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USCG-MASTER100-L3.2

Vessel systems and the master's inspections

Nobody is coming to check your boat before you sail. On an inspected vessel the Coast Guard checks her once a year; on the other 364 days the master is the inspection. That is not a figure of speech — it is where the legal responsibility actually sits.

Entry & progression

Exam module: Q160. See also: 46 CFR 26.03 — the operational requirements a master must satisfy.

The daily walk

Before you take passengers

  1. Bilges. Dry, and the pumps working. Run each one, do not just look at the switch.
  2. Fuel. Quantity for the trip plus a real reserve. No smell of fuel anywhere. Check for weeping at every fitting.
  3. Engine. Oil, coolant, belts, raw-water strainer. Look at the water coming out of the exhaust when you start her.
  4. Steering. Full lock to full lock, both ways, before you leave the berth. Check the fluid level and look at the rudder stock.
  5. Electrics. Batteries charged and secured. A battery that can move in a seaway is a fire.
  6. Safety gear. Life jackets counted against the persons you are carrying. Extinguishers in date and charged. Flares in date. Ring buoy present.
  7. Communications. Radio check. Not 'the radio is there' — an actual radio check.

Fuel and the smell of it

Petrol vapour is heavier than air, and it collects in the bilge, which is the lowest, most enclosed and least ventilated space in the boat — and the one with the electrics in it. This is the reason for the ventilation requirements in 46 CFR 25.40 and the backfire flame arrestor in 25.35.

WARNING — Run the blower, and then use your nose The blower is a machine; your nose is the instrument. Ventilate the engine space for four minutes before starting a petrol engine, then open the hatch and smell it. If you can smell fuel, do not start the engine — do not touch anything electrical at all. Find the leak. Boats are lost this way every single season, and always with a working blower fitted.

Through-hull fittings

Every hole below the waterline is a hole someone deliberately made in your boat. Each one needs a seacock that actually closes, and a softwood plug on a lanyard beside it. Exercise the seacocks — one that has not been turned in three years will not turn in an emergency, and that is precisely when you will want it.

The documents that must be aboard

  • Certificate of Inspection, on an inspected vessel — posted where passengers can see it.
  • Your credential — in your possession, produced on demand (46 CFR 26.20-1).
  • Charts and nautical publications for the area (46 CFR 26.03-4).
  • The Navigation Rules, on a self-propelled vessel of 12 m or more (33 CFR 83.01(g)).
  • Emergency checkoff list, posted (46 CFR 26.03-2).
  • Oil and garbage placards, at 26 feet and above (33 CFR 155.450, 151.59).

Maintenance is a safety system

A well-maintained boat is not a tidy boat. It is a boat whose failures happen at the dock, in daylight, with tools to hand — instead of at sea, at night, with six passengers watching you. Every hour you spend on the engine alongside is an hour you do not spend on it in a seaway.

Practice questions

5 questions
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Before starting a petrol engine, the engine space should be ventilated for at least four minutes and then: (a) Started immediately (b) Checked by smell — if fuel can be smelt, do not start the engine or touch anything electrical (c) Sprayed with water (d) Sealed closed

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A softwood plug should be kept on a lanyard: (a) At the helm (b) Beside each through-hull fitting (c) In the life raft (d) With the flares

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Seacocks should be exercised regularly because: (a) It reduces corrosion of the hull (b) One that has not been turned in years will not turn in an emergency (c) It is required annually by the Coast Guard (d) It improves engine cooling

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Steering should be tested: (a) Once a season (b) Full lock to full lock, both ways, before leaving the berth (c) Only after maintenance (d) At sea, once underway

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On an inspected vessel, the Certificate of Inspection must be: (a) Kept in the master's cabin (b) Posted where passengers can see it (c) Filed ashore with the owner (d) Carried only during inspections

AI-drafted catalogue content pending SME review. USCG requirements change; verify every figure against the National Maritime Center and the current CFR before relying on it for an application.

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