As I read blogs and comments on social media I often see folks list their captains license as a marker for their experience. I usually give only passing thought to someones boat license with one exception.
Let me explain: In order to take people out for hire, you need a USCG license. To get that license you need to prove a minimum amount of time on a boat and pass a written test including a navigation section in your “sea time” area.
The minimum time is one year, 365 logged in and certified days on the water, there are many details, but that’s basically it. One of the smallest licenses is a “six pack license” which allows a person to take no more than 6 passengers out on an uninspected vessel, if you hired a local to take you and your buddy out fishing for the day on his boat, the captain would need a six pack license. The “six pack” also requires the one year sea time. Don’t get me wrong, the sea time is very hard for most folks to get and is impressive no mater what size boat you were on. When I received first license at 19 years old I had to go back many years to document those 365 days. In the end my first endorsement was master of boats, unlimited passengers up to 15 tons sail or power inland waters (San Francisco Bay).
On all licenses, every 5 years you have to renew your ticket. Renewing requires lots of documentation and study depending on size of license and what you’re trying to achieve but the main thing is documenting that you had sea time during those past 5 years and a physical / drug test. If you are upgrading your license you show time on that new vessel plus a written exam. My first renewal bumped me up to 75 tons, my second renewal increased it to a Master 100 tons. Since I stayed mostly on the recreational side of the business, I purposely retained that endorsement till I retired (6 renewals). The license gets upgraded as you work your way up in different ships and different areas of operation.
As to my rant, as you can imagine, the license a person holds can be all over the charts, and to truly get acquainted with the license, you would have to review the history of how that person got there. When I worked s a charter captain in the British Virgin Islands, the American captains would get grief from the European captains who viewed the American license system as inferior. The European “Yachtmens” license not only required sea time and written test, but an actual test of their boating skills on the water with an inspector. The on the water test can be grueling, sometimes lasting days on the water. Now this was impressive to me because in my 40 years working on the water I met plenty of “100 ton” licensed captains that had no clue as to what they were doing, and an on the water test could easily show that.
Now, an impressive ticket that would get me to shake the hand of a any American captain would be the simply stated “unlimited master all vessels any ocean, any tonnage” these guys and ladies are at the top of the chart when it comes to licensed captains. These folks rarely make note of this in their writings.
For that reason when the question comes up about how to get a USCG license, it’s a long and complicated answer. My feeling is unless you’re taking people out for hire, it’s not needed. Schools that teach a “captains” course are great if you need the training and highly recommend, but not needed to enjoy recreational boating.