On 15 May 2006 19:22:52 -0700, "
wrote:

A representative from one of the license
schools was pitching his program and answering questions about
qualifying to
sit for an OUPV or 100-ton exam. About every third answer was, "As long
as you're willing to write it down, it's going to be accepted. Nobody
is going to challenge your self certification because they aren't going
to be able to prove that you *don't* have the time you claim." He gave
some pretty far fetched justifications for "rounding up" if hours on a
particualr day didn't actually qualify. To his credit, he did tell one
party who admitted that he had only been boating for 90 days and never
previously owned a boat of any type that it would probably be "too
early" to try to qualify for the exam.

I specifically know of individuals who sat for the exam with between
500-1000 engine hours on their first and only boats and no prior
experience. I asked one, how did you get the sea time to qualify? His
frank answer, "I lied."

Talk to nearly any one of the Captain's R US license mills about
qualification, and you will most likely have an opinion similar to my
own.

To lie on your application, or to actively encourage others to lie, is
probably a felony criminal action. It also demeans the experience
level of owner/operators for you to imply that the practice is
widespread. All of the owner/operators that I know have thousands of
hours experience behind the wheel. I have not yet documented my own
time or sat for the exam but I know for a fact that I've accumulated
more than 1500 engine hours in the last 6 years, and thousands more in
years prior.