Were did all the schools to upgrade go?

Injunear- You can self study for any license, but the STCW requirements for each license are diiferent and there is no way around that. I think a lot of people just need a little bit of an excuse not to do something. At the present I have 10 deckhands onboard right now and the only time I see them is when they want to use the phone. In the lounge on their breaks. Not one has come up to me and ask what is that. How does that work? or I want to get a mate’s license, what do I need to do? I have been on this vessel for 5 1/2 years and have only seen 2 get a license (1- a 100 ton Master and 1- a Mate OSV). I have seen guys come out and have their OS for 2 years when it only takes 4 months sea time to get AB OSV. There may be some brain washing going on, but I think it is simply people do not know what to do or they do not want to put the time in to get that extra money. What ever the case may be you can’t do it for them. I am a big promoter of the you can do it type attitude and I often question if that is the right way to be. The reason I say that is because coming up I was always told crap like; you can’t do that or they won’t send you to that school. Or I think you are being a little too ambitious. They will never put you on an anchor boat, there are too many people ahead of you. Maybe I should start telling people they can’t do that or this, because when I heard that crap it made me want it even more. Maybe I am going about it all wrong. Sometimes I throw the money incentive at them. They like talking about it, but very few produce. I am not down talking anybody, this is just reality.

<P>I wouldn’t even lend 8 out of the 10 deckhands my baseball glove much less let them operate the boat.</P>

Our company and union have a pretty good AB to mate program. ( nothing for engineers) Based on seniority and captain’s recomendations, the company pays the base wage while attending and the union provides training, slop and flop.<br> <br>The most frequent complaint I’ve heard from the guys with the time but not seniority is they can’t afford to take off for the schelduled classes while working 30 & 30. (20" rims seem to come first)After my initial look at the stcw requirements for deck, I pointed out to a couple of them that they didn’t have to finish everything at one sitting. My suggestion of studying on board was met with expressions of horror and they didn’t have the time. <br><br>Your observations ring true. I guess the pessimist has a better chance of becoming a prophet.

I would not say it’s the Coast Guard’s “agenda” to push people to courses, but it definitely easier for us if they do, it takes less resources at the REcs if they do. As many as 95% of the applicants for an OUPV license go to a school instead of taking the exam at the REC. Also, with only 17 RECs and 3 exam units, the RECs are not always conveniently located abd schools may be more convenient. Finally, some people need the routine of a course to get them to study, while I studeied for all of my licenbse exams on my own, I definitely needed the kick in the butt of a prep course to maintain the discipline I needed to study for a bar exam. <br><br>So while we don’t have an agenda, we don’t deny that there are pros and cons to each. But I also concede that others in the USCG may give differing information. For example, only this morning we found out that the flashing light is not given at all RECs. (I am probably going to regret bringing this up when this thread goes south and turns into a “discussion” about flashing light…)<br><br>James D. Cavo<br>Chief, Mariner Training & Assessment Division<br>USCG National Maritime Center<br><A href="mailto:James.D.Cavo@uscg.mil]<font color=#3354aa>James.D.Cavo@uscg.mil</font></A>

<P>My skepticism started around 10 years ago during a CG inspection. An officer in the bunch was passing out business cards as a license consultant or some such as he was about to retire. <br><br>A couple of years after that, 2 of my fellow fishing guides and I split the cost ($39) of a study guide for our 100T licenses. Some of the staff of the REC were visibly put-out that we did not test at a school. Some other guides I’ve spoken with recently seemed to be intimidated by the process and opted for OUPV school.</P>
<P>It’s been the same with FCC licenses. One testing center at first refused to test me for GMDSS MAINTAINER without taking their course. </P>
<P>I’ve been called a cynic on another thread. After 38+ years in this business, cynicism is an art-form.</P>

Injunear,<br>I have also become skeptical about the whole process. Over the years the "schools’ issuing certificates which qualify one for a license have contributed to the dumbing down of the US mariner. They b

I have been looking for the sea time needed for a mates license 100-ton but am having trouble finding it. can someone be of assistance. i will be putting in for my AB license 180 sea day all over 100 ton vessels and am looking at getting my master 100-ton in the near future. I thought that the mate license might help me out to secure a position in the bridge. Also is it worth getting an ab license 180- days and also a limited master of vessels not more than 100-ton???<br><div>ken</div><div>chefken@chefken.com</div>

Chefken,<br><br>Take a look at this checklist which can be found at the NMC page for Deck Licenses.<br><br>Hope this answers most of your questions. <br><br>Bookmark the NMC Home Page, as you’ll need to reference that pretty frequently if you stick around in this biz.

Do they have 100 ton mate?? Never heard of it myself. It would always be worth getting anything you qualify for IMHO. Everything can be a stepping stone to the next upgrade and ICO an AB rating, it will be required for you to hold many licenses. I think there are many and more jobs where you can make more $$ as an AB than as a 100ton Capt.

There is no 100 ton Mate license. Vessels under 100 GT are not required to carry a licensed mate, or ABs. You need 720 underway days for a 100 ton Master Near Coastal license, or 360 for a 100 ton Master Inland. I may be wrong but I think your 180 days will get you an AB Special, which is pretty much worthless.<br><br>What determines the worth of any document or license you aspire to is up to you. What do you want to do in this industry? If you want to run tour boats or small passenger vessels, all you’ll need is a 100 ton license. You can also run crewboats with that license. If you want to work on larger vessels you are looking at a long and expensive process. Poke around the threads here and you’ll learn a lot about what’s involved. <br><br>More questions? Ask away.<br><br>CA

CA,<br><br>Sorry, but you are 100% wrong. There is a Mate Scheme for 25/50/100/150, and 200 ton licenses. I provided the link to the NMC checklist, which clearly indicates how the license structure works, and how tonnage is awarded. Mate and Master 200 tons requires further qualifications as indicated.<br><br>In addition, Inspected Vessels of 100 tons or less require manning as per the COI (such as a crewboats), which usually require a Master, a Mate (which can be another licensed Master, or a licensed Mate), and two OS’s. One of these OS’s usually acts in the capacity of an unlicensed engineer.<br><br>Master NC needs 720 days of qualifying service.<br>Mate NC needs 360 days of qualifying service.<br><br>Both licenses can be issued in tonnage limits as low as 25 tons, in lieu of an OUPV.

Wow, I guess I shoulda done my homework. Thanks El Capitan for setting me straight.

Hey, one hand washes the other round here! I’ve learned quite a bit reading your posts as well! Thanks…

<P>In my experience, the mate requirement kicks in for a vessel operating for more than 12 hours. It is the duration of time at sea that is the controlling factor. </P>

Just browsing, and haven’t heard the names Mobil search or T.W. Nelson since early eightys, wonder what ever happened to those vessels

Last I heard they were sold to Western Geo.

I took a Crowd Management course as a requirement on board a vessel i was working on and Thomas Cartier one of the owners was teaching the class. They taught you as well as put you through simulated scenario’s. If given a choice I would choose MPT over any of the others using conveniance as a main reason. I’m in Ft Myers and Fort Lauderdale is only about 4 hrs away.