Free USCG OUPV Exam Flashcards

Authorizes operating an UNINSPECTED passenger vessel carrying up to SIX paying passengers for hire, on a vessel under 100 gross tons. "Uninspected" means the vessel is not subject to a USCG hull inspection. Common holders: charter-fishing guides and harbor-tour operators.

A vessel carrying six or fewer passengers, at least one for hire. The 6-passenger cap is a HARD legal limit (46 U.S.C. 8304). Carrying a 7th paying passenger makes it an inspected 'small passenger vessel' requiring a Master license and a Certificate of Inspection.

360 days of documented sea time, with 90 of those days within the past 7 years (recency, per NMC Policy Letter 02-25). A 'sea day' = at least 4 hours underway in a 24-hour period. Near Coastal OUPV needs 90 days on ocean, near-coastal, or Great Lakes waters. Minimum age 18.

Four separately graded modules: Rules of the Road (50 Q, need 90%), Navigation General (50 Q, 70%), Deck General/Safety (50 Q, 70%), Chart Plot (10 Q, 90%). You must pass EACH module; failing one fails the exam. The credential (MMC) is valid 5 years.

To be issued the MMC you also need: a valid TWIC (Transportation Worker Identification Credential), a merchant mariner medical certificate (CG-719K), a chemical/drug test (CG-719P), and current First Aid & CPR. A Coast Guard-approved course may substitute for the REC exam.

Two rule sets. COLREGS (International) apply SEAWARD of the COLREGS Demarcation Lines printed on charts; Inland Rules apply SHOREWARD (harbors, rivers, most bays). Great Lakes/Inland OUPV candidates may test Inland-only, which places a geographic limitation on the credential.

The give-way vessel takes early, substantial action to keep clear. The stand-on vessel holds course and speed, but MUST act to avoid collision if the give-way vessel fails to (Rule 17). A power-driven stand-on vessel must not turn to port for a vessel on her own port side.

Order of who keeps clear of whom: power-driven gives way to sailing; sailing gives way to a vessel fishing; fishing gives way to a vessel restricted in ability to maneuver (RAM) or not under command (NUC). Mnemonic: 'New Reels Catch Fish So Purchase Some' (NUC, RAM, CBD, Fishing, Sailing, Power, Seaplane).

When two power-driven vessels cross with risk of collision, the vessel that has the other on her own STARBOARD side is the give-way vessel and must keep clear, avoiding crossing ahead. At night the give-way vessel sees the other's RED sidelight: 'if to starboard red appear, it is your duty to keep clear.'

When two power-driven vessels meet on reciprocal or nearly reciprocal courses, EACH alters course to STARBOARD and they pass PORT-TO-PORT. You see the other vessel's masthead lights in line and/or both sidelights (red and green together). Neither vessel is stand-on.

Overtaking = coming up from more than 22.5 degrees ABAFT the other vessel's beam (at night you see only her sternlight, no sidelights). The overtaking vessel is ALWAYS the give-way vessel, even a sailing vessel overtaking a powerboat. 'Once overtaking, always overtaking' until finally past and clear.

Risk is deemed to exist if the compass bearing of an approaching vessel does not appreciably change: constant bearing, decreasing range (CBDR). Use all available means, including radar; do not act on scanty information. If in doubt, risk of collision is deemed to exist.

Every vessel must proceed at a safe speed to take proper, effective action and stop within a distance appropriate to conditions. Factors: visibility, traffic density, maneuverability, wind/sea/current, draft versus depth, and radar limitations. There is no fixed knots value; it depends on the conditions.

Action must be positive, taken in ample time, and readily apparent to the other vessel; avoid a series of small changes. A large course or speed change is better than a small one. If needed, slacken speed, stop, or reverse. Do not create a new close-quarters situation.

Applies when vessels are NOT in sight of one another (fog). There is no stand-on/give-way status: both take avoiding action. Proceed at safe speed with engines ready. If a vessel is detected by radar alone, avoid altering to port for one forward of the beam and avoid altering toward one abeam or abaft the beam.

Under Inland Rules on meeting/crossing: ONE short blast = 'I intend to leave you on my port side' (altering to starboard); TWO short = 'I intend to leave you on my starboard side' (altering to port); THREE short = 'operating astern propulsion.' Under International Rules these signal action actually being taken.

FIVE or more short, rapid blasts on the whistle is the doubt or danger signal. Sound it when you do not understand another vessel's intentions or doubt she is taking enough action to avoid collision. It is a warning, not a maneuvering agreement.

A power-driven vessel MAKING WAY sounds ONE prolonged blast every 2 minutes; underway but STOPPED (not making way) sounds TWO prolonged blasts every 2 minutes. A vessel NUC, RAM, constrained by draft, sailing, fishing, or towing sounds one prolonged + two short blasts every 2 minutes.

Sidelights: GREEN starboard, RED port, each showing 112.5 degrees (dead ahead to 22.5 degrees abaft the beam). Masthead light: white, 225 degrees, shown forward by power-driven vessels. Sternlight: white, 135 degrees, aft. Sidelights plus sternlight cover the full 360 degrees.

Not Under Command = two all-round RED vertical. Restricted in Ability to Maneuver = red-white-red vertical. Constrained by draft = three all-round red. Fishing (not trawling) = red over white ('red over white, fishing at night'); trawling = green over white. At anchor = one all-round white (a black ball by day).

Keep as near the outer limit of the channel on your STARBOARD side as is safe and practicable. A vessel under 20 m, a sailing vessel, or a vessel fishing must not impede a vessel that can navigate only within the channel. Do not anchor in a narrow channel.

The U.S. is in IALA Region B. Returning from sea (heading upstream/toward harbor), keep RED marks on your RIGHT (starboard) and GREEN on your left. Red marks are even-numbered, triangular 'nun' buoys/daymarks; green marks are odd-numbered, square 'can' buoys/daymarks.

Safe-water mark: red-and-white VERTICAL stripes, navigable water all around (mid-channel/landfall), often a red spherical topmark. Preferred-channel (junction) mark: red and green HORIZONTAL bands, where the TOP band's color shows the preferred channel (top red = keep it to starboard when returning).

YELLOW marks show special areas (anchorages, dredging, fishnets, traffic separation). WHITE-and-ORANGE marks are regulatory: a circle = controlled area, a diamond = danger, a diamond with a cross = keep out, and a rectangle = information.

The angular difference between TRUE north and MAGNETIC north at a location, caused by Earth's magnetic field. It is printed inside the chart's compass rose and changes with geographic position (and slowly over time). Variation is the SAME for every vessel in a given area.

Compass error caused by the vessel's OWN magnetism (steel hull, engine, electronics). It changes with the vessel's HEADING and is recorded on a deviation card. Unlike variation, deviation is unique to each vessel and each heading, and it can be reduced by compass adjustment.

SET = the DIRECTION toward which a current flows (a current setting 090 flows toward the east). DRIFT = the SPEED of the current in knots. Together they describe how a current pushes a vessel off its intended track, which must be offset when shaping a course.

60 x Distance = Speed x Time, with D in nautical miles, S in knots, T in minutes. So D = S x T / 60, S = 60 x D / T, T = 60 x D / S. Shortcut (6-minute rule): distance in NM traveled in 6 minutes equals speed in knots divided by 10.

One minute of LATITUDE equals one nautical mile. Measure distance with the LATITUDE scale on the SIDES of the chart, alongside your position, never the longitude scale (a minute of longitude shrinks toward the poles). One nautical mile is about 6,076 feet; one fathom is 6 feet.

TIDE = the vertical rise and fall of the water, referenced to a datum (U.S. charts use Mean Lower Low Water, MLLW). Tidal CURRENT = the horizontal flow the tide creates: flood (incoming), ebb (outgoing), slack (no flow). Spring tides (new/full moon) have the greatest range; neap tides (quarter moon) the least.

An LOP is a line, from a bearing, range, or depth, somewhere on which the vessel lies. A FIX is the intersection of two or more simultaneous LOPs. Bearings crossing near 90 degrees give the most reliable fix; a three-bearing fix forms a 'cocked hat' whose size indicates the error.

Advancing a known position using only the course steered and speed run over time, with no outside reference. A DR plot labels course above the line and speed below it, and marks DR positions with a half-circle and time. DR ignores set, drift, and leeway, so it must be corrected with fixes.

Coast Pilot = narrative detail on channels, hazards, and local rules. Light List = full detail on lights, buoys, and fog signals. Notice to Mariners / Local Notice to Mariners = updates that keep charts corrected. Tide and Tidal Current Tables = predicted heights and flows.

LOW pressure brings clouds, wind, and unsettled weather; HIGH pressure brings fair weather. A FALLING barometer warns of deteriorating conditions. A 'backing' wind shifts counterclockwise; a 'veering' wind shifts clockwise. Fog forms when moist air is cooled to its dew point.

Carry one USCG-approved WEARABLE PFD (Type I, II, III, or V) for EACH person aboard, plus at least one THROWABLE (Type IV) device on vessels 16 ft and longer. PFDs must be the correct size, serviceable, and readily accessible. Type I offshore vests give the most flotation and turn most unconscious wearers face-up.

Coastal and open-water vessels must carry USCG-approved VDS. Pyrotechnic flares expire about 42 months after their date of manufacture and must be in date; a common minimum is three day/night combination flares. Non-pyrotechnic options: an orange distress flag (day) and an electric SOS light (night).

Class A = ordinary combustibles (wood, paper). Class B = flammable liquids (gasoline, oil, grease). Class C = energized electrical. Class D = combustible metals. Marine engine-space fires are usually B/C. Size letters (I, II) show capacity; a rating like 5-B:C shows the fire type it is rated for.

Fire needs three things: FUEL, HEAT (ignition), and OXYGEN. Removing any one puts it out: cooling with water, smothering with CO2 or foam, or shutting off the fuel supply. This is why securing the fuel valve and controlling ventilation are first responses to an engine-space fire.

A gasoline inboard engine must have a Coast Guard-approved backfire flame arrestor on the carburetor and a ventilation system to clear fuel vapors from the bilge. Run the bilge blower at least 4 minutes and 'sniff' the bilge for fumes before starting a gasoline engine to prevent an explosion.

SCOPE = the ratio of anchor rode paid out to the depth of water (measured from the bow). A common working scope is 7:1, more in rough weather. Adequate scope keeps the pull horizontal so the anchor digs in and holds. Allow room to swing and keep an anchor watch for dragging.

Bowline: a fixed loop that will not slip or jam. Cleat hitch: secures a line to a cleat. Clove hitch: a quick attachment to a piling or rail. Square (reef) knot: joins two lines of equal size. Figure-eight: a stopper that keeps a line from running out through a block.

A vessel is stable when its center of buoyancy shifts as it heels to create a righting arm. Overloading and topside weight reduce stability. FREE SURFACE EFFECT, liquid sloshing in a partly filled tank or flooded bilge, raises the effective center of gravity and can capsize a small vessel. Keep passengers low and centered.

Immediately shout 'man overboard,' throw a buoyant object to mark the spot and give flotation, and post a spotter who keeps the victim in sight and points continuously. Then maneuver back (a Williamson turn helps in reduced visibility). Approach from downwind and put the engine in neutral when alongside.

Sudden immersion causes cold shock (gasping, hyperventilation) in the first minute, then loss of muscle control. Hypothermia (uncontrolled shivering, then confusion) follows. Keep clothing on, adopt the HELP position or huddle with others, and stay with a floating vessel. A PFD keeps you afloat once you can no longer swim.

Discharging oil or oily waste into U.S. waters is illegal; display the oil-discharge (MARPOL) placard on vessels 26 ft and longer. Installed toilets need a marine sanitation device (MSD), and sewage discharge is prohibited in No-Discharge Zones. Report a spill to the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802.

Channel 16 is the international hailing and distress frequency; monitor it underway. Priority calls: MAYDAY = grave and imminent danger (life-threatening); PAN-PAN = urgency (serious but not immediately life-threatening); SECURITE = safety, navigation, or weather. An EPIRB transmits a 406 MHz distress signal with position to rescue satellites.

Convert between True and Compass through Variation and Deviation: True, Variation, Magnetic, Deviation, Compass ('True Virgins Make Dull Company'). Going True to Compass, ADD westerly errors and subtract easterly ('Add Whiskey' = add West). Going Compass to True, reverse it: add easterly, subtract westerly.

Lay off a course or bearing by walking parallel rules to the nearest compass rose. Use the OUTER (true) ring for true directions and the INNER (magnetic) ring to plot directly in magnetic. Label a course line with C (course) above the line and S (speed) below it.

A RUNNING FIX uses two bearings on the SAME object at different times, advancing the first LOP by the course and distance run. BOW-AND-BEAM bearings: note the run when an object is 45 degrees off the bow; when it comes abeam (90 degrees), the distance run equals your distance off the object.

To make good an intended track through a current, build a vector triangle: plot the desired track (course made good), lay off the current's set and drift, and the remaining side gives the course to steer and speed. In practice, if a current sets you one way, steer offset into it to hold your track.