Captains license?

Question

Captains license?

Answer 1

You need a license if you are going to carry people for hire.

There is an Operator Uninspected Passenger Vessel (OUPV) or also know as six pack license.  This is available in inland or near coastal. you have to be at least 18 and have 360 days of seatime.

There is a Master License that allows you to operate USCG inspected vessels that can carry more than 6 passengers. This is also available in Inland or Near Coastal.  Inland requires 360 days of seatime, Near coastal requires 720 days 360 of which need to be on near coastal waters. Master Licenses are issued in 25, 50 and 100 gross ton license.

This is the entry low level licenses, you can continue to 200gt, 500/1600gr ton and unlimited. You need to be at least 19 for a Master License.

Visit the USCG web site at : http://www.uscg.mil/stcw/index.htm

Answer 2

Everything Captain Bill said, except that nowadays the OUPV ("Six Pack", meaning six passengers and cargo) licenses have basically gone away, and are generally only issued to non-US citizens who cannot legally hold a 25/50/100 ton Inland Master's license. The requirements are exactly the same for the two licenses, so there's no point in NOT getting your actual Master's license if you're a US citizen.

Also, a 100 ton license is not necessarily a "learner's permit". It may also be that the license holder has many, many years on really small boats, or even scads of sea time on naval vessels but only limited time on small boats (my own initial license was 50 tons, after 10 years as a US Navy Quartermaster). A friend and mentor of mine who is a rather famous navigator, writer and sailboat racer holds a 100 ton Master Oceans license, which must have been a bureaucratic nightmare.

The better assessment of how "green" a license is would be the number in the upper right-hand corner.