DG is getting a little better. I have the name of my evaluator wrote down some where, but I do’nt know if the lady’s that answer the phones will let me talk to her.I did ask for the 3000 ITC on my app.,just did’nt add the OSV.
Well here is the latest… After being told by NMC to submit form 719-B and pay the fees to add the 3000 GT ITC OSV endorsement, I called REC New York to check on my application. REC New York was sitting on the application because I did not submit a new physical, drug screen and sea time. None of which is required according to NMC. I was told to write a letter to REC New York stating that NMC did not ask for the additional paperwork. I have emailed the letter and will call REC New York this afternoon to check again. If you have an application open with NMC, it would be worth your time to call and speak with your evaluator to be sure you get the 3000 GT ITC OSV endorsement. Refer to NMC Policy Ltr. 00-07. Excerpts from this policy letter were posted on this thread by Flyer69 on April 16th. Good luck.
[QUOTE=TxKingfisher;30917] The CFR specifically says “any mariner who holds a 500 ton master near coastal SHALL HAVE 3000 tons ITC OSV upon domestic voyages”… [/QUOTE]
I couldn’t find this section. Can you point me to the right direction?
It is not in the CFR. It is in the policy letter quoted above.
Thanks for the heads up about asking for the 3000 ITC OSV, I thought that you had to go through the OSV training programs for that.
Ill be sure to ask for it when I submit later this summer.
Only BRM and Flashing lights left to go!
Update- Got an email Friday after an 8 week evaluation process, approved to test for my 500GRT/300ITC OSV. The evaluator pulled my legend file, and needed clarification of some of my prior sea service letters from 2004, this drug the evaluation out several extra weeks.
When I received my “request for addtl information letter” it did state at the end, Once I meet the criteria for the 500 GRT, my license will be endorsed as 3000 ITC OSV also. This is what I asked for on my application, and I am not sure if having experience on OSVs w/ my sea service was part of “qualifying” or not…I didn’t ask about the requirements, I just requested the endorsement.
I don’t have the letter in hand yet, but want to start using lapware to study from…Anyone know if I can just use the exam codes from the ESS (exam structure sheets) posted by the CG for the 500 GRT Masters, or am I going to get some other codes for the exams on my letter? What I have found states that the 500 GRT Masters NC exams has six modules. There are different codes listed on the recent release of the Deck and Engineering guide that just came out from the CG, compared to the ESS that came w/ my Capt Joes program. All of these codes are something like 200XX -205XX. I have two contradicting documents though.
I guess I kind of know the answer to my question here, probably better wait till I get the exact codes from my letter before signing up for lapware …?
I have been studying w/ capt joes and using Duttons Navigation along w/ Bowditch and several Cornell maritime press books. I plan on adding in lapware to my regiment, anything else I should be looking at? I will probably go take the full exam soon, hoping to at least get 1/2 or more of the modules passed the first time, leaving more study time for the make up modules to concentrate on. I don’t have the time to attend a prep course w/ work and family, and have seem many people on here go this route and pass.
Any advice on lapware or other methods out there? I also use a program “get your captains license” to generate tests, but I dont believe they are as specific to my license test as the lapware will be…
Thanks for any insights.
Hello Conspearasea,
I used the Master 500/1600 ton software from Hawsepipe.net, Bowditch, Formulae for the Mariner and The Merchant Marine Officers Handbook to study. The books are all available on Amazon and the software from hawsepipe.net. I did not take any test prep classes and did not have much trouble with the testing. I took the 500 ton NC with six modules: Rules of the Road, Deck General, Safety, Nav. General, Nav. Problems (plotting) and Terrestrial. I found that studying Bowditch vol. 2 was the most help with the terrestrial. I know the schools are teaching formulas for all of the terrestrial, but Bowditch vol 2 and the sight reduction tables are in the exam room and both pubs tell you how to work each type of problem. That way I only had to memorize the formulas for fuel consumption and remember how to work out the eta problems and chronometer error.
Good luck with your studies and testing.
Thank you very much! Terrestrial is the thorn in my side for now, I appreciate the experience and knowledge. I have Bowditch right now, the copy I have is the 2002 Bicentennial edition, Pub No 9…This is different than the one in the exam room I believe???
My tests are scheduled for the first week in august, I have been using lapware along with Capt Joes software, plus my library including Duttons, Bowditch, American Merchant seamans manual, Merchant Marine officers handbook, Knights and a couple of others.
Lapware has been a great help in “narrowing” down my studies, and feel it is well worth the money for others who might be considering using it.
Thanks to everyone who has shared their experiences on this forum, I have learned quite a bit along the way, and am much better prepared because of it.
For what it’s worth… I did not worry too much about Deck general and Nav General or Safety. Those three are 50 questions each and need only 70% to pass, so you can miss 15 questions. There will only be a few stability questions and one or two of those were simple using the stability curve found on most workboats with the stability letter. The buoy questions on Nav General can be answered using the Light List and the tide and current tables all have instructions in the book. The plotting is only ten questions and you need 90% to pass. On my exam, one question was a simple geographic range of a light. The other 9 were broken into 3 groups of 3. The answer to the 2 following questions was dependant on correctly plotting the first. Terrestrial had one question of each type: sunrise/sunset, slip/efficiency, fuel consumption, amplitude, azimuth, chronometer error, eta, compass error, deviation table, (I only have 9 here and am drawing a blank, I quit carting all the study materials around after passing. Sorry.). You get the point though.
The edition of Bowditch you are studying with probably doesn’t matter much. In the exam Room you will have an older edition where Vol. 2 is a seperate book. While I was waiting for the exam to begin I got my reference books and marked the pages I would need. I did not find Duttons to be much help. Merchant Marine Officers Handbook was good for the Slip/Efficiency calculations and the Fuel Consumption calculations.
Just keep taking practice exams and once you get to the exam room wirte as many notes on your scratch paper as you can to help later in the test.
Best of luck.