To all,
I am 42 yrs old and looking to get into this field. I wanted to be a deck officer, however I am color blind. I found out that all I can do is the Engineering program. any thoughts? I like Great Lakes as it’s close to home they have an older student going through the school now. With my age I think KP will be out, Maine or Mass never thought about that, I was think about A&M, but not sure.
[QUOTE=ffpm;115933]To all,
I am 42 yrs old and looking to get into this field. I wanted to be a deck officer, however I am color blind. I found out that all I can do is the Engineering program. any thoughts? I like Great Lakes as it’s close to home they have an older student going through the school now. With my age I think KP will be out, Maine or Mass never thought about that, I was think about A&M, but not sure.[/QUOTE]
Deck is definitely out if you are color blind. For engineering, you still need to be able to distinguish red from green.
Have you taken all the tests the USCG accepts for color blindness?
There is no real test for color blind, if you cant determine traffic lights, ok its bad
The ishihara test is not a good test but the books are copyright so the order of the pages is always the same so you can buy one and learn them to pass a test…dont tell anyone
Ask for the lantern test. Easy to pass. I cannot do 90% of the book type test and passes the lantern test 100%.
What about Radio Officer and ETO? Not sure what their color sight requirements are but its worth looking into. I believe AMO will let you sail ETO with an A.S. in electronics. That’s what I’ve heard anyway
[QUOTE=powerabout;116727]There is no real test for color blind, if you cant determine traffic lights, ok its bad
The ishihara test is not a good test but the books are copyright so the order of the pages is always the same so you can buy one and learn them to pass a test…dont tell anyone[/QUOTE]
Souind like you’re an opthamologist. Your plan for memorizing the plates only works with a lazy and/or inept technician who doesn’t show you the plates in random order. And good luck trying to buy a copy of the Ishihara book, it’s been out of print for avery long time.
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[QUOTE=dacook;116755]Ask for the lantern test. Easy to pass. I cannot do 90% of the book type test and passes the lantern test 100%.[/QUOTE]
While the lantern test is considered “easier” it’s not widely available. You can’t just “ask” for it. It requires special equuipment most doctors and many specialists don’t have. You can try to find one who does at http://www.leftseat.com/falant.htm
[QUOTE=powerabout;116727]There is no real test for color blind, if you cant determine traffic lights, ok its bad[/QUOTE]
Traffic lights are standardized worldwide. Red on top, then yellow or orange, then green (means go) on the bottom. … don’t tell anyone! (I kid … 
[QUOTE=“jdcavo;116783”]
And good luck trying to buy a copy of the Ishihara book, it’s been out of print for avery long time.
[/QUOTE]
Then why is it still used? I’ve never understood why the doc can’t say pick out something green, now pick out something red, OK you’re good.
[QUOTE=ryanwood86;116824]Then why is it still used? I’ve never understood why the doc can’t say pick out something green, now pick out something red, OK you’re good.[/QUOTE]
Because the test still works, many copies are in circulation and it’s still used. That you can’t buy a copy to study for your eye test isn’t sufficient reason to not accept it.
[QUOTE=“jdcavo;116828”]That you can’t buy a copy to study for your eye test isn’t sufficient reason to not accept it.[/QUOTE]
But you can. $136 through amazon.com. 15 copies left …
I didn’t ask to buy a copy nor study it, I only asked why a much simpler test wasn’t used. It seems a lot of people have trouble with it.
I’ve never had a problem with Ishahara. I think it’s a pretty good test. There’s one plate that I remember no one ever gets but what can you do. One question I have though is if his eyes are that bad should he be allowed to be licensed. OP I’m sure your a great person and all so sorry to bring it up, but doesn’t anyone else think its a liability. All that aside OP, you might want to check for any other medical disqualifications. It’d suck to go through all the work and get rejected.
Personally I wouldn’t want him on the other watch. There are a reason for at least some of the rules we deal with, and I think being able to differentiate between navigation lights and indicator lights is a pretty big one. Call me an asshole, thats just my two cents.
[QUOTE=txh2oman;116845]But you can. $136 through amazon.com. 15 copies left …[/QUOTE]
Or you can just CLICK HEREand download the answer sheet then cross reference it with the plates found HERE
[QUOTE=jdcavo;116783]Your plan for memorizing the plates only works with a lazy and/or inept technician who doesn’t show you the plates in random order. [/QUOTE]
Actually the official technician instructions read “It may be necessary to vary the order of the plates [I]IF it is suspected[/I] that there is a deliberate deception on the part of the subject.” So the official practice is not to reorder them,
I’m not colorblind but I’ve taken the test a dozen times and I’ve never seen a technician do them out of order. They sometimes start with a random page but I’ve never seen them mix plates around.
And if you are colorblind you can see enough fragments so that you can easily remember the answer and cheat.
To prove my point (which I’m relishing because JDCavo is so very rarely wrong!) here’s what the test looks like with the color stripped out:
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There are actually 4 plates that you only see IF you are colorblind… and the testers usually show you the first one. This may be why some people think they have “trouble” with the test.
The bottom line is the test is very good at determining color blindness in an honest person but terrible at detecting it in a dishonest one.
[QUOTE=ryanwood86;116853]I didn’t ask to buy a copy nor study it, I only asked why a much simpler test wasn’t used. It seems a lot of people have trouble with it.[/QUOTE]
It doesn’t get any simpler than Ishihara, or others like it (Richmond, et al). Show a page from a book, and if they can read it, they’re good. Farnsworth Lantern and some others are far more complex and need special (expensive) equipment. Requiring everyone to use Farnsworth would result in far fewedr doctors being able to give the test, and increased cost to the mariner. I don’t think the benefit to those small few who can pass Farnsworth but not Ishihara, et al outweighs the burden and expense to everyone else. If ou’re in that small minority, go find a Farnsworth test. But the overwhelming majority who are not on the cusp should have the flexibility to use any medically recognized test.
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[QUOTE=domer;116865]…here’s what the test looks like with the color stripped out:
(Image redacted)
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Color vision deficient persons don’t see things in grey scale like your maipulated plates.
Dishonest person have more than way to get a fraudulent credential. Also, as I noted above, do you think the added cost and burden of making everyone get the Fasrnsworth test is justified by preventing a miniscule number of people who are dishonest and color blind from getting a deck license ?
[QUOTE=“jdcavo;116876”]
It doesn’t get any simpler than Ishihara, or others like it (Richmond, et al). Show a page from a book, and if they can read it, they’re good. Farnsworth Lantern and some others are far more complex and need special (expensive) equipment. Requiring everyone to use Farnsworth would result in far fewedr doctors being able to give the test, and increased cost to the mariner. I don’t think the benefit to those small few who can pass Farnsworth but not Ishihara, et al outweighs the burden and expense to everyone else. If ou’re in that small minority, go find a Farnsworth test. But the overwhelming majority who are not on the cusp should have the flexibility to use any medically recognized test.
[/QUOTE]
Again I only asked why people can’t just pick out colors in the doctor’s office, like a red pen or blue tiles or green tables, etc. Now the doc office doesn’t have to spend any money on any books or fancy machines and you can’t get any simpler than that.
uscg.mil/nmc website ‘marine saftey manual’
- Color Blindness. Certain applicants such as Masters, mates, pilots or operators of vessels
up to 100 GT or OUTV on river routes, who do not meet the color sense requirements may
be issued a restricted license. These licenses shall have the following notation on the front
of the license: “Limited to daylight hours only.”
b. Color Vision. The required tests for color vision are specified in the regulations and
on the reverse of the Form CG-719K for deck officers. A deck officer must pass one
of these prescribed tests. An exception may be made for restricted Inland routes.
They may have their licenses endorsed “Vision Waiver: Restricted to daylight
operation only.” In granting a waiver the area (route) of operation must also be
considered. If it is unreasonable to expect that the applicant would be able to comply
with this restriction, additional area restrictions may be placed on the license. An
example would be a license limited to a specific geographic area, e.g., “Montauk
Point, N.Y. to Martha’s Vineyard.” The expectation is that the licensee would be able
to comply with the daylight only operation.
I was able to pass ishihara test perfectly though somewhat slow. So I decided to take up farnsworth test and found out that I have deuteranomalia towards green. I can distinguish red from green and all primary color. It’s just that I have problems when it comes to arranging them according their shades. I’m planning to take up Marine Engineering but I’m afraid that I won’t excel as one. Should I pursue my dream or choose another path?