USCG Navigation Problems: Master's License

This is an interactive test. Read each question and select the proper answer by clicking on the appropriate answer. If a "Y" appears, your choice is correct. If a "N" appears, more study may be in order.

73: The area between Island 67 Upper Light (mile 623.1 AHP) and Sunflower Cut-off Foot Light (mile 624.8 AHP) is known as a __________.
189: At 0645, Watch Hill Point (left tangent) bears 316.5°pgc at 2.75 miles. What was the speed made good between 0600 and 0645?
222: From your 1815 position, you want to make good a course of 263°T. Your engines are turning RPM's for 12 knots. The current is 050°T at 1.9 knots. Adjusting your course for set and drift, at what time should you expect to enter the red sector of Cape Henry Light?
234: Which structure should you look for while trying to locate Southwest Ledge Light? 

    Y a. White octagonal house on a cylindrical pier
    N b. White conical tower with a brown band midway of height
    N c. Conical tower, upper half white, lower half brown
    N d. Black skeleton tower on a granite dwelling
277: What chart should you use after you enter New London Harbor? 

    N a. 13211
    N b. 13214
    Y c. 13213
    N d. 13272
333: From your noon position, if there is no set and drift, what is your course per standard magnetic compass to the "NCA" (LL #375) buoy? 

    N a. 221°psc
    N b. 219°psc
    Y c. 217°psc
    N d. 215°psc
343: While on a heading of 082°T, you sight Middle Ground Light in line with Old Field Point Light bearing 206° per standard magnetic compass. From this you can determine the __________. 

    Y a. deviation table is correct for that heading
    N b. variation
    N c. compass error is 17.5°E
    N d. deviation is 3.5°E for a bearing of 206° per standard magnetic compass
373: What is your ETA at point "A"? 

    N a. 0702
    N b. 0655
    Y c. 0651
    N d. 0640
424: From your 0530 position, you set a course of 271°psc with an engine speed of 9 knots. At 0645, Cornfield Safe-Water Buoy is abeam to starboard. What speed have you averaged since 0530? 

    N a. 9.5 knots
    N b. 9.0 knots
    Y c. 8.6 knots
    N d. 7.5 knots
434: As you enter the New Haven Outer Channel, you sight the outer range markers in line directly ahead. Your heading at this time is 347°psc. What is your compass deviation by observation? 

    N a. 4.5°West
    N b. 3.5°West
    N c. 3.0°East
    Y d. 0.5°East
610: At 0820 zone time, on 10 April , you depart Yokohoma, LAT 35°27.0'N, LONG 139°39.0'E (ZD -9). You are bound for Honolulu, LAT 21°18.5'N, LONG 157°52.2'W (ZD +10) and you estimate your speed of advance at 17.5 knots. The distance is 3,397 miles. What is your estimated zone time of arrival at Honolulu? 

    N a. 0127, 17 April
    Y b. 1527, 17 April
    N c. 0127, 18 April
    N d. 0927, 18 April
612: At 0530 zone time, on 20 December , you depart Cape Town (ZD -1). You are bound for New York (ZD +5), and you estimate your speed of advance at 25 knots. The distance is 6,762 miles. What is your estimated zone time of arrival at New York? 

    N a. 1200, 31 December
    N b. 1100, 31 December
    N c. 0700, 31 December
    Y d. 0600, 31 December
653: On which voyage would a great circle track be significantly shorter than a rhumb line track? (Use gnomonic tracking chart WOXZC 5274) 

    Y a. Savannah, GA, to Lisbon, Portugal
    N b. Dublin, Ireland (Irish Sea), to La Coruna, Spain (LAT 43°22'N, LONG 8°24'W)
    N c. Reykjavik, Iceland, to Lisbon, Portugal
    N d. Boston to Sable Island
667: You are planning a voyage from departure Seattle (LAT 48°30'N, LONG 125°00'W) to a position at LAT 44°00'N, LONG 161°00'E. Which statement is TRUE? (Use gnomonic chart WOXZC 5270.) 

    N a. You must plot a composite sailing to remain south of the Aleutians.
    N b. The northern hemisphere vertex lies to the west of your arrival position.
    Y c. Military exercises north of 53°N, between 150°W and 165°W, will not affect your voyage.
    N d. At your highest latitude, the sun will be visible at upper  and lower transit if the voyage occurs on 21 June.
706: The solid lines extending into the channel at mile 948 AHP are __________. 

    N a. revetments
    Y b. dikes
    N c. spoil areas
    N d. Westvaco Service Facilities
706: The solid lines extending into the channel at mile 948 AHP are __________. 

    N a. revetments
    Y b. dikes
    N c. spoil areas
    N d. Westvaco Service Facilities
812: On 28 July , your 0800 zone time (ZT) fix gives you a position of LAT 25°16.0'N, LONG 71°19.0'W. Your vessel is on course 026°T, and your speed is 17.5 knots. Local apparent noon (LAN) occurs at 1150 ZT, at which time a meridian altitude of the Sun's lower limb is observed. The observed altitude (Ho) for this sight is 82°28.7'. What is the latitude at 1200 ZT? 

    N a. 26°25.0'N
    Y b. 26°27.6'N
    N c. 26°29.8'N
    N d. 26°32.0'N
812: On 28 July , your 0800 zone time (ZT) fix gives you a position of LAT 25°16.0'N, LONG 71°19.0'W. Your vessel is on course 026°T, and your speed is 17.5 knots. Local apparent noon (LAN) occurs at 1150 ZT, at which time a meridian altitude of the Sun's lower limb is observed. The observed altitude (Ho) for this sight is 82°28.7'. What is the latitude at 1200 ZT? 

    N a. 26°25.0'N
    Y b. 26°27.6'N
    N c. 26°29.8'N
    N d. 26°32.0'N
1097: On 9 November , your 0400 DR position is LAT 18°24.0'S, LONG 97°36.0'W. You are on course 138°T at a speed of 16 knots. You observed 3 celestial bodies. Determine the latitude and longitude of your 0600 running fix. NP-0027

    N a. LAT 18°15.0'S, LONG 98°52.5'W
    Y b. LAT 18°45.0'S, LONG 97°06.8'W
    N c. LAT 18°52.5'S, LONG 97°10.6'W
    N d. LAT 19°15.5'S, LONG 98°08.8'W
1194: On 16 January your 0930 ZT DR position is LAT 26°07.0'S, LONG 51°43.0'E. Your vessel is on course 238°T at a speed of 17.0 knots. What is the ZT of local apparent noon (LAN)? 

    Y a. 1145
    N b. 1148
    N c. 1152
    N d. 1156
1422: What organization has an installation at the uppermost end of Carthage Revetment? 

    N a. U.S. Coast Guard
    Y b. River Cement Co.
    N c. U.S. Army Corps. of Engineers
    N d. International Paper Co.
1426: What is the total length of the trip? 

    N a. 910.6 miles
    N b. 901.4 miles
    N c. 900.7 miles
    Y d. 873.7 miles
1487: On 5 June , your 0420 zone time DR position is LAT 26°47.0'N, LONG 133°19.5'W. At that time, you observe Vega bearing 298.1°psc. The chronometer reads 01h 21m 17s, and the chronometer error is 02m 25s fast. The variation is 3.5°E. What is the deviation of the standard compass? 

    N a. 1.8°E
    N b. 5.2°E
    Y c. 1.8°W
    N d. 5.2°W
1668: On 20 June , your vessel's 1955 ZT DR position is LAT 52°38.9'N, LONG 03°42.7'E, when an amplitude of the Sun is observed. The Sun's center is on the visible horizon and bears 311° per gyrocompass. Variation in the area is 6°W. At the time of the observation, the helmsman noted that he was heading 352° per gyrocompass and 358° per steering compass. What is the gyro error and deviation for that heading? 

    N a. 1.3°W  GE, 1.3°E DEV
    N b. 0.0° GE, 0.0° DEV
    N c. 1.3°W  GE, 1.3°W DEV
    Y d. 1.3°E  GE, 1.3°E DEV
1680: On 31 October , your 1700 zone time DR position is LAT 27°17.0'N, LONG 116°10.0'W, when an amplitude of the Sun is observed. The Sun's center is on the visible horizon and bears 246.5° per standard magnetic compass. Variation in the area is 8.5°E. The chronometer reads 01h 01m 23s and the chronometer error is 01m 54s slow. What is the deviation of the standard compass? 

    N a. 0.8°E
    Y b. 0.8°W
    N c. 2.5°E
    N d. 2.5°W
1708: At 0300 on 19 April, you pass under the Greenville Bridge (mile 531.3 AHP). What was your average speed since departing Amoco Pipeline Co. Docks (mile 253.6 AHP)? 

    N a. 6.2 mph
    N b. 5.2 mph
    N c. 4.8 mph
    Y d. 4.3 mph
1775: At 1412 you increase speed to make good 10.2 mph. At 1506 you have a daymark on your port beam. Which daymark is this? 

    N a. Bessie Daymark
    Y b. Nolan Light
    N c. Everetts Light
    N d. Marr Towhead Light
1868: On 12 June , your 1945 DR position is LAT 21°47.0'N, LONG 46°52.0'W when you observe a faint unidentifiable star through a break in the clouds. The star bears 130°T at a sextant altitude (hs) of 45°21.2'. The index error is 0.5' on the arc, and the height of eye is 45 feet. The chronometer reads 10h 43m 27s, and the chronometer error is 1m 46s slow. What star did you observe? 

    N a. Theta Carinae
    N b. Epsilon Leonis
    Y c. Beta Librae
    N d. Zeta Puppis
2007: On 4 September , your 1813 zone time DR position is LAT 24°18.0'S, LONG 95°16.0'E. Considering their magnitude, azimuth, and altitude, which group includes the three stars best suited for a fix at star time? 

    N a. Enif, Miaplacidus, Alkaid
    N b. Betelgeuse, Acrux, Hamal
    Y c. Rasalhague, Fomalhaut, Spica
    N d. Deneb, Altair, Vega
2584: At 1930 you obtain two radar ranges: Hammonasset Point at 4.1 miles and the East side of Falkner Island at 7.6 miles. What is your position? 

    N a. LAT 41°11.2'N,  LONG 072°30.6'W
    Y b. LAT 41°11.7'N,  LONG 072°29.2'W
    N c. LAT 41°11.8'N,  LONG 072°29.6'W
    N d. LAT 41°11.9'N,  LONG 072°29.2'W
2909: You are running coastwise at 14 knots. You sight a lighthouse abeam at 0912. At 0939 the lighthouse is 4 points abaft the beam. What is your distance off at the second bearing? 

    N a. 5.5 miles
    N b. 6.3 miles
    N c. 7.8 miles
    Y d. 8.9 miles
3068: Your vessel's propeller has a pitch of 22'06". From 0530, 19 March, to 1930, 20 March, the average RPM was 82. The distance run by observation was 721.5 miles. What was the slip? 

    N a. +4%
    Y b. -4%
    N c. +7%
    N d. -7%
3071: If the speed necessary for reaching port at a designated time is 20.7 knots and the pitch of the propeller is 23.8 feet, how many revolutions per minute will the shaft have to turn, assuming a 3% negative slip? 

    N a. 74
    N b. 79
    Y c. 86
    N d. 98
3097: If the pitch of the propeller is 19.4 feet, and the revolutions per day are 96,713, calculate the day's run allowing 6% positive slip. 

    N a. 266.4 miles
    Y b. 290.1 miles
    N c. 308.6 miles
    N d. 327.1 miles
3262: You have steamed 632 miles at 18.5 knots, and consumed 197 tons of fuel. If you have 278 tons of usable fuel remaining, how far can you steam at 15.0 knots? 

    N a. 681 miles
    N b. 892 miles
    N c. 1100 miles
    Y d. 1357 miles
3268: Your vessel arrives in port with sufficient fuel to steam 595 miles at 14 knots. If you are unable to take on bunkers, at what speed must you proceed to reach your next port, 707 miles distant? 

    N a. 12.2 knots
    N b. 12.5 knots
    Y c. 12.8 knots
    N d. 14.4 knots
4012: You swung ship and compared the magnetic compass against the gyro compass to find deviation. Gyro error is 2°W. The variation is 8°W. Find the deviation on a magnetic compass heading of 210°.
HEADING HEADING HEADING
PSC PGC PSC PGC PSC PGC
358.5° - 354° 122.5° - 114° 239.5° - 234°
030.5° - 024° 152.0° - 144° 269.0° - 264°
061.5° - 054° 181.0° - 174° 298.0° - 294°
092.0° - 084° 210.0° - 204° 327.5° - 324° 

    Y a. 0.0°
    N b. 0.5°W
    N c. 0.5°E
    N d. 1.0°E
4017: You swung ship and compared the magnetic compass against the gyro compass to find deviation. Gyro error is 2°E. The variation is 8°W. Find the deviation on a gyro heading of 196°.
HEADING HEADING HEADING
PSC PGC PSC PGC PSC PGC
358.5° - 350° 122.5° - 110° 239.5° - 230°
030.5° - 020° 152.0° - 140° 269.0° - 260°
061.5° - 050° 181.0° - 170° 298.0° - 290°
092.0° - 080° 210.0° - 200° 327.5° - 320° 

    N a. 2.0°E
    N b. 2.0°W
    N c. 1.0°W
    Y d. 0.0°
10303: Determine the course per standard magnetic compass from 0.2 mile south of Race Rock Light (LAT 41°14.6'N, LONG 72°02.8'W) to the entrance of the channel to Lake Montauk (west of Montauk Point). 

    N a. 137.0°psc
    N b. 152.0°psc
    N c. 165.5°psc
    Y d. 168.5°psc
11105: What is the height of the tide at Great Salt Pond on Block Island at the afternoon high water (daylight savings time) on 1 July 1983? 

    N a. 3.9 feet
    N b. 3.0 feet
    N c. 2.4 feet
    Y d. 2.1 feet
11406: At 2021 your position is LAT 41°09.7'N, LONG 72°59.8'W. At 2057 your position is LAT 41°00.5'N, LONG 72°49.5'W. What are your true course and speed made good? 

    Y a. 140° at 20 knots
    N b. 145° at 18 knots
    N c. 316° at 19 knots
    N d. 320° at 17 knots
11506: At 1014 you depart the entrance to Lake Montauk with Light "1" close aboard. Your course is 066° per standard magnetic compass, and the speed is 8.6 knots. At 1238 your position is LAT 41°20.0'N, LONG 71°40.0'W. What is the speed made good? 

    Y a. 8.2 knots
    N b. 8.6 knots
    N c. 8.9 knots
    N d. 9.2 knots
12103: You sight Wolf Trap Light in line with New Point Comfort Spit Light "2" bearing 048° per standard magnetic compass. You are on course 203°psc. Based on this, you know __________. 

    N a. the compass error is 12°W
    N b. the deviation is 9°W
    Y c. that the deviation table is in error
    N d. the deviation is 3°E for bearings of 048° per standard magnetic compass
12507: You are on course 300° per standard magnetic compass (psc) when you take the following bearings: New Point Comfort Spit Light "2" 240°psc Horn Harbor Entrance Light HH 268°psc Wolf Trap Light 003°psc What is the position of the fix? 

    N a. LAT 37°20.8'N, LONG 76°09.6'W
    Y b. LAT 37°20.8'N, LONG 76°11.0'W
    N c. LAT 37°20.9'N, LONG 76°11.5'W
    N d. LAT 37°21.1'N, LONG 76°08.2'W
12509: You are on course 027° per magnetic compass when you take the following bearings per magnetic compass: New Point Comfort Light "2" 253°
Horn Harbor Entrance Light HH 282°
Wolf Trap Light 348°
What is the position of the fix? 

    N a. LAT 37°19.4'N, LONG 76°09.5'W
    N b. LAT 37°19.4'N, LONG 76°09.8'W
    N c. LAT 37°19.7'N, LONG 76°10.3'W
    Y d. LAT 37°19.7'N, LONG 76°09.9'W
13104: At 0242 your position is LAT 41°16.8'N, LONG 71°39.9'W. You are turning for 9.3 knots. What is your ETA at the West Gap of Pt. Judith Harbor of Refuge? 

    N a. 0319
    N b. 0325
    N c. 0329
    Y d. 0336
14502: You are proceeding in an easterly direction on the Columbia River. The pool level of the Bonneville reservoir stands at 84 feet above MSL. If the highest point on your vessel is 49 feet above the water, what will be the vertical clearance as you pass under the center of the Bridge of the Gods? 

    Y a. 74.0 feet
    N b. 86.0 feet
    N c. 97.5 feet
    N d. 123 feet
15216: Which of the following concerning Thimble Shoal Channel is TRUE? 

    N a. Only deep-draft passenger ships and large naval vessels may use the main channel.
    N b. The channel is 14.5 miles in length.
    Y c. A tow drawing 20 feet is excluded from the main channel.
    N d. Thimble Shoal Channel is in international waters.
15263: What do the dotted lines around Goose Island and Kimberly Reef represent? 

    N a. Danger soundings
    N b. Breakers
    N c. Tide rips
    Y d. Depth contours
15611: From your 1815 position, you want to make good a course of 263°T. Your engines are turning RPM's for 12 knots. The current is 050°T at 1.9 knots. Adjusting your course for set and drift, at what time should you expect to enter the red sector of Cape Henry Light? 

    N a. 1849
    N b. 1854
    N c. 1859
    Y d. 1904
15810: You alter course from your 0045 position to head for a point 0.5 mile north of Mattituck Breakwater Light "MI". If the visibility is 10 miles and you make good 9 knots, at approximately what time will you lose sight of Saybrook Breakwater Light? 

    N a. You have already lost sight at 0045
    Y b. 0055
    N c. 0120
    N d. The light is visible all the way to Mattituck Inlet
15916: If you correct for the current in the preceding question (215°T at 0.5 knot) and maintain an engine speed of 7.5 knots, what is your ETA 0.5 mile south of buoy "W"? 

    N a. 1016
    N b. 1021
    Y c. 1026
    N d. 1030
16038: At 0820 Old Field Point Light bears 206° per gyrocompass,
and Stratford Shoals Middle Ground Light bears 322° per gyrocompass. The radar range to Middle Ground Light is 1.5 miles. Your 0820 fix gives you a position of __________. 

    N a. LAT 41°02.6'N, LONG 73°05.2'W
    Y b. LAT 41°02.5'N, LONG 73°04.9'W
    N c. LAT 41°02.3'N, LONG 73°05.2'W
    N d. LAT 41°02.0'N, LONG 73°05.1'W
16064: At 2015, your vessel is at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel midway between buoys "13" and "14". If the height of tide is -1 foot (-.3 meter). What is the approximate depth under the keel? 

    N a. 51 feet (15.5 meters)
    Y b. 45 feet (13.6 meters)
    N c. 40 feet (12.1 meters)
    N d. 35 feet (10.6 meters)
16066: Which statement concerning Thimble Shoal Channel is TRUE? 

    Y a. The project width of the main channel is 1000 feet (30.3 meters)
    N b. The channel is 14.5 miles in length.
    N c. A tow drawing 30 feet (9.1 meters) is excluded from the main channel.
    N d. Thimble Shoal Channel is in international waters.
16362: The visibility is about 5 miles. Which statement about Cape Charles Light is TRUE? 

    N a. The light has been visible from the time you departed the anchorage.
    Y b. You should see Cape Charles Light at about 0400.
    N c. The light will become visible when you enter the inbound leg of the traffic separation scheme.
    N d. The light will not be visible until you are within 5 miles of the light.
16838: At 0800 you obtain the following Loran-C readings:

9960-X-27101
9960-Y-41612
9960-Z-58737

What is your vessel's position? 

    N a. LAT 37°20.9'N, LONG 75°29.5'W
    Y b. LAT 37°21.0'N, LONG 75°32.0'W
    N c. LAT 37°19.8'N, LONG 75°30.6'W
    N d. LAT 37°20.8'N, LONG 75°31.2'W