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.

70: What is the vertical clearance of the Natchez-Vidalia Highway Bridge (westbound) when the river level is the same as the Low Water Reference Plane (6.5 feet)?
110: As you pass under the Baton Rouge RR and Highway 190 bridge you receive a call from another tow upriver. What channel on the VHF should you be monitoring?
120: You estimate the current as 2.5 mph. What is the speed over the ground?
203: At 1800, your position is LAT 41°06.5'N, LONG 71°43.5'W. How would the buoy which bears 030°T from your position at a range of approximately 0.5 mile be painted? 

    N a. Horizontally banded, red over green
    Y b. Horizontally banded, green over red
    N c. Vertically striped, red and green
    N d. Solid green with red letters "BIS"
296: At 1800, Tue Marshes Light bears 264.5°pgc, York Spit Swash Channel Light "3" bears 007°pgc. Your position is __________. 

    N a. LAT 37°15.5'N,  LONG 76°19.8'W
    N b. LAT 37°15.2'N,  LONG 76°20.3'W
    Y c. LAT 37°14.5'N,  LONG 76°20.1'W
    N d. LAT 37°15.0'N,  LONG 76°20.4'W
309: A vessel at LAT 14°10'N, LONG 61°00'W is to proceed to LAT 10°00'N, LONG 53°23'W. What is the course and distance by mid-latitude sailing? 

    N a. 117.3°T, 503.0 miles
    N b. 117.9°T, 504.0 miles
    N c. 118.6°T, 508.0 miles
    Y d. 119.2°T, 512.0 miles
322: From your 2200 fix, you steer course 288°T to travel up the Thimble Shoal North Auxiliary Channel. If you are making good 6.0 knots, at what time would you expect to pass buoy "18" at the west end of the channel? (There are no set and drift.) 

    N a. 2355
    Y b. 2344
    N c. 2335
    N d. 2324
348: At 0430, you take the following radar ranges:

Stratford Point Light @ 5.25 nm
Middle Ground Light @ 4.55 nm

What is your 0430 position? 

    N a. LAT 41°08.9'N, LONG 73°00.0'W
    N b. LAT 41°05.0'N, LONG 73°01.1'W
    Y c. LAT 41°05.8'N, LONG 73°00.8'W
    N d. LAT 41°06.5'N, LONG 73°01.4'W
377: You depart LAT 22°35.0'N, LONG 157°30.0'W, and steam 4505.0 miles on course 135°T. What are the latitude and longitude of your arrival by Mercator sailing? 

    Y a. 30°30.5'S, 102°35.3'W
    N b. 30°30.5'S, 104°30.0'W
    N c. 32°20.0'S, 102°35.3'W
    N d. 32°20.0'S, 104°30.0'W
527: You depart LAT 25°54'N, LONG 9°38'E and steam 592 miles on course 270°. What is the longitude of arrival? 

    N a. 1°20'E
    N b. 0°40'E
    N c. 0°40'W
    Y d. 1°20'W
596: At 0921, on 24 July, you are abreast the St. Catherine Bar Lt. (mile 348.6 AHP). If you are turning for 10.0 mph, what was the current since departure? 

    N a. 1.4 mph
    Y b. 1.7 mph
    N c. 2.0 mph
    N d. 7.0 mph
658: You are planning a voyage by great circle from LAT 59°00'N, LONG 07°00'W via LAT 38°00'N, LONG 61°30'W. Which of the following statements is TRUE? (Use gnomonic tracking chart WOXZC 5274) 

    N a. You are to the east of the Northern Hemisphere vertex.
    N b. When plotted on a Mercator chart the track line will be concave to Cape Farwell (Kap Farvel).
    Y c. All courses are in the southwest quadrant of the compass.
    N d. Distance is measured by using the length of a degree of latitude at the midpoint of the track line.
685: What company does NOT have a marine facility along the river bank in Madison Parish (mile 457.0 AHP)? 

    N a. Complex Chemical Co.
    N b. Delta Southern Railroads
    Y c. Baxter Wilson Steam
    N d. Farm Chemical
751: On 16 July , at 2000 zone time, you take a sextant observation of Polaris. Your vessel's DR position is LAT 27°22.0'N, LONG 148°35.0'W, and your sextant reads 26°57.5'. Your chronometer reads 05h 59m 16s, and your chronometer error is 01m 28s slow. Your height of eye is 48 feet, and the index error for your sextant is 1.3' off the arc. What is the latitude of your vessel from your observation of Polaris? 

    N a. 26°52.1'N
    N b. 26°58.8'N
    Y c. 27°36.1'N
    N d. 27°43.4'N
983: On 17 January , your 0730 zone time position was LAT 22°26.0'N, LONG 152°17.0'E. Your vessel was steaming on course 136°T at a speed of 17.0 knots. An observation of the Sun's lower limb was made at 1015 ZT. The chronometer read 00h 13m 23s and was slow 01m 49s. The observed altitude (Ho) was 40°25.7'. LAN occurred at 1222 zone time. The observed altitude (Ho) was 47°48.1'. What was the longitude of your 1200 zone time running fix? 

    N a. LONG 153°04.2'E
    N b. LONG 153°08.3'E
    Y c. LONG 153°13.1'E
    N d. LONG 153°18.6'E
1117: What is the length of the trip? 

    N a. 720.8 miles
    N b. 777.4 miles
    Y c. 897.2 miles
    N d. 906.3 miles
1135: The low water reference plane (LWRP) for Bayou Sara is 5.25 feet. If the Bayou Sara Gage reads -0.5 feet, what is the water level in relation to the low water reference plane? 

    N a. 4.75 feet above the plane
    N b. 5.75 feet above the plane
    Y c. 5.75 feet below the plane
    N d. 4.75 feet below the plane
1211: It is 15 July and you are keeping +7 zone time. You are on course 095°, speed 16 knots. Your 0800 DR position is LAT 25°39.4'N, LONG 129°46.2'W. What is the time of the second estimate of LAN by ship's clocks? 

    N a. 13h 40m 17s
    Y b. 13h 38m 26s
    N c. 12h 42m 20s
    N d. 12h 38m 20s
1237: At 1118, on 24 May, you pass Natchez Gage and estimate the current will average 3.0 mph for the remainder of the time on the Mississippi River. What is your ETA at Cairo, IL if you continue to turn for 10 mph? 

    N a. 0840, 26 May
    N b. 2218, 26 May
    Y c. 2339, 27 May
    N d. 0339, 28 May
1277: On 22 June , your 0400 zone time DR position is LAT 23°00'N, LONG 81°45'W. You are steaming on course 110°T at a speed of 8.6 knots. What will be the zone time of sunrise at your vessel? 

    N a. 0537
    Y b. 0541
    N c. 0545
    N d. 0547
1304: At 1000, on May 11th, you are passing George Prince Lt. (mile 364.1 AHP) in Natchez, Mississippi and must send an ETA to the Monsanto Terminal in St. Louis (mile 178.0 UMR). Your engines are still turning for 8.5 mph and you estimate the current at 2.5 mph. What will be your arrival time in St. Louis? 

    N a. 1919 on 15 May
    N b. 2344 on 15 May
    N c. 1113 on 16 May
    Y d. 1757 on 16 May
1484: On 7 December , your vessel's 0835 zone time DR position is LAT 28°30.0'N, LONG 125°39.3'W, when an azimuth of the Sun is observed. The chronometer time of the sight is 04h 34m 48s, and the Sun is bearing 113° per standard magnetic compass. The chronometer error is 01m 24s slow, and the variation in the area is 13.0°E. What is the deviation of the standard magnetic compass? 

    N a. 0.7°E
    N b. 1.0°W
    Y c. 2.3°E
    N d. 3.0°W
1500: On September 9 , your 2130 zone time (ZD +5) DR position is LAT 45°08'N, LONG 82°38'W. At that time, you observe Polaris bearing 000.5°pgc. The chronometer time of the observation is 02h 26m 09s, and the chronometer is 1m 43s slow. The variation is 8.7°W. What is the gyro error? 

    Y a. 0.7°E
    N b. 1.2°E
    N c. 0.8°W
    N d. 9.4°W
1548: As you approach Buckridge Light (mile 412.5 AHP),
which type of daymark would you see on the light structure? 

    N a. Red diamond
    N b. Red triangle
    N c. Green diamond
    Y d. Green square
1686: Which light characteristics does Ben Burman Lt. (mile 235.0 AHP) have? 

    N a. 1 red flash every 5 seconds
    N b. 2 white flashes every 5 seconds
    N c. 2 green flashes every 5 seconds
    Y d. 2 red flashes every 5 seconds
1722: You estimate the current as 2.0 mph. What is the speed over the ground? 

    N a. 4.5 mph
    Y b. 5.5 mph
    N c. 7.5 mph
    N d. 9.5 mph
1737: At 1227, on 19 October, you pass under the Greenville Highway Bridge (mile 531.3 AHP). What speed must you average to arrive at Jimmy Hawken Light (mile 663.5 AHP) at 1045 the following day? 

    N a. 5.2 mph
    N b. 5.6 mph
    Y c. 5.9 mph
    N d. 6.3 mph
1756: You pass Hole in Wall Light at 1200, 24 May. What is your ETA off the Mhoon Landing Gage if you average 6.5 mph? 

    N a. 0152, 26 May
    N b. 0426, 26 May
    N c. 1128, 26 May
    Y d. 1221, 26 May
1855: On 22 July , your 0442 ZT DR position is LAT 26°35.6'N, LONG 22°16.7'W. You observe an unidentified star bearing 112°T, at an observed altitude (Ho) of 44°16.0'. The chronometer reads 05h 39m 03s and is 03m 14s slow. What star did you observe? 

    N a. Hamal
    N b. Rigel
    Y c. Menkar
    N d. Acamar
1899: On 22 May , your 0437 DR position is LAT 25°18.5'N, LONG 51°18.0'W. You observe an unidentified star bearing 116°T at an observed altitude (Ho) of 11°27.8'. The chronometer reads 07h 40m 40s, and is 03m 24s fast. What star did you observe? 

    N a. Markab
    Y b. Diphda
    N c. Sabik
    N d. Hamal
2103: On 24 August , in DR position LAT 26°49.4'N, LONG 146°19.4'E, you observe an amplitude of the Sun. The Sun's center is on the celestial horizon and bears 084°psc. The chronometer reads 07h 55m 06s and is 01m 11s fast. Variation in the area is 15°W. What is the deviation of the magnetic compass? 

    N a. 8.0°E
    Y b. 8.3°E
    N c. 8.5°E
    N d. 8.7°E
2688: While on a course of 214°pgc, a light bears 9° on the port bow at a distance of 7.4 miles. What course should you steer to pass 2 miles abeam of the light leaving it to port? 

    N a. 189°pgc
    N b. 209°pgc
    Y c. 221°pgc
    N d. 229°pgc
2865: You are steering a course of 240°T, and a lighthouse bears 025° on the starboard bow at 2116. At 2144 the same lighthouse bears 050° on the starboard bow, and you have run 6 miles since the first bearing. What is the ETA when the lighthouse is abeam? 

    N a. 2156
    N b. 2159
    Y c. 2202
    N d. 2205
2879: Your vessel is steering 354°T at 14 knots. At 0317 a light bears 049°T, and at 0342 the same light bears 071°T. What will be your distance off abeam? 

    Y a. 12.4 miles
    N b. 12.7 miles
    N c. 13.0 miles
    N d. 13.3 miles
3107: You are turning 68 RPM, with a propeller pitch of 18 feet, and an estimated slip of +2%. What is the speed of advance? 

    N a. 10.7 knots
    N b. 11.5 knots
    Y c. 11.8 knots
    N d. 12.3 knots
3472: You are taking a time tick using the 2000 signal from Kekaha-Kauai, Hawaii (WWVH). You hear a series of 1 second dashes followed by a 9 second silent period, then a long 1.3 second dash. At the beginning of the long dash, your comparing watch reads 08h 00m 49s. When compared to the chronometer, the comparing watch reads 08h 01m 33s, and the chronometer reads 08h 00m 56s. What is the chronometer error? 

    Y a. 0m 12s fast
    N b. 0m 56s fast
    N c. 0m 44s slow
    N d. 1m 26s slow
3611: The track line on the chart is 274°T. Variation is 4°E, and deviation is 2°E. The gyro error is 1.5°E. What course would be steered by gyrocompass to make good the desired course? 

    N a. 280.5°pgc
    N b. 278.0°pgc
    N c. 275.5°pgc
    Y d. 272.5°pgc
3650: The true course between two points is 194°. Your gyrocompass has an error of 2°W and you make an allowance of 1° leeway for a southwest wind. What gyro course should you steer to make the true course good? 

    N a. 193°pgc
    N b. 195°pgc
    Y c. 197°pgc
    N d. 199°pgc
12210: You sight New Haven Outer Channel Range Rear Light in line with the Outer Channel Range Front Light bearing 343° per standard magnetic compass. What is your compass error? 

    N a. 5°E
    N b. 5°W
    N c. 9°E
    Y d. 9°W
12602: You are on course 087° per standard magnetic compass (psc) when you take the following bearings: Falkner Island Light - 022.0°psc Horton Point Light - 111.5°psc Mt. Sinai Breakwater Light - 254.0°psc What is your position? 

    N a. LAT 41°13.6'N, LONG 72°46.6'W
    N b. LAT 41°10.5'N, LONG 72°40.5'W
    N c. LAT 41°07.0'N, LONG 72°44.5'W
    Y d. LAT 41°06.8'N, LONG 72°40.7'W
13400: You are going to anchor at Gardiners Bay in LAT 41°04.5'N, LONG 72°13.0'W. What type of bottom should you expect? 

    N a. Streaked mud
    N b. Sand
    N c. Hard rocks
    Y d. Soft mud
15060: At 0802, the radar range and bearing to Branford Reef Light are 350°pgc at 0.8 mile, and the north point of Falkner Island are 090°pgc at 6.7 miles. What were the set and drift that you encountered since 0740? 

    N a. Set 085°T, drift .2 knot
    Y b. Set 085°T, drift .6 knot
    N c. Set 265°T, drift .2 knot
    N d. Set 265°T, drift .6 knot
15245: After departing the New Haven terminals, your 1800 position puts the New Haven Harbor Lighted Bell Buoy "NH" bearing 130°T at a range of 0.2 mile. From this position you set a course to leave Stratford Shoal Middle Ground Light 1.0 mile off your starboard beam. Your speed is 12.5 knots. At 1845 you determine your position to be LAT 41°05.5'N,
LONG 73°03.1'W. What were the set and drift of the current? 

    N a. 294°T at 0.5 knot
    Y b. 294°T at 0.8 knot
    N c. 114°T at 0.5 knot
    N d. 114°T at 0.8 knot
15265: Orient Point Light is __________. 

    N a. lighted only during daytime when the sound signal is in operation
    N b. maintained only from May 1 to Oct 1
    N c. 64 feet (19.4 meters) above mean low water
    Y d. lighted throughout 24 hours
15361: Your 0530 position is LAT 41°04.9'N, LONG 73°01.1'W. What is the course per standard magnetic compass to a position 1.0 mile south of Twenty Eight Foot Shoal "TE"
buoy? 

    N a. 082.0°psc
    N b. 092.5°psc
    N c. 096.0°psc
    Y d. 099.5°psc
15366: At 0615 you change course to 078°T. If there is no current, when will Falkner Island Light be abeam? 

    N a. 0750
    N b. 0743
    N c. 0735
    Y d. 0730
15511: From your 1830 fix, you come left to a course of 290°T.
Which of the following statements concerning Watch Hill Light is FALSE? 

    N a. The nominal range of its white light is 15 miles.
    N b. It displays both red and white lights.
    N c. Its horn blasts every 30 seconds in fog.
    Y d. Its geographic range is 18.5 miles at a 35 foot (10.7 meter) height of eye.
15638: At 2009 you are leaving New London Harbor with buoy "2"
close abeam to port. What is the true course to the Race that will leave Race Rock Light 0.5 mile abeam to port? 

    N a. 156°
    N b. 160°
    Y c. 164°
    N d. 168°
15642: At 2030 you take the following radar ranges:

Race Rock Light 2.1 miles
Latimer Reef Light 6.4 miles

If you estimate an average current of 080°T at 1.5 knots,
which course will you steer per gyrocompass to leave Endeavor Shoals Gong Buoy bearing 270°T at 1.5 miles? 

    N a. 115°
    N b. 118°
    N c. 124°
    Y d. 127°
15718: Your vessel is entering New London Harbor Channel. If there is no current, what should you steer per gyro compass to stay on the range? 

    Y a. 351°
    N b. 354°
    N c. 357°
    N d. 006°
15728: What company does NOT have a marine facility along the river bank in Helena (mile 658 to 665 AHP)? 

    Y a. Helena Grain Co.
    N b. Helena Port Terminal, Inc.
    N c. Arkansas Power & Light Co.
    N d. Texas Eastern Pipeline Co.
15829: A stretch where the channel changes from one side of the river to the other is called a __________. 

    N a. passing
    N b. transit
    N c. transfer
    Y d. crossing
16070: When exiting Thimble Shoal Channel bound for Norfolk, the track line based on the lights of the Norfolk Entrance Reach Range is __________. 

    N a. 220°T
    N b. 222°T
    Y c. 224°T
    N d. 228°T
16443: As you transit the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, you take a gyro bearing of trestle C when it is in line. The gyro bearing was 050°. At that time, the helmsman noted that he was heading 139°pgc and 146° per standard magnetic compass. What is the deviation? 

    Y a. 2°E
    N b. 0°
    N c. 2°W
    N d. 4°W
16520: Which chart should you use to enter Great Salt Pond? 

    N a. 13214
    N b. 13205
    Y c. 13217
    N d. 13207