United States Coast Guard Charter Boat Captain's license

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A United States Coast Guard Charter Boat Captain's license is a license issued by United States Coast Guard for leisure mariners in the United States "commanding" a vessel as a captain or skipper. It may contain a sailing endorsement for sailing vessels and/or a commercial towing endorsement for vessels engaged in assistance towing.

There are four main categories of licenses, some of which have subcategories:

OUPV (Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels) Licenses, commonly referred to as a 6-Pack Licenses
OUPV Limited Licenses
Limited Master Licenses
Master Licenses

1 Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels License
2 OUPV Limited License
3 Limited Master License
4 Master, 100 Tons License
5 External links

[edit] Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels License

The Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessels (OUPV) License is quite popular and can be endorsed with Master's Upgrades rated by tonnage of 25 Gross Tons, 50 GT, or 100 GT increments. The Master's upgrade allows the holder to operate inspected vessels as well as uninspected ones. The total number of passengers are limited to six or less. Non U.S. citizens may be restricted to undocumented vessels with a 5 net ton limit.

Typically, an OUPV License is used in the context of small-scale fishing boats, SCUBA boats, whale-watching, and the like.

To obtain an OUPV license, a 360 days’ experience on Inland or Near Coastal waters is required. Of the 360 total days

90 days must be within the last 3 years
90 days must be on Great Lakes if the applicant wants to obtain a Great Lakes Routing on the license
90 days must be on Near Coastal waters to obtain a Near Coastal Routing

[edit] OUPV Limited License

The OUPV Limited License is a very specific license granted for the purpose of operating uninspected vessels in a limited area for a specific purpose or set of purposes. It is commonly referred to as a "launchtenders license," as one of its most popular uses is to ferry boaters to and from their yacht club dock to their own boat on a mooring.

To obtain an OUPV Limited License, one must demonstrate 90 days within the past 3 years on a vessel of appropriate tonnage and type. In addition, one must demonstrate having satisfactorily completed a Safe Boating Course approved by either the United States Coast Guard or the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA).

[edit] Limited Master License

The Limited Master License is the equivalent of the OUPV Limited License, with the important distinction that the operator is licensed for boats that have passed a Coast Guard Inspection and have an inspection sticker on display. This license caps at 100 Gross Tons.

The base requirements for the Limited Master License are very similar to the OUPV Limited. The applicant must demonstrate 120 days of service (90 days within the past 3 years) in the type of vessel the operator will be handling. One must also complete a Safe Boating Course (USCG or NASBLA approved).

The tonnage of the license is determined by the tonnage of the vessels on which the applicant declared his/her sea time. Tonnage is granted as either 25GT, 50GT or 100GT.

In addition, the license offers an Auxiliary Sail endorsement, meaning that if one can demonstrate 120 days of service on vessels powered by sail or auxiliary sail, the license will be extended to allow the licensee to operate sail-powered vessels.

[edit] Master, 100 Tons License

The Master, 100 Ton License allows the licensee to operate Coast Guard inspected vessels of up to 100GT, granted in 50GT increments. This is a version of the 6-pack license that allows more than 6 paying customers on board.

In order to qualify for a Master, 100 Ton license, one must demonstrate at least 360 days of service (90 within the past 3 years) on any vessel. There are two different variables in this license; tonnage and distance offshore.

Tonnage granted is determined by the tonnage of the vessels in which the applicant's sea time is declared; either 25GT, 50GT or 100GT.

Distance offshore is one of four possibilities:

Rivers - No special requirements beyond the standard 360 days.
Inland - No special requirements beyond the standard 360 days.
Great Lakes and Inland - For this sublicense, 90 of the 360 days declared must be on Great Lakes waters.
Near Coastal - For this sublicense, one must demonstrate the standard 360 days, but also at least 360 additional days in near-coastal or ocean waters.

The Master, 100 Ton License also offers the Auxiliary Sail endorsement and an Assistance Towing endorsement. For an Auxiliary Sail endorsement, 360 days of service on sail- or auxiliary-sail vessels must be demonstrated. For the Assistance Towing endorsement, a separate exam must be passed.