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I was thinking about getting my six pack license so that I could do some chartering and shuttling. I'm sure I'm not the only one who loves to fish and has thought about going this route. Just wondering if any one has tried it and would like to share their experiences. Any and all feedback would be appreciated!
shellback
do you have to document your seatime?
could some one that owns and operates their own small boat be qualified for sea time or does it have to be documented time working under another captain? as a deckhand or something?
You can document your own time, if you've owned the boat. Otherwise, have to get signed off from the owner of the boat(s) you've worked on. Go for the Masters. 10 more questions, but you'll likely only to qualify for up to 25 tons. You can upgrade from there to 50 or 100 ton with documented time on the larger vessels, and no more testing is req'd. There are some websites with all the requirements.
I'm starting school for my 6 Pack license on Feb. 9th. The course is 52 hours for the 6 pack and 70 hours for the Masters. Only costs $100 more to go for the masters, is it really only 10 quetions more????
May have to rethink the 6 pack an go for the masters,
"A boat is a hole in the water, surrounded by fiberglass, into which you throw money"
You can do this on your own with some self study. Review the web site,download the forms and document your sea time. There are really good materials available for home study both free and at cost but considerably less exspensive than a school course.
I took the course from Sea School-passed with an overall of 90% on the first try. 3 other guys in the same class did self-study and it took them at least three tries to pass the test on their own. They weren't dummies, either; each had over 3000 hours on the water in the last 5 years. I'd strongly advise you to go that route-they wrap everything up in a nice, neat package and make it as easy as it can be.
I keep mine in a cabinet, but when they day comes I can afford to give a shot at running a business the big hurdle is out of the way. I too went to sea school for mine.
It's 2 degrees in boston right now, so making a living on the water isn't as appealing right now.
I have only been documenting my sea time fo the last two years, but have owned other boats prior and racked uphours, but never documented the hours. How do you justify the non-documented hours to the CG?
When I filled mine out ( 1 form per boat), I just provided them a variety # of days per month. (weekend warrior in the Mid Atlantic Region, 7 month boat season)
After you pass the exam, make a checklist of all the required documents and have them notarized.
My paperwork was rejected 1 time due to insufficient "documented sea service". Triple check all your documents.
hooked asked what have we done with the license. as for me, i've had my masters 50 ton for 7 years, and have: 1. chartered my own boat (fishing, sunset cruise, ect); 2. captained a 33' and a 40' charter boat for three seasons; 4. just taken pride in getting the license. 5. it simply puts me in a position to where i can legally captain charters, deliveries, etc., if i choose to do so.
WC266 has given you very good information. Don't limit yourself to the six-pack. Only 10 questions more. I think only 10 extra questions also for the Assisted Commercial Towing endorsement. The key is going to be able to know where to look-up the answers as it is open book. Common sense can't answer them all as you can only miss one!
Copies of your vessel registration along with the estimated hours of usage on Sea Service Form, Merchant Marine Physical Exam & Drug Test is all you need to RENEW every 5 years then after.
Good Luck Capt Chuck
USCG 100 Ton Master #791113
If memory serves me correct the 100 ton master requires twice the sea time (720 days) and I believe it has to be on a vessel of at least 36 gross tons which is a little bigger than what most recreational fisherman are operating.
Chuck and dano are correct. The size is whats keeping me from the 100 ton license. Anyway, do go for the Masters, document your time, and the extra questions are no more difficult than the rest of the test. Also, the towing endorsement test is very easy,,,go for all you can get the first time around.
i took the seaschool coarse and paid a licence consultant to file all my paperwork with the coast gaurd{well worth the 100 bucks to have someone look over your paperwork who knows what the coasties reject, so you only have to file once}
haven't done squat with my 6 pack offshore licence{could heve got the masters inland with my time but i was thinking of chartering farther out than the demarcation line}
if you are "actively" chartering you need to sign up for random drug tests, and renew your cpr-first aid every year. chartering insurance triples on boats over 15 tons.
My insurance stayed about the same as before. I did switch from Boat/US as they only insure recreational, but I got the same rate from Charter Lakes and it covers rec. and occasional charters.
The 6pack does not have the requirements of the Masters as far as renewing you may want to consider that.Some of the older & younger Capts cant pass the physical required for the Masters.
What did you do with your 6 pack license??? 
Don't limit yourself to the six-pack. Only 10 questions more. I think only 10 extra questions also for the Assisted Commercial Towing endorsement. The key is going to be able to know where to look-up the answers as it is open book. Common sense can't answer them all as you can only miss one! 
