Day shapes — all cards
Play this deck →The shape-carrying statuses — balls, cones, cylinders and diamonds from Rules 24–30.
9 cards
Day — what do her shapes tell you?
Vessel at anchor — at anchor.
Governing rules: Rule 30
Examiner note: One ball forward, where it can best be seen (Rule 30(a)(i)).
Day — what do her shapes tell you?
Vessel not under command — not under command.
Governing rules: Rule 27
Examiner note: Two balls in a vertical line (Rule 27(a)(ii)).
Day — what do her shapes tell you?
Vessel restricted in her ability to manoeuvre — RAM.
Governing rules: Rule 27
Examiner note: Ball–diamond–ball: the highest and lowest are balls, the middle a diamond (Rule 27(b)(ii)).
Day — what do her shapes tell you?
Vessel constrained by her draught — underway.
Governing rules: Rule 28
Examiner note: A cylinder — the only cylinder in the book (Rule 28).
Day — what do her shapes tell you?
Vessel engaged in fishing — fishing or trawling.
Governing rules: Rule 26
Examiner note: Two cones apexes together — the same shape for trawling and other fishing (Rule 26(b)(i), (c)(i)).
Day — what do her shapes tell you?
Vessel under sail also being propelled by machinery — motorsailing.
Governing rules: Rule 25
Examiner note: A single cone, apex DOWNWARDS, forward (Rule 25(e)).
Day — what do her shapes tell you?
Towing vessel and tow, length of tow over 200 m — towing (tow > 200 m).
Governing rules: Rule 24
Examiner note: A diamond on the towing vessel AND on the tow when the tow exceeds 200 m (Rule 24(a)(v), (e)(iii)).
Day — what do her shapes tell you?
Vessel aground — aground.
Governing rules: Rule 30
Examiner note: Three balls in a vertical line (Rule 30(d)(ii)).
Day — what do her shapes tell you?
Vessel engaged in mine-clearance operations — mine clearance.
Governing rules: Rule 27
Examiner note: Three balls — foremast head and each end of the fore yard; keep 1000 m clear (Rule 27(f)).
Card backs quote the Rules — public sector information reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0 (source: MSN 1781 — see the Rules reference).
Independent preparatory study aligned to the MCA OOW (Yachts <3000 GT) oral examination syllabus. Not an MCA-approved course and confers no credit toward a Certificate of Competency.