"Licensed Captain." The very phrase evokes authority and power. And while a lot of us have thought about getting a Coast Guard license, the hours of study and documented water time, coupled with the expense, has meant most of us allow it to remain a fantasy.
The truth is that you hear all sorts of folks referred to as "Captain" while hanging around the docks. Park your boat and the dock hand will call you Captain. Radio a bridge and the attendant will call you Captain. If you go to any West Marine or Boater's World, you can get a tee shirt or hat that proclaims to the world that you are a Captain.
But as far as the Coast Guard is concerned, a tee-shirt won't cut it. There are very specific requirements when it comes to getting a true license, including both written examinations and documented on-the-water sea service time. They aren't too difficult, but they do require some smarts and a lot of preparation and commitment. But if you persevere, these folks may call you Captain – and mean it.
CHOOSING A LICENSE
In the charter boat world there are two basic levels of license: The Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel (OUPV) license and the Master's license. Each license authorizes different levels of service and route endorsements, including Inland, Near Coastal and Great Lakes. The big difference between the two is the number of passengers you can put on your boat and whether the vessel has to be inspected by the Coast Guard specifically for passenger service.
Frank Mummert
For most people, the OUPV is appropriate. The educational requirements are lower than other licenses, the amount of time you have to have behind the helm is less, and the cost of owning and operating the boat is significantly reduced. Unless you're running a tow boat for hire or planning on operating a full-time marine business, the OUPV license will likely fill your needs.
The Master's license will allow you to take on more than six passengers, but requires that you operate a vessel that has been inspected by the Coast Guard for that purpose when you do. The results of the inspection will determine the waters the vessel can cruise, the number of passengers, number of crew members and many other details related to your operation.
In addition to the basic Master's and OUPV licenses, you can also get an Assistance Towing endorsement or an Auxiliary Sail endorsement. These expand the scope of your license. The Towing endorsement will allow you to work for a towing company, like TowBoatUS or SeaTow , and requires an additional test, as well as four to six hours of class study. The Auxiliary Sail endorsement, on the other hand, requires that you have a significant amount of sea time on sailing or auxiliary sail vessel, in addition to the educational requirements and test. The Towing endorsement can be added to an OUPV license, but you must have the Master's license if you want a Sail endorsement.
Having an OUPV license allows you to take up to six paying passengers out at a time. Because of this limitation, the OUPV is often called a "Six Pack." The boat you use has to meet the standard Coast Guard regulations, as well as any state regulations, but it doesn't need to meet any special construction requirements. There are specific requirements related to personal flotation devices, and some other safety equipment that must meet a higher standard than if you were traveling without passengers, but they are neither difficult nor expensive to comply with.
To get an OUPV license, you need to fulfill five basic requirements. The first – and the one that takes the longest to achieve – is the "sea service" requirement. In order to apply for the license, you have to be able to show that you have 360 days on the waters where you want to be certified. That's not as much as it sounds. In general, when it comes to small boats, a day is considered four or more hours at the helm within a 24-hour period. For commercial service to count toward you total, it needs to meet the official eight-hour underway standard, meaning time spent away from the pier. Living on your boat or working on it at the pier generally do not count.
For your initial license, you can count all the time that you have spent underway since your 15th birthday. If you worked commercially – even as a bait boy – on a fishing charter boat, you'll need to get documentation from the company or individual you worked for. If you have military sea service, you may be able to count some of that time, but you generally have to have been in a deck position. Just being aboard a Navy or Coast Guard vessel does not necessarily count.
