Hello,
I plan on sitting for a 1600 Ton Master exam in the near future. Does anyone have a recommendations for appropriate study materials for this type of exam?
Thanks in advance,
Pat
Lapware
Upgrade U App
Mariner Advancement
Practical Navigator Online Classes for T-NAV, C-NAV, Stability, and Chart Plot
Lapware
License to Sail App
USCG Sample Exams on USCG website
There’s a 3 week license prep class at MPT in Fort Lauderdale but it’s like 3,000 - using the above apps and resources should be all you need though.
You’ll want your own personal Bowditch. Probably a tide book, nautical almanac and a pub 229 as well. 3 fresh practice charts, plotting tools, mechanical pencils, lots of empty notebooks, erasers, a Ti-80 calculator. Can get all that on Amazon.
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Practical Navigator online classes for nav are GREAT.
He said: Master INLAND 1600
That is a ridiculously easy exam.
Probably the easiest exam I’ve ever taken. I did it in one day. The only thing I studied was Rules of the Road.
You certainly shouldn’t need a prep school for it. If you want to go to school, a 100 ton course at a local school should be plenty.
The terrestrial nav is very simple. No azimuths or amplitudes. No celestial nav.
Thanks for the response Warf_Rat. That last time I had taken an exam was 20 years ago which was a First Class Pilotage exam. I’d rather be over prepared than under prepared.
Regards,
Pat
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Any recommendations on study materials for Deck General?
Thanks,
Pat
Nevermind. I guess Lapware will be the way to go.
Pat
Don’t bother to study at all for deck general on the inland exam. It’s ridiculously easy.
I myself have always found Deck General to more of the challenging modules. I’ve done it before, I guess I’ll be able to do it again.
A few years ago, I did 4 deck generals (and other modules) in 4 days. The only module I did not have to do more than once was rules of the road.
The Master Inland AGT had by far the easiest deck general module.
As @jdcavo suggested, maybe you should take the sample exam and see what you think of it.
I recommend that you go through the subject / topic list identified on the NMC Sample Exam website for the Deck General Exam Q320,
Based on the Subject/Topic List you will find subject Maritime Law you will be asked question on CFR’s including topics are Credentialing of Seaman, Shipping and Discharge, Manning, which requires familiarization and use exam room CFRs.
Also include as a subject/topics is Title 46 US Code. The publication is no longer listed as an exam room reference. Therefore these style of questions will require memorization e.g. Allotments, Desertion, Slop Chest, Destitute Seaman, Assaulting the Master, Attachment of Wages, Foreign Articles etc.
Thanks for all of the great information everyone. I just spoke with one of my buddies took the 500 ton Master Inland exam a few years back which is the same exam as the 1600 ton Inland. He said he used Lapware to study for the Deck General and Safety Modules and he passed.
The use of software is beneficial in accessing the possible examination questions. Over the years i have considered the following for Examination Breakdown
The next recommendation for preparatory study for any upcoming examination is to consider individual examination question levels developed by Captain Richard Block. He analyzed the early releases of the USCG multiple choice examination question banks. He observed that the question database construction used five levels of questions. The following is my interpretation and paraphrasing of his results.
Examination Question Levels - 1 thru 5
Level one - basic knowledge - definitions e.g, Define Bollard, or Handybilly or Watch Tackle
Level two - basic application of exam references or equipment e.g. Dipping the eye on a bollard, Rigging a Block and Tackle to Disadvantage or Advantage
Level three - basic calculations e.g, What is the Breaking Strength of a Line or Wire, Calculate the afe Working Load of a Line
Level four - advance calculation e.g. fuel conservations, Sailings, Celestial Observations
Level five - multiple step calculations e.g. advance stability, celestial calculations, and etc.
As you go through some of the subjects/topics, you might find that you will need to have prerequisite knowledge to complete a question. e.g. terms, formulas, the use of exam room reference materials e.g., CFR’s, Bowditch tables, Nautical Almanac etc.
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Thanks for all of the great information. As far as REC Exam Room Publications, which ones are useful for the 1600 ton Master Inland Module? I know the CFR’s and Chemical Data Guide are useful. Are there any others which would be useful for this module?
Thanks,
Pat
Bowditch, Coast Pilot, Light List, Tide and Current Tables, Nautical Almanac, Chart No. 1, etc.
If you encounter an unfamiliar term, look it up in the glossaries in the back of the book, and read the explanation.
For example: “neap tide,” “apogee,” “isophase,” and “luminous range.”
Bowditch is full of formulas and explanations of calculations.
You should have all of these books on the shelf in your own library, particularly the old 1983 version of Bowditch No. 2 (you can buy it on Ebay).
Also, Dunton’s and Chapman’s. They are not in the exam room, but you can learn 75% of what you need to know in practice, and for the USCG exam, in Chapman’s.
Take your books off the shelf frequently, and peruse them. Get familiar with the layout, the glossaries and indexes. Ask yourself how and where would I look up what kind of information quickly in this book?
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What version of Chapman’s do you recommend? The latest one?
I think a fairly recent version of Chapman’s would probably be best. You want to read about AIS, not Loran A!
Handybillies are the same as ever, except that nowadays most crewmen don’t know how to rig or use one. We (except the USCG exam writers) are now in the come-along era.
Your question seems to lead toward the Q320 Deck General Module.
Looking at the sample examination module, I notice Ice Breaker signals. These questions are referencing the International Code of Signals which is in the exam room.
If the math questions are a problem, I recommend a Deck General Math Course by Practical Navigator.org.
Look through each sample exam module and identify by question the possible references available. Recommend following the guidance by tugsalior.