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Second Mate to Master, Revision & Practice Exams

Second Mate to Master. Built from official USCG NMC sample examinations (public domain).
Content last updated 12 June 2026

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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.

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Frequently asked questions

What score do I need to pass the Second Mate to Master exam?

You must pass each module separately. Most modules require 70% to pass.

What modules are on the Second Mate to Master exam?

The exam covers 2 modules: Deck General – Safety, Deck Safety – Stability Problems.

How many practice questions are available for Second Mate to Master?

This page includes free sample questions drawn from the official USCG sample examinations, with a full bank of around 77 questions across all modules available with lifetime access.

Are these real USCG exam questions?

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.

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No. The free practice tests work in your browser with no signup. Your score history is saved on your own device.

Sample Second Mate to Master practice questions

A selection of free questions from the official USCG sample examinations. Use the interactive modules above for timed, scored drills.

The American Consul has asked the Master of a vessel bound for a port in the U.S. to transport a destitute seaman back to the U.S. Which action may the Master take?

  1. He may refuse to take the seaman if the seaman has a contagious disease. ✓
  2. He is required to take the seaman under any circumstance.
  3. He may refuse to take the seaman if the ship will not stop at a U.S. port within 30 days.
  4. He is required to accept the seaman only if the seaman is medically unfit.

A vessel proceeding to London, England, from New York makes an unscheduled call at the port of Hamilton, Bermuda. What term is used to denote the voluntary departure from the usual course?

  1. Deviation ✓
  2. Alteration
  3. Liberty
  4. Unscheduled stop

Under U.S. law, what is the penalty for assaulting the Master?

  1. Fine of not more than $1000
  2. Fine of not more than $500 and/or imprisonment for not more than 1 year
  3. Revocation of the Merchant Mariner Credential
  4. Imprisonment for not more than 2 years ✓
Show all 19 sample questions with answers & explanations

When taking a Pilot from a pilot vessel in a seaway, which way should you head your vessel if the ladder is on the leeward side?

  1. Sea on the weather bow and ship moving ahead slowly ✓
  2. Sea on the lee quarter with ship moving ahead slowly
  3. Bow to the sea and no way on your vessel
  4. Sea on the quarter with sternway on the ship

Your vessel is damaged and listing to port. The rolling period is long, and the vessel will occasionally assume a starboard list. Which action should you take FIRST?

  1. Fill an empty double bottom tank on the starboard side
  2. Transfer all possible movable weights from port to starboard
  3. Pump out ballast from the port and starboard double bottom tanks
  4. Press up a slack centerline double bottom tank ✓

Your sailing drafts are: FWD 21'-08", AFT 22'-04" and the GM is 3.2 feet. What will be the angle of list if the #6 port deep tank (capacity 201 tons, VCG 11.4 feet, and 25.5 feet off the centerline) is filled? (Use the data in Section 1, the blue pages, of the Stability Data Reference Book)

  1. 8° ✓

You are loading in a port subject to the summer load line mark and bound for a port subject to the tropical load line mark. You will enter the tropical zone after steaming four days. You will consume 33 tons of fuel, water, and stores per day. The hydrometer reading at the loading pier is 1.006, and the average TPI is 66. What is the minimum freeboard required at the start of the voyage? Reference Table BL-0022 below.

  1. 78 inches ✓
  2. 82 inches
  3. 86 inches
  4. 88 inches

Your drafts are: FWD 24'-09", AFT 27'-02". Use the blue pages of the Stability Data Reference Book to determine the vessels displacement if you are in salt water.

  1. 13,175 tons
  2. 13,350 tons
  3. 13,490 tons
  4. 13,620 tons ✓

Your vessel's drafts are: FWD 23'-01", AFT 24'-05"; and the KG is 22.8 feet. Use the selected stability curves in the blue pages of the Stability Data Reference Book to determine the remaining righting arm at 30° inclination if the center of gravity is 1.9 feet off the centerline.

  1. 2.3 feet
  2. 0.7 foot ✓
  3. 3.7 feet
  4. 1.4 feet

In the United States, which organization sets the load line markings?

  1. American Bureau of Shipping ✓
  2. Coast Guard
  3. IMO
  4. Federal Maritime Board

As a general rule, how will your vessel lie when it is drifting in a locale where there is no current?

  1. The bow to the wind
  2. With the wind on the quarter
  3. The beam to the wind ✓
  4. The stern to the wind

In relation to the turning circle of a ship, which describes the term "kick"?

  1. The distance gained in the direction of the original course when the helm is hard over
  2. The lateral slide away from the direction of turn upon putting the helm hard over ✓
  3. The distance gained at right angles to the original course
  4. The distance around the circumference of the turning circle

The Officers Competency Certificates Convention of 1936 applies to all of these vessels operating seaward of the boundary line. Which vessel is exempt?

  1. An uninspected towing vessel of less than 200 gross tons ✓
  2. An inspected towing vessel of 305 gross tons
  3. A passenger vessel of 295 gross tons
  4. An offshore supply vessel over 200 gross tons

For towing vessels over 100 gross tons that are permitted to maintain a two-watch system, what percentage of the deck crew must be able seafarers?

  1. 50% ✓
  2. 65%
  3. 75%
  4. 100%

The SS AMERICAN MARINER is ready to bunker with drafts of FWD 20'-04", AFT 23'-06". After all bunkers are on board, soundings indicate the tonnages shown in table ST-0172 below. Use the white pages of The Stability Data Reference Book to determine the free surface correction.

  1. 0.62 foot
  2. 0.80 foot ✓
  3. 0.85 foot
  4. 0.99 foot

Your vessel has a beam of 40 feet, and you observe a still water rolling period of 20 seconds. What is the vessel's metacentric height?

  1. 0.3 ft.
  2. 0.5 ft.
  3. 0.8 ft. ✓
  4. 1.1 ft.

Using the information in Section 1, the blue pages, of the Stability Data Reference Book, determine the danger angle for permanent list if the KG is 21.2 feet and the drafts are: FWD 27'-11", AFT 28'-07".

  1. 19°
  2. 72°
  3. 24° ✓
  4. 52°

You are on a Mariner class cargo vessel. Your drafts are: FWD 21'-04", AFT 23'-04". You wish to increase the calculated GM of 4.8' to 5.8'. What tanks should you ballast? (Use the white pages in the Stability Data Reference Book.)

  1. Tanks: DB4, DB7 ✓
  2. Tanks: DB2, DB5
  3. Tanks: DB2, DB6
  4. Tanks: DB6, DT7

Which is the primary type of welding employed in shipyards in the construction of cargo vessels?

  1. brazing
  2. thermite welding
  3. electric arc ✓
  4. pressure welding