Revise with instant feedback: the moment you pick an answer you see whether it was right, with the explanation where available. Untimed — ideal before you sit a mock exam. Questions you miss keep coming back until you know them.
Exam-day conditions: no feedback until you submit, each module scored separately like the real test, with a full question-by-question review at the end.
The real exam is passed module by module: Rules of the Road requires 90%, most other modules 70%. Chart-plotting modules are taken on paper and not included.
The free sample gives you 20 to 30 questions per module. The full bank contains every available official question, with written explanations on the popular small-vessel credentials, one-off $29, lifetime access on up to 3 devices, all credentials included.
You must pass each module separately. Most modules require 70% to pass.
The exam covers 1 module: Nav & Deck General – Safety.
This page includes free sample questions drawn from the official USCG sample examinations, with a full bank of around 92 questions across all modules available with lifetime access.
Every question comes from the U.S. Coast Guard National Maritime Center's published sample examinations, which are U.S. government works in the public domain. Wheelhouse Prep is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Coast Guard.
No. The free practice tests work in your browser with no signup. Your score history is saved on your own device.
A selection of free questions from the official USCG sample examinations. Use the interactive modules above for timed, scored drills.
Which is the best method to stop a vessel from dragging anchor in a sand bottom?
Why: Paying out more cable flattens the pull on the anchor, keeping the shank horizontal so the flukes dig in, and the extra chain weight absorbs surges. Shortening cable or backing down would break the anchor out further.
All personnel on board a vessel should be familiar with the rescue boat's __________.
Why: In an emergency anyone aboard may need to launch, board, or operate the rescue boat quickly, so all personnel must know its boarding and operating procedures, not its maintenance or technical details.
Which item indicates the maximum draft to which a vessel can legally be submerged?
Why: The load line (Plimsoll) mark on the hull shows the maximum depth to which the vessel may legally be loaded for the season and water type. Tonnage figures measure internal volume, not draft.
What provides little or no indication that a vessel is dragging anchor?
Why: A vessel swinging normally at anchor constantly changes her distance to objects abeam, so changing range proves nothing. Changing bearings of distant objects, a drift lead tending forward, or chain alternately slack and taut are real signs of dragging.
The water in which a vessel floats provides vertical upward support. Which term is regarded as the point through which this support is assumed to act?
Why: The buoyant force acts through the center of buoyancy, the geometric center of the underwater volume. The center of gravity is where weight acts downward, and the center of flotation is the center of the waterplane.
If your vessel will list with equal readiness to either side, the list is most likely caused by which condition?
Why: A list that flops with equal readiness to either side indicates negative GM: the vessel is unstable upright and lolls to whichever side disturbed last. Off-center weight produces a steady list to one side only.
Which is TRUE of the term coastal current?
Why: A coastal current flows roughly parallel to the shore but outside (seaward of) the surf zone. The longshore current is a different current inside the surf zone, generated by waves striking the beach at an angle.
Which statement about the deck line is TRUE?
Why: Freeboard is measured to the working deck surface, so where the freeboard deck is sheathed with wood, the deck line references the intersection of the upper line of the sheathing with the shell. The mark is placed amidships.
Which extinguishing agent is most effective on a mattress fire?
Why: A mattress fire is a deep-seated Class A fire. Water soaks into the material, cooling below ignition temperature throughout. Gas agents like CO2 or Halon only smother the surface, so the fire can rekindle inside.
Portable foam fire-extinguishers are designed for use on which class of fires?
Why: Foam is water-based: it cools and smothers Class A (solid) fires and floats on flammable liquids to smother Class B fires. Being conductive, it must never be used on energized Class C fires.
Your vessel has an injured crew member onboard that will require evacuation. Which of the following publications should you review for the procedures in conducting rescue/medivac helicopter operations?
Why: The IAMSAR Manual is the international reference for search and rescue operations, including standard procedures, signals, and safety precautions for helicopter evacuation from vessels.
When rendering assistance to personnel in the water a SAR helicopter utilizes a rescue sling for most extractions. In which case would the use of a litter be preferred?
Why: A hypothermia victim must be kept horizontal; hoisting vertically in a sling lets cold, pooled blood from the limbs rush to the heart, risking collapse or cardiac arrest. The litter keeps the person lying flat.
What size block shell should be used with a 4-inch manila line?
Why: Rule of thumb for manila: block shell size (in inches) equals three times the rope's circumference. For 4-inch manila, 3 × 4 = 12-inch block.
Which may cause above-normal tides near the center of a hurricane?
Why: Storm surge, water piled up by the hurricane's wind stress and very low pressure, raises sea level well above predicted tides near the storm center. Low (not high) pressure contributes to the rise.
When a small craft's anchor fouls in a rocky bottom, how should the first attempt to clear it be made?
Why: An anchor digs in along one direction; reversing the angle and direction of pull with moderate scope backs the flukes out the way they entered the rocks, the simplest first attempt before more drastic measures.
You are planning to anchor in an area where several anchors have been lost due to fouling. What precaution should you take?
Why: A crown strap with a work wire (trip line) attached to the anchor's crown lets you pull the anchor out backwards if it fouls, recovering it the reverse of the way it dug in.
When dry chemical extinguishers are used to put out class B fires, why is there a danger of reflash?
Why: Dry chemical knocks down Class B flames by interrupting the chain reaction but provides little or no cooling, so hot surfaces and fuel above its flash point can reignite (reflash) once the agent dissipates.
What shall be conducted during a fire and boat drill?
Why: Fire and boat drill requirements include operating all watertight doors in the vicinity of the drill so crews can work them in an emergency. Pumps are started but outlets are not all opened.
How does a drift lead indicate that the vessel is dragging anchor?
Why: A drift lead rests on the bottom with slack line. If the vessel drags astern, the lead stays put while the ship moves, so the line grows taut and tends forward. A slack, motionless line means the anchor is holding.
Your vessel is off a lee shore in heavy weather and laboring. Which action should you take?
Why: Taking the seas about two points on the bow at reduced speed eases pounding, keeps steerageway, and works the vessel away from the lee shore. Full speed into the sea causes pounding; lying in the trough invites capsizing.