Coastal Navigation Course

I'm not familiar with it but I did take the Mariner's online course for my 6 pack lic. Interestingly I see they use the same LI chart as Mariner did.

Is there a reason why you want to do it online vs classroom? Power Squadron has an excellent course.
 
I'm not familiar with it but I did take the Mariner's online course for my 6 pack lic. Interestingly I see they use the same LI chart as Mariner did.

Is there a reason why you want to do it online vs classroom? Power Squadron has an excellent course.

How did you find that online course for your 6-pack license? I'm looking to get my license this year but in-person classes are difficult for me with my work schedule.

Thanks,
Sandy
 
I have no course preference over the other. I'm just feeling my way around right now and wanted to get some opinions from fellow CSR members. Due to my recent health issues and how that affects travel insurance, I will need to lay low for a minimum of 6 months. I think that I would opt for the classroom scenario in order to more closely interact with the instructors and fellow students. To be better prepared, I may even do an inexpensive on-line course to while away the time over the winter. It should also be noted that I am not interested in obtaining a Captains license as I will not be charging my friends and family for pleasure aboard my boat.
 
I took the OUPV course offered by Sea School. I learned a lot but was a bit disappointed in their teaching approach. They focused mostly on how to pass the tests rather than understanding the core material. I didn't get many answers to my probing "why" questions.
 
I took the OUPV course offered by Sea School. I learned a lot but was a bit disappointed in their teaching approach. They focused mostly on how to pass the tests rather than understanding the core material. I didn't get many answers to my probing "why" questions.

Good to know. I will avoid them. Thanks ~Ken
 
I took a local OUPV course and it was very informative. I recommend taking it in person as I think the forum is better for answering questions and interacting with others. I learned a significant amount of information and plan on taking the masters class shortly. The scheduling is tough unless you’re off work and man they definitely own you for 3 weeks in my case.
 
How did you find that online course for your 6-pack license? I'm looking to get my license this year but in-person classes are difficult for me with my work schedule.

Thanks,
Sandy
I found them at a boat show (see link below). My issue was I traveled extensively for business and didn't want to take away time from my family on weekends. My reason for doing this was more of a confirmation of what I knew and fill the gaps of what I didn't. While I did pass the USCG test and got my 6 Pack, I had and have no intention of using it. Where we boat on the Great Lakes there is a lot of commercial traffic - from ferry's to barges being towed so being confident of what I was seeing, especially at night (different navigation lights) was a special bonus for me. Least useful were the drift and set calculations in the navigation section, since we don't have tides on the Great Lakes. I was impressed with their resource catalog that allowed you to go more in depth into specific topics. There course was more of a learning experience than memorizing answers to questions.

https://www.marinerslearningsystem.com
 
I found them at a boat show (see link below). My issue was I traveled extensively for business and didn't want to take away time from my family on weekends. My reason for doing this was more of a confirmation of what I knew and fill the gaps of what I didn't. While I did pass the USCG test and got my 6 Pack, I had and have no intention of using it. Where we boat on the Great Lakes there is a lot of commercial traffic - from ferry's to barges being towed so being confident of what I was seeing, especially at night (different navigation lights) was a special bonus for me. Least useful were the drift and set calculations in the navigation section, since we don't have tides on the Great Lakes. I was impressed with their resource catalog that allowed you to go more in depth into specific topics. There course was more of a learning experience than memorizing answers to questions.

https://www.marinerslearningsystem.com

Thanks! This is the online class I had been looking into as well. I have no intention of using my captain’s license commercially either. My desire to get the license is to enhance my knowledge and increase our safety while cruising to destinations that are further than we’ve traveled in the past. We have cruising grounds in the PNW and Canada that require a strong knowledge of tides, currents and rapids. Also as a woman it gets a little annoying when the assumption is always made that I’m little more than the chief cook and bottle washer on it’s my own boat.

There a class in Seattle that starts on March 25th and runs 3 nights a week for 6 weeks I believe. That would be a tough schedule to follow but I’m looking into it.

Thanks!
Sandy
 
Sandy,

Kudo's in learning more about boating stuff. The MLS will impart lots of knowledge - from rules of the road to firefighting. The MLS like many other courses is designed for all vs. a specific region. So it would be beneficial to augment this info with local knowledge that you might get from a Power Squadron course.
 
Good to know. I will avoid them. Thanks ~Ken
I'm not trying to discredit them. I think they are great if your goal is a license. My personality is to understand things at the lowest level. I just got too far down in the weeds for their class model.
 
I whole heartily agree that studying and mastering the content for the license is an invaluable accomplishment.

If you are not going to be "using" the license for a commercial activity, why would you want to hold a license?

I faced this decision point a few years ago after I realized I had the hours. A friend explained the concept of proportional liability under Maritime Law.

Just my thought.
 
I am not after a license. I simply want to take an up-to-date "Coastal Navigation" course by a USCG approved facility to improve on my existing boating skills. There will be no commercial aspect to my pleasure boating endeavours so a license will not be required.
 
I took both the OUPV (6-pack) and Masters Courses in the late 80's-early 90's at Sea School in Panama City FL. My take away is that anything (class room setting or online) you do to learn more about navigating, rules of the road, safety at sea, etc. just better prepares you for what you may run into on the water.

The instructor at the front of the class room can make the course fun and rewarding, or as dull as counting rocks, and, the experience the instructor brings with him and his ability to share and explain things has a huge effect on what you learn and the overall value of the course to you.

Sea School does administer the test as kind of a final exam....and, if you listen and do the work, you aren't going to fail the test.

The 2 courses I took were invaluable and I went on to run some boats for hire (as a fill in for an absent charter captain and to deliver some boats with paying passengers onboard. However, I never got into this to make money. I did it for the experience and the knowledge since we boat in a very complex and high risk area full of every imaginable type of boat from 85' Air Force Drone chase boats going 40 mph (and run by excellent and careful boat handlers), all types of Navy boats (who make up rather own rules, because they think they can!), USCG (great guys who know and understand the rules of the road), DEA & ICE, who go anywhere and everywhere at WOT because they think every trip including going to lunch is a pursuit), Commercial operators, (who take their 1/2 of the channel out of the middle!) , tour boat operators (who only care about getting back to the dock in time for the next trip - to heck with wakes and the rules of the road!) and Bubba in his bass or can-boat who has absolutely no clue what the rules of the road are or mean.

After 911, the difficulty and costs in renewing a license made me question the need for my boating activities. Add to it the concept of proportional liability where a licensed captain can be held liable for an accident when he did nothing wrong "because he should have known better", so I let my licenses lapse and just didn't renew them after about 2005-6. I do the same stuff I always have, but I never charge for my time or for any passenger on the boat and just consider any day on the water in somebody else boat burning OPF (other people's fuel) a good day.
 
Thank you for your insights Frank. You and I are on the same page when it comes to pleasure boating. Although we can never fix stupid, defensive driving, observing the rules of the road, etc. will probably get us back to the dock without incident. I'm 72 years old and still willing to learn more. ~Ken
 
Thank you for your insights Frank. You and I are on the same page when it comes to pleasure boating. Although we can never fix stupid, defensive driving, observing the rules of the road, etc. will probably get us back to the dock without incident. I'm 72 years old and still willing to learn more. ~Ken
Yup - one of the basic tenants of the USCG rules of the road - in extremis (their word) you do everything you can to avoid a collision.
 
I've never taken any course beyond the boating safety course but I've taken it 6 times. The first couple of courses were from a local Power Squadron, the most recent were from a USCG Aux group.

All were taken in classroom settings as I believe the interchange of information among the people in the class is invaluable.

A downside of the local Aux group is that the instructors get so far afield with their cruising stories that the 3 hour course stretches to 4 hours and even with that some of the material did not get covered. I'm familiar with the current instructors and as long as they're teaching the course I won't repeat it. If they retire, sign me up.

Now this is not a reflection on all Aux course, just the one taught locally.
 
I've never taken any course beyond the boating safety course but I've taken it 6 times. The first couple of courses were from a local Power Squadron, the most recent were from a USCG Aux group.

All were taken in classroom settings as I believe the interchange of information among the people in the class is invaluable.

A downside of the local Aux group is that the instructors get so far afield with their cruising stories that the 3 hour course stretches to 4 hours and even with that some of the material did not get covered. I'm familiar with the current instructors and as long as they're teaching the course I won't repeat it. If they retire, sign me up.

Now this is not a reflection on all Aux course, just the one taught locally.
Yup I had one of those experiences as well. The instructor wanted to talk more about his experiences (which were not relevant) vs. going through the curriculum.
 
I took both the OUPV (6-pack) and Masters Courses in the late 80's-early 90's at Sea School in Panama City FL. My take away is that anything (class room setting or online) you do to learn more about navigating, rules of the road, safety at sea, etc. just better prepares you for what you may run into on the water.

The instructor at the front of the class room can make the course fun and rewarding, or as dull as counting rocks, and, the experience the instructor brings with him and his ability to share and explain things has a huge effect on what you learn and the overall value of the course to you.

Sea School does administer the test as kind of a final exam....and, if you listen and do the work, you aren't going to fail the test.

The 2 courses I took were invaluable and I went on to run some boats for hire (as a fill in for an absent charter captain and to deliver some boats with paying passengers onboard. However, I never got into this to make money. I did it for the experience and the knowledge since we boat in a very complex and high risk area full of every imaginable type of boat from 85' Air Force Drone chase boats going 40 mph (and run by excellent and careful boat handlers), all types of Navy boats (who make up rather own rules, because they think they can!), USCG (great guys who know and understand the rules of the road), DEA & ICE, who go anywhere and everywhere at WOT because they think every trip including going to lunch is a pursuit), Commercial operators, (who take their 1/2 of the channel out of the middle!) , tour boat operators (who only care about getting back to the dock in time for the next trip - to heck with wakes and the rules of the road!) and Bubba in his bass or can-boat who has absolutely no clue what the rules of the road are or mean.

After 911, the difficulty and costs in renewing a license made me question the need for my boating activities. Add to it the concept of proportional liability where a licensed captain can be held liable for an accident when he did nothing wrong "because he should have known better", so I let my licenses lapse and just didn't renew them after about 2005-6. I do the same stuff I always have, but I never charge for my time or for any passenger on the boat and just consider any day on the water in somebody else boat burning OPF (other people's fuel) a good day.

Hi Frank!

So for someone who is just wanting to expand their knowledge and experience but does not intend to use a license as a means of increasing your income, is the notion of "proportional liability" enough of a deterrent to *not* get one's captain's license?

And is it awful that part of my reason for wanting my captain's license is that I'm tired of being referred to as the (very often derogatory) "Admiral"?

Thank you!

Sandy
 

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