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.

108: The horizontal clearance of the center span on the Baton Rouge RR and Highway 190 Bridge is __________.
178: If the Old Point Comfort main light was inoperative what emergency light would be shown?
192: At 2100, Cape Charles Light bears 321°pgc, and Cape Henry Light bears 247°pgc. Your latitude is __________.
199: You are underway in the vicinity of Block Island and obtain the following lines of position:

Montauk Point Light 263°pgc
Block Island Southeast Light 026°pgc
Radar Bearing to Block Island Southwest Point 348°pgc

What is your position at the time of these sightings? 

    N a. LAT 41°05.0'N, LONG 71°36.2'W
    Y b. LAT 41°05.3'N, LONG 71°35.8'W
    N c. LAT 41°05.3'N, LONG 71°35.1'W
    N d. LAT 41°05.4'N, LONG 71°35.0'W
211: You decide to use the 9960-Y and 9960-W rates. At 1915,
you obtain the following readings:

9960-Y-43936.0
9960-W-14653.3

What is your 1915 position? 

    N a. LAT 41°13.0'N, LONG 71°54.1'W
    N b. LAT 41°13.0'N, LONG 71°53.9'W
    Y c. LAT 41°13.2'N, LONG 71°53.7'W
    N d. LAT 41°13.4'N, LONG 71°53.4'W
232: At 0700, Stratford Shoal Middle Ground Light bears 137°pgc. From your radar, you get a bearing of 007°pgc to the south tip of Stratford Point with a range of 4.5 miles. What is your 0700 position? 

    N a. LAT 41°04.6'N, LONG 73°07.0'W
    N b. LAT 41°04.6'N, LONG 73°06.6'W
    N c. LAT 41°04.6'N, LONG 73°07.4'W
    Y d. LAT 41°04.6'N, LONG 73°07.2'W
280: Your 1752 position places you __________. 

    N a. less than 0.5 mile eastward of York Spit Channel
    Y b. less than 0.5 mile westward of York Spit Channel
    N c. greater than 0.5 mile westward of York Spit Channel
    N d. greater than 0.5 mile eastward of York Spit Channel
399: A vessel at LAT 11°22'S, LONG 009°18'E heads for a destination at LAT 06°52'N, LONG 57°23'W. Determine the true course and distance by Mercator sailing. 

    N a. 296°T, 3,825.3 miles
    N b. 296°T, 4,154.2 miles
    N c. 285°T, 3,825.3 miles
    Y d. 285°T, 4,154.2 miles
413: A vessel steams 1106 miles on course 249°T from LAT 13°30.0'N, LONG 144°30.3'E. What is the latitude and longitude of the point of arrival by Mercator sailing? 

    N a. LAT 07°01.0'N, LONG 127°02.0'E
    Y b. LAT 06°54.0'N, LONG 127°08.0'E
    N c. LAT 06°50.0'N, LONG 127°13.0'E
    N d. LAT 06°46.0'N, LONG 127°17.0'E
499: Which chart should you use to enter Great Salt Pond? 

    N a. 13205
    N b. 13207
    N c. 13214
    Y d. 13217
533: You depart LAT 38°14'N, LONG 12°42'W, for LAT 38°14'N, LONG 46°09'W. What are the course and distance by parallel sailing? 

    N a. 090°T, 1576.5 miles
    N b. 090°T, 2879.0 miles
    Y c. 270°T, 1576.5 miles
    N d. 270°T, 2868.5 miles
569: At 0823, Old Point Comfort Light bears 000°T at 0.6 mile. What is your 0823 position? 

    N a. LAT 36°59.8'N, LONG 76°18.0'W
    Y b. LAT 36°59.5'N, LONG 76°18.4'W
    N c. LAT 36°59.0'N, LONG 76°19.6'W
    N d. LAT 36°55.5'N, LONG 76°18.6'W
602: At 1845 zone time, on 24 October , you depart Bimini Island, LAT 25°50.0'N, LONG 77°00.0'W (ZD +5). You are bound for Bishop Rock, LAT 49°40.0'N, LONG 6°34.0'W, and you estimate your speed of advance at 13.6 knots. The distance is 3,491 miles. What is your estimated zone time of arrival at Bishop Rock? 

    N a. 0627, 3 November
    N b. 1642, 3 November
    N c. 0939, 4 November
    Y d. 1627, 4 November
621: You are on a voyage from New York, NY, to San Francisco, CA. The distance from pilot to pilot is 5132 miles. The speed of advance is 13.5 knots. You estimate 32 hours for bunkering at Colon, and 14 hours for the Panama Canal transit. If you take departure at 0600 hours (ZD +4), 16 May, what is your ETA (ZD +7) at San Francisco? 

    N a. 0609, 1 June
    Y b. 2109, 2 June
    N c. 0009, 3 June
    N d. 0409, 3 June
623: You are on a voyage from Baltimore, MD, to Seattle, WA. The distance from pilot to pilot is 5960 miles. The speed of advance is 16.0 knots. You estimate 16 hours for bunkering at Colon, and 12.0 hours for the Panama Canal transit. If you take departure at 0824 hours (ZD +5), 18 November, what is your ETA (ZD +8) at Seattle? 

    N a. 1654, 5 December
    N b. 1354, 5 December
    Y c. 2154, 4 December
    N d. 1354, 4 December
631: From your 0100 position, you change course to 258° per standard magnetic compass. Your engine speed is 10.0 knots. A short time later, your fathometer reads 51 feet (15.5 meters) under the keel. What is the water depth? 

    N a. 38.5 feet (11.7 meters)
    N b. 43.5 feet (13.2 meters)
    N c. 51.0 feet (15.5 meters)
    Y d. 59.5 feet (18.0 meters)
689: You are turning for 10 mph and passing Hog Point, LA. (mile 297.5 AHP). Angola reports that the current at Red River Landing is 4.5 mph. Which statement is TRUE? 

    N a. The main channel lies on the south side of the island you see ahead.
    N b. You are making 14.5 mph over the ground.
    Y c. An underwater stone dike has been constructed 0.5 miles upstream of Miles Bar Towhead.
    N d. You would expect to find the more favorable current near the broken red line in the river.
1288: What is NOT true about the yellow square at mile 227.3 AHP? 

    N a. Yellow in color
    N b. Square in shape
    Y c. Lighted
    N d. Part of Intracoastal Waterway System
1757: What town is located at mile 395 AHP? 

    Y a. St. Joseph
    N b. Belmont
    N c. St. James
    N d. Rodney
2202: After entering Milliken Bend (mile 455 AHP) you wish to locate the river service in Madison Parish, Louisiana. The river service is indicated by the square containing which number? 

    N a. 5
    Y b. 4
    N c. 3
    N d. 2
2329: You sighted Trestle "B" in line at 0706 and are steering 108°T. At 0731, Cape Henry Light bears 136°T; Cape Charles Light bears 032.5°T; and Thimble Shoal Tunnel South Light bears 282°T. What was the speed made good between 0706 and 0731? 

    Y a. 8.3 knots
    N b. 8.8 knots
    N c. 9.2 knots
    N d. 9.4 knots
2461: You have steamed 540 miles at 22 knots and burning 618 barrels of fuel per day. You must decrease your consumption to 372 barrels per day with 299 miles left in your voyage. What must you reduce your speed (kts) to in order to burn this amount of fuel? 

    Y a. 16.5
    N b. 17.6
    N c. 19.1
    N d. 20.0
2534: Your company wants to know at what time you will be arriving at the fleeting area at Sycamore Chute Light (mile 740.3 AHP) in Memphis, TN You are making turns for 9.0 mph and you estimate the average current at 2.2 mph. Figuring the distance and time from Hole in the Wall Lt. (mile 373.4 AHP), what is your ETA at Sycamore Chute Lt.? 

    N a. 0557, April 19th
    N b. 1045, April 19th
    Y c. 1242, April 19th
    N d. 1733, April 19th
2595: At 0145 you take on the pilot and are inbound Port Jefferson. The ship's heading is 147°pgc when lined up on the Port Jefferson range. What is your gyro error? 

    Y a. 1° W
    N b. 1° E
    N c. 2° E
    N d. 0°
2653: You are steering 019°T, and a light is picked up dead ahead at a distance of 11.6 miles at 0216. You change course to pass the light 3 miles off abeam to port. If you are making 14 knots, what is your ETA at the position 3 miles off the light? 

    N a. 0258
    N b. 0301
    Y c. 0304
    N d. 0307
2700: You are underway on course 163°T at a speed of 15.8 knots.
You sight a buoy bearing 161°T at a radar range of 5.5 miles at 1319. If you change course at 1325, what is the course to steer to leave the buoy abeam to starboard at 1.0 mile? 

    Y a. 145°T
    N b. 148°T
    N c. 151°T
    N d. 175°T
2873: Your vessel is on a course of 103°T at 14 knots. At 1918 a light bears 129.5°T, and at 1937 the light bears 148°T.
At what time and at what distance off will your vessel be when abeam of the light? 

    N a. 1947, 2.8 miles
    N b. 1950, 3.2 miles
    N c. 1953, 3.8 miles
    Y d. 1956, 4.4 miles
3065: The propeller on your vessel has a pitch of 18'09". If the observed distance for a day's run was 399.4 miles and the average RPM was 86, which statement is TRUE? 

    N a. The slip is a positive 5%.
    N b. The day's run by engine RPM was 404.5 miles.
    Y c. The slip is a negative 5%.
    N d. The day's run by engine RPM was 390.6 miles.
3467: You are underway on course 160°T at 10 knots. The current is 210°T at 0.9 knots. What is the speed being made good? 

    Y a. 10.7 knots
    N b. 11.0 knots
    N c. 11.6 knots
    N d. 12.3 knots
3769: Entering a harbor, you take a bearing on a range and get 338° per gyrocompass (pgc). The true bearing from the chart is 340°T. Variation for the area is 14°E. Your course is 329° per standard magnetic compass (psc) and 338°pgc. The deviation on this heading is __________. 

    N a. 3°E
    Y b. 3°W
    N c. 5°E
    N d. 5°W
10209: Your GPS position is LAT 41°08.5'N, LONG 72°28.8'W. What course must you steer per standard magnetic compass (psc) to leave Cornfield Lighted Whistle Buoy "CF" 0.5 mile abeam to port? 

    N a. 064°psc
    Y b. 077°psc
    N c. 088°psc
    N d. 092°psc
10509: At 0919 your position is LAT 37°00.0'N, LONG 75°30.0'W. You are on course 270°T at 7.8 knots. At 1035 your position is LAT 37°00.5'N, LONG 75°43.8'W. What was the set and driftt? 

    N a. 281° at 0.7 knot
    Y b. 292° at 1.0 knot
    N c. 305° at 1.3 knots
    N d. 113° at 1.2 knots
10606: At 0915 your GPS position is LAT 41°04.9'N, LONG 72°42.1'W. You are on course 085° per standard magnetic compass at a speed of 6 knots. At 1030 your GPS position is 0.5 mile due south of Twenty-Eight Foot Shoal Lighted Buoy "TE". What were your set and drift? 

    N a. 042°T at 2.4 knots
    Y b. 045°T at 1.9 knots
    N c. 221°T at 2.0 knots
    N d. 225°T at 2.3 knots
11007: What will be the height of the high water at Mount Sinai Harbor on the morning of 26 August 1983? 

    N a. 4.1 feet
    Y b. 6.3 feet
    N c. 7.2 feet
    N d. 8.4 feet
11410: At 0647 a GPS fix places your vessel 1 mile due south of buoy "8C" (buoy position LAT 41°10.8'N, LONG 72°29.4'W). At 0753 another GPS fix places your vessel at LAT 41°08.6'N, LONG 72°41.6'W. What were your true course and speed made good? 

    N a. 088° at 9.6 knots
    N b. 192° at 8.8 knots
    Y c. 263° at 8.5 knots
    N d. 268° at 9.1 knots
11707: Your position is LAT 37°00.0'N, LONG 75°30.0'W. What is the course to steer per standard magnetic compass to arrive at LAT 36°59.0'N, LONG 75°48.5'W, if you are turning for 7.8 knots, the current is 139°T at 1.3 knots, and a northwesterly wind is causing 3° of leeway? 

    N a. 290.0°psc
    Y b. 286.0°psc
    N c. 283.5°psc
    N d. 280.5°psc
12107: You sight Tue Marshes Light (LAT 37°14.1'N, LONG 76°23.2'W) in line with Goodwin Thorofare Light "16" (LAT 37°13.7'N, LONG 76°25.0'W) bearing 267° per standard magnetic compass. What is TRUE if your vessel's heading is 056°psc? 

    N a. The compass error is 13°E.
    Y b. The deviation table is in error and should be corrected.
    N c. The deviation is 4°E.
    N d. The deviation table is correct for a heading of 056°psc.
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
13300: The soundings on this chart are measured in __________. 

    Y a. feet
    N b. yards
    N c. fathoms
    N d. meters
15061: Falkner Island Light is shown __________. 

    N a. 46 feet (13.9 meters) above sea level
    N b. only from 1 June to 10 October
    Y c. from a white octagonal tower
    N d. with a six-second period
15320: Inbound, the color of Cape Henry Light will __________. 

    Y a. change before you reach Chesapeake Channel Lighted Bell Buoy "2C"
    N b. change after you reach Chesapeake Channel Lighted Bell Buoy "2C"
    N c. remain the same
    N d. alternate regardless of your position
15368: At 0705, the gyro loses power. At 0730, you are on course 092° per standard magnetic compass (psc). Falkner Light bears 356°psc, Horton Point Light bears 123°psc, and Kelsey Point Breakwater Light bears 048°psc. What is the position of your 0730 fix? 

    N a. LAT 41°06.7'N, LONG 72°36.1'W
    N b. LAT 41°06.8'N, LONG 72°36.0'W
    Y c. LAT 41°07.0'N, LONG 72°36.2'W
    N d. LAT 41°07.2'N, LONG 72°36.1'W
15446: You are abeam of buoy "18" at 2325. What is your ETA at Baltimore if you average 9.5 knots? 

    N a. 1342
    Y b. 1400
    N c. 1424
    N d. 1456
15542: At 2214 you receive a "Securite" call requesting you to remain at least 2 miles away from underwater work taking place at LAT 41°07.8'N, LONG 72°34.6'W. If you change course at 2220 and allow 3° leeway for southerly winds which course will you steer per gyrocompass to comply with this request? No allowance made for current. 

    N a. 079°pgc
    N b. 083°pgc
    N c. 086°pgc
    Y d. 089°pgc
15568: At 0520, you are on course 243°pgc at 12 knots. What is the course per standard magnetic compass? 

    N a. 262°psc
    Y b. 258°psc
    N c. 233°psc
    N d. 227°psc
15628: The Natchez Gage reads 20.6 feet. The high point on your towboat is 47 feet above the water. What is the vertical clearance as you pass under the Natchez Highway Bridge? 

    Y a. 58.0 feet
    N b. 64.1 feet
    N c. 72.5 feet
    N d. 78.6 feet
15645: You round Montauk Point and steer to make good 206°T. Speed is increased to 13.0 knots. The current, if any, is unknown. The visibility has improved and is estimated to be 5 miles. At 2144 Montauk Point Light bears 273°T. At 2202 the same light bears 320°T. Which statement concerning your 2202 running fix is TRUE? 

    N a. You are inside the lobster pot area.
    Y b. The fathometer reads about 12 fathoms.
    N c. You are inside of the 90 foot curve.
    N d. You are outside the boundary of the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone.
15845: If you are going to head directly for Chesapeake Light from your 2111 fix, what is the course to make good? 

    Y a. 190°T
    N b. 193°T
    N c. 196°T
    N d. 199°T
15908: At 0740, you obtain the following radar information:

Branford Reef Light bearing 250° true @ 2.55 nm

What is your position? 

    N a. LAT 41°12.6'N, LONG 72°51.3'W
    N b. LAT 41°12.6'N, LONG 72°51.8'W
    Y c. LAT 41°12.4'N, LONG 72°51.5'W
    N d. LAT 41°12.3'N, LONG 72°52.0'W
16013: At 0430, you take the following bearings:

Stratford Point Light bearing 307° pgc
Middle Ground Light bearing 239° pgc

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
    N c. LAT 41°05.5'N, LONG 72°59.7'W
    Y d. LAT 41°05.8'N, LONG 73°00.8'W
16016: At 0430, you change course and speed to make good 090°T at 10 knots. At 0433, you slow due to an engineering casualty and estimate you are making good 5.5 knots. At what time will Branford Reef Light bear 000°T? 

    N a. 0601
    Y b. 0609
    N c. 0620
    N d. 0624
16118: You will enter waters governed by the International Rules when __________. 

    N a. you cross the territorial sea boundary line
    N b. abeam of buoy "CBJ"
    N c. you cross the boundary of the contiguous zone
    Y d. Cape Charles Light bears 022°T
16641: At 0455 you encounter fog and slow to 5 knots. At 0500, you obtain a radar fix from the following information:

Radar range to Montauk Point is 9.1 miles.
Tangent bearing to western edge of Block Is. Is 015°pgc.
Distance off the nearest part of Block Is. is 5.9 miles.

What is your 0500 position? 

    N a. LAT 41°02.8'N, LONG 71°39.5'W
    N b. LAT 41°02.9'N, LONG 71°39.8'W
    N c. LAT 41°03.1'N, LONG 71°39.6'W
    Y d. LAT 41°03.5'N, LONG 71°39.3'W