Do I need a USCG captain's license to sail privately for recreation?

Question

Do I need a USCG captain's license to sail privately for recreation?

Answer 1

No, only if you are going to receive payment for running your boat.

Answer 2

No...YOu need that to sail for profit...payed captain or charter captain......situations like that.

Answer 3

You need a captain's license if you are carrying passengers for hire. If you tell someone to pay for the gas or bring the lunch for you, they are in effect paying passengers an you need a license.

To 80's kid: According to current admiralty law in the US, those persons who buy gas or furnish lunch are paying passengers.

Answer 4

No, but you better have all your safety equipment if you are stopped.

Answer 5

you should at least start off with a basic sailing course, available at most High schools under adult ed. programs

Answer 6

As others have said, if you're sailing your own vessel and not collecting fees, then you don't need a USCG license. As has been stated, you need to check your state's regulations regarding Safe Boating courses that are required.

However, I highly recommend taking a USCG captain's course, even if you never plan to actually get the license. What you will learn about safety, planning, navigation, rules of the road, and seamanship will serve you well on any boat you take out, from dinghy to ocean liner.

Answer 7

No offense to Tom, but you DO NOT need a Captains License if someone chips in for gas or brings lunch!  Consider them good friends if they do.

In my state, ALL recreational boaters need to take and pass a boaters safety course, where you get a PWC license (personal watercraft).  This is for power driven vessels.  I'm actually not sure if you need one for a sailboat, but most sailboats have a small engine, and to operate the boat with this engine you would need a license.

Every state is different, so you need to check with your states DEP, local coast guard or coast guard auxillary on the laws.