight of the loop should be around the chest of the injured seaman.
3. The ship's relative wind should be from dead ahead at 10 to 30 knots.
4. The deck crew at the hoist point should not wear baseball hats. ✓

How should you warm up a diesel engine that has not been run for some time?

1. Bring it up to top speed immediately and run until warmed up.
2. Idle for a brief period of time and then warm up at half speed. ✓
3. Inject ether into the air intake to shorten warm up time.
4. Run it at minimum speed until warmed to operating temperature.

The percentage of the total surface area or volume of a flooded compartment that can be occupied by water caused by damage defines which term?

1. Center of flotation
2. One compartment standard
3. Permeability ✓
4. Form gain

Which is the principal danger from ice collecting on a vessel?

1. The loss of stability ✓
2. The decrease in capabilities of radar
3. The decrease in displacement
4. The adverse effect on trim

Why is the height of a VHF radio antenna more important than the power output wattage of the radio?

1. Sea water absorbs the radiated energy
2. The air is more dense the higher you go
3. Salt water is a poor conductor of sound
4. VHF communications are basically "line of sight" ✓

What is the main advantage of a steady stream of water on a class "A" fire?

1. It breaks up and cools the fire ✓
2. It removes the oxygen
3. It washes the fire away
4. It protects the firefighting crew

Which action should be taken once fueling has been completed?

1. Open the fuel line and drain a small amount of gasoline into the bilge to clear the line of sediment
2. The engine should be started immediately to prevent vapor lock in the fuel line
3. The fuel tank fill pipe should be left open to allow vapors to vent from the tank
4. All hatches should be opened, and all compartments should be ventilated ✓

On an oceangoing vessel, for each person a lifeboat (without desalting kits) is certified to carry, what must the boat be supplied with?

1. A life preserver
2. A signaling whistle
3. 2 pounds of condensed milk
4. 3 liters of water ✓

Which buoy may be even numbered?

1. Mid-channel buoy
2. Unlighted nun buoy ✓
3. Lighted green buoy
4. All of the above

When using a recording depth finder in the open ocean, what phenomena is most likely to produce a continuous trace that may not be from the actual ocean bottom?

1. Multiple returns reflected from the bottom to the surface and to the bottom again
2. Echoes from schools of fish
3. Poor placement of the transducer on the hull
4. Echoes from a deep scattering layer ✓

You are running parallel to the coast and take a running fix using bearings of the same object. Which is TRUE if you are making less speed than used for the running fix, in relation to the position indicated by the fix?

1. Your vessel will be farther from the coast
2. Your vessel will be on the track line ahead of the fix
3. Your vessel will be on the track line behind the fix
4. Your vessel will be closer to the coast ✓

Your vessel is proceeding up a channel, and you see a pair of range lights that are in line dead ahead. The chart indicates that the direction of this pair of lights is 283°T, and the variation is 13°E. If the heading of your vessel at the time of the sighting is 278° per standard compass, what is the deviation?

1. 5°E
2. 5°W
3. 8°E
4. 8°W ✓

On 10 November 2023 at 2030, you are inbound at Charleston Harbor Entrance Buoy “10” (ACT6611). What is the direction and velocity of the current you are encountering as you pass Buoy “10”? Illustration D058NG.

1. 0.4kts at 280°T
2. 2.1kts at 335°T
3. 0.4kts at 104°T ✓
4. 2.1kts at 172°T

It is unlawful to approach within how many yards of a Northern Right Whale?

1. 200
2. 300
3. 400
4. 500 ✓

On 11 January your vessel's 0655 zone time DR position is LAT 24°30'N, LONG 122°02'W, when an amplitude of the Sun is observed. The Sun's center is on the celestial horizon and bears 101.0° per standard compass. Variation in the area is 11.6°E. The chronometer reads 02h 52m 48s and is 02m 12s slow. What is the deviation of the standard compass?

1. 1.4°E ✓
2. 1.4°W
3. 4.6°E
4. 4.6°W

You are underway on course 215°T at 12 knots. The current is 000°T at 2.3 knots. What is the course made good?

1. 209°T
2. 217°T
3. 222°T ✓
4. 232°T

On 15 October 2023, you will be docking on the Southern Branch Elizabeth River, VA at the second low tide. The berth is located between NOAA reference tidal station #8638660 and reference station #8639348. What time (LST) will you be docking? Illustration D063NG

1. 1537
2. 1539 ✓
3. 1540
4. 1459

Which is TRUE concerning the length of a wave?

1. It is measured from crest to crest ✓
2. It is measured from crest to trough
3. It is the length of the wave's trough
4. It is the length of the wave's crest

What must change for the compass deviation to change?

1. The longitude of the vessel
2. The geographical position of the vessel
3. The heading of the vessel ✓
4. The speed of the vessel

Which statement is TRUE concerning the placard entitled "Discharge of Oil Prohibited"?

1. It must be located in a conspicuous place in the wheelhouse.
2. It must be located in each machinery space, or at the bilge and ballast pump control station. ✓
3. It is required on all vessels.
4. All of the above

What can cargo hold bilge soundings indicate?

1. If the cargo is leaking into the cargo hold
2. The amount of condensation in the hold
3. If the vessel is taking on water
4. All of the above ✓

The "Vessel Bridge-to-Bridge Radiotelephone Act" applies to which towboat?

1. A 400 GT towboat anchored
2. A 60-foot towboat pushing ahead ✓
3. A 90-foot towboat tied to the pier
4. A 100 GT towboat, 24 feet in length

You are conducting trials to determine the maneuvering characteristics of your vessel. While making a turn you take the ranges and bearings of an isolated light. The results are shown in illustration D034DG below. What is the transfer for a turn of 75°?

1. 365 yards (306 meters)
2. 320 yards (274 meters) ✓
3. 230 yards (207 meters)
4. 190 yards (171 meters)

INLAND ONLY A law enforcement vessel patrolling a marine regatta may exhibit a flashing blue light or which of the following alternates?

1. an alternately flashing red and yellow light ✓
2. a high intensity flashing white light (strobe)
3. two amber lights in a horizontal line
4. a fixed green light over a red flashing light

INLAND ONLY Two power-driven vessels are meeting in a narrow channel on the Great Lakes as shown in illustration D037RR below. Vessel "A" is downbound with a following current. Vessel "A" shall do which of the following?

1. Propose the manner of passage
2. Initiate the maneuvering signals
3. Have the right of way
4. All of the above ✓

INLAND ONLY For the purpose of the Inland Navigation Rules, the term "Inland Waters" includes which of the following?

1. The Great Lakes in their entirety
2. The Mississippi River System ✓
3. U.S. waters out to three miles offshore
4. The St. Lawrence River to Anticosti Island

INLAND ONLY The term "Great Lakes", as defined by the Inland Rules of the Road, does NOT include which choice?

1. Portions of the Calumet River
2. Saginaw Bay, Michigan
3. The St Lawrence River to Trois-Rivieres ✓
4. Portions of the Chicago River

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND The masthead light may be displaced from the centerline on which of the following vessels?

1. a vessel engaged in trolling
2. a power-driven vessel 12 meters in length
3. a vessel of special construction ✓
4. an air-cushion vessel in non-displacement mode

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND A vessel hearing a fog signal forward of her beam has not determined if risk of collision exists. What shall she reduce speed to?

1. moderate speed
2. half speed
3. safe speed
4. bare steerageway ✓

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND Your vessel is underway in reduced visibility. You hear the fog signal of another vessel about 30° on your starboard bow. If danger of collision exists, which action(s) are you required to take?

1. Alter course to port and pass the other vessel on its port side
2. Alter course to starboard to pass around the other vessel's stern
3. Reduce your speed to the minimum at which it can be kept on course ✓
4. Slow your engines and let the other vessel pass ahead of you

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND When is a stand-on vessel FIRST allowed by the Rules to take action in order to avoid collision?

1. The stand-on vessel is never allowed to take action
2. When the two vessels are less than half a mile from each other
3. When collision is imminent
4. When the give-way vessel is not taking appropriate action to avoid collision ✓

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND You are approaching a bend in a channel. You cannot see around the bend because of the height of the bank. Which action are you required to take in accordance with the Rules?

1. Stay in the middle of the channel
2. Stop engines and navigate with caution
3. Sound a whistle blast of 4 to 6 seconds duration ✓
4. Sound passing signals to any other vessel that may be on the other side of the bend

INLAND ONLY Two power-driven vessels are meeting in the situation as shown in illustration D037RR below and will pass within 1/2 mile of each other. What does two short blasts from either vessel mean?

1. "I am altering my course to port."
2. "I intend to leave you on my starboard side." ✓
3. "I intend to leave you on my port side."
4. "I am altering my course to starboard."

BOTH INTERNATIONAL & INLAND You are watching another vessel approach, and her compass bearing is not changing. What does this indicate?

1. a special circumstances situation exists
2. you are the stand-on vessel
3. the other vessel is dead in the water
4. a risk of collision exists ✓

How long is a credential issued by the U.S. Coast Guard for apprentice mate (steersman) of Towing Vessels valid for?

1. 2 years and must be renewed
2. 3 years and must be renewed
3. 5 years and must be renewed ✓
4. None of the above

Your vessel is steering course 027° per standard magnetic compass (psc), variation for the area is 19°W, and deviation is 2°E. The wind is from the north-northwest, producing a 5° leeway. What true course are you making good?

1. 015°T ✓
2. 049°T
3. 044°T
4. 005°T

What is a serving mallet used for?

1. To aid in covering wire or fiber rope with marline ✓
2. Forcing fids into a line by striking the small end
3. To aid in the dogging the hatches
4. To cut the line clean before splicing the line

You are on a single-screw vessel with a right-handed propeller, and you are making headway. What occurs when you enter shallow water?

1. Your vessel will tend to ride higher
2. Your speed will increase without a change in your throttle
3. Your rudder response will become sluggish ✓
4. Your vessel will have better rudder response

White and orange buoys, if lighted, show which color light?

1. White ✓
2. Alternating yellow and white
3. Orange
4. Red

You are steering 154° per gyrocompass. The wind is northeast by east, causing 4° leeway. The gyro error is 3° east, variation is 11° west, and deviation is 7°E. What is the true course made good?

1. 151°T
2. 158°T
3. 164°T
4. 161°T ✓

In writing up the logbook at the end of your watch, you make an error in writing an entry. What is the proper means of correcting this error?

1. Blot out the error completely and rewrite the entry correctly.
2. Cross out the error with a single line, and write the correct entry, then initial it. ✓
3. Carefully and neatly erase the entry and rewrite it correctly.
4. Remove this page of the logbook, and rewrite all entries on a clean page.

Cargo tanks on barges fitted with goose neck vents and flame screens are limited to carrying which grade of cargo?

1. A and below
2. B and below
3. C and below
4. D and E only ✓

You discharge food waste overboard at sea. You have recorded your vessel's position as required, what other items must be included in the report?

1. The vessel's latitude, longitude, date and time of the discharge ✓
2. The vessel's latitude, longitude, course, speed, and a copy of that days noon position slip
3. The vessel's latitude, longitude and approximate depth of water
4. The vessel's latitude and longitude is all that is required

When passing a moored vessel in a narrow channel which actions will help minimize wake damage?

1. Reduce speed and make a notation in the bell book ✓
2. Stay on outside of channel and make a notation in the logbook
3. Go half astern when abeam of the moored vessel
4. Check the rudder several times while passing the vessel

Why is it necessary to secure the forced ventilation to a compartment where there is a fire?

1. To prevent additional oxygen from reaching the fire ✓
2. To allow the exhaust fans to remove smoke
3. To extinguish the fire by carbon monoxide smothering
4. To protect firefighting personnel from smoke

Which knot in illustration D030DG below represents a single becket bend?

1. E
2. F
3. G
4. H ✓